Camel cavalry

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A camel soldier of the native forces of the British army - between 1900 and 1920 (Anglo-Egyptian Sudan)

Camel cavalry, or camelry, is a generic designation for armed forces using camels as a means of transportation. Sometimes warriors or soldiers of this type also fought from camel-back with spears, bows or rifles.

Camel cavalry, were a common element in desert warfare throughout history; this is in part due to the camel's high intelligence and adaptability. They provided a mobile element better suited to work and survive in an arid and waterless environment than the horses of conventional cavalry. The smell of the camel, according to folklore, alarms and disorients horses, making camels an effective anti-cavalry weapon. For this purpose Emperor Claudius is said to have brought a detachment of camel cavalry as part of his invasion force for conquering Britain. The camel was used in this way by many civilizations, especially in Arabia and North Africa. The Arabs used camels to great effect against their horse-mounted European enemies during the Muslim conquests and the Crusades.^{[citation needed]} During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries camel troops were used for desert policing and patrol work in the British, French, German, Spanish and Italian colonial armies. Descendents of such units still form part of the modern Indian, Moroccan and Egyptian armies.