and foot artillery increased, the role of cavalry, and thus the horse artillery, began to decline. It continued to be used and improved into the early 20th century, seeing action during and in between both world wars. In World War I, Russia and some other countries equipped the artillery batteries of their cavalry divisions with the same field gun used by other units. France and the United Kingdom, however, used specialist horse guns (the Canon de 75 modèle 1912 Schneider and the Ordnance QF 13 pounder, respectively.) Subsequently, the cavalry and horse artillery units rearmed with tanks and self-propelled artillery. As with the cavalry, though, certain artillery units, for instance the Royal Horse Artillery, retain their old designations. Horse artillery was last used in a few units in World War II, including the Wehrmacht's cavalry divisions on the Eastern Front, the Italian "fast divisions" (e.g. in the Isbuscenskij charge), and the Imperial Japanese Army in the Malayan campaign. A form of riding artillery using heavy machine guns called tachankas were used by the Poles and Russians in World War I, the Russian Civil War, and the German Invasion of Poland. In the United Kingdom, the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery retains six traditional teams of six horses each and 13-pounder guns for ceremonial duties to this day. In the Netherlands, the Dutch Artillery branch also has a horse artillery battery for ceremonial duties, called the Gele Rijders (Yellow Riders), after their hussar-style uniforms with heavy yellow braiding. See also Royal Horse Artillery Royal Canadian Horse Artillery Fire support U.S. Horse Artillery Brigade Horses in warfare Horses in the Napoleonic Wars Notes Sources Further reading External links Royal Horse Artillery: battle re-enactment and living history Le "Batterie a Cavallo": Onore e vanto dell'artiglieria italiana Artillery by type Animal-powered vehicles