--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: African cavalry mounted on rhinos or…" description: "\"African cavalry mounted on rhinos or hippos would have made mincemeat of European cavalry mounted on horses. But it couldnt happen.\" — Jared Diamond" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcc/jared-diamond-2519_cavalry_african-cavalry-mounted-on-rhinos-or-hip_1570248.png" --- # African cavalry mounted on rhinos or hippos would have… ![“African cavalry mounted on rhinos or hippos would have made mincemeat of European cavalry mounted on horses. But it couldnt happen.” quote by Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcc/jared-diamond-2519_cavalry_african-cavalry-mounted-on-rhinos-or-hip_1570248.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcc/jared-diamond-2519_cavalry_african-cavalry-mounted-on-rhinos-or-hip_1570248.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcc/jared-diamond-2519_cavalry_african-cavalry-mounted-on-rhinos-or-hip_1570248.png) > “African cavalry mounted on rhinos or hippos would have made mincemeat of European cavalry mounted on horses. But it couldnt happen.” [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical military tactics are constrained by geography and animal capabilities. **In simple terms:** Terrain and animals limit warfare. Key Takeaway Consider environmental factors in strategy. Themes history military geography Mood analytical educational Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - military planning - historical analysis - education curricula Key Concepts logistics environmental constraints Questions to Reflect On - How do geography shape historical outcomes? - What modern parallels exist? A Different Perspective Modern warfare relies less on animal mounts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cavalry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cavalry/) [Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse/) [Rhinos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhinos/) ## Related quotes > [Rhino-mounted Bantu shock troops could have overthrown the Roman Empire. It never happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/rhino-mounted-bantu-shock-troops-could-have-overthrown-the-roman/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [Getting down on all fours and imitating a rhinoceros stops babies from crying. (Put an empty cigarette pack on your nose for a horn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/getting-down-on-all-fours-and-imitating-a-rhinoceros-stops-babies/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Tibet has a very proud people but it's culturally gone and overrun ever since the Chinese took over. It's like saving the rhino. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/tibet-has-a-very-proud-people-but-it-s-culturally-gone-and-overrun/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Rhinos are just fat unicorns. If we'd give them the time and attention they deserve, as well as a diet: They'd reveal their majestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-purdy/rhinos-are-just-fat-unicorns-if-we-d-give-them-the-time-and-attention/) [Ashley Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-purdy/) > [I doubt if a charging elephant, or a rhino, is as determined or hard to check as a socially ambitious mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/i-doubt-if-a-charging-elephant-or-a-rhino-is-as-determined-or-hard-to/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [When I first saw a strap on, I put it on my head and ran around like a rhino.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-attell/when-i-first-saw-a-strap-on-i-put-it-on-my-head-and-ran-around-like-a/) [Dave Attell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-attell/) > [The illegal wildlife trade threatens not only the survival of entire species, such as elephants and rhinos, but also the livelihoods and, often, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaya-toure/the-illegal-wildlife-trade-threatens-not-only-the-survival-of-entire/) [Yaya Toure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaya-toure/) > [These magnificent species of Africa - elephants, rhino, lions, leopards, cheetah, the great apes (Africa has four of the world's five great apes) -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-bergin/these-magnificent-species-of-africa-elephants-rhino-lions-leopards/) [Patrick Bergin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-bergin/) > [Of course, certain religious expressions are fine. If a tribe of Aqualishes wants to boil rhino horns in frog saliva on the National Mall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-parker/of-course-certain-religious-expressions-are-fine-if-a-tribe-of/) [Kathleen Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-parker/) > [My biggest concern and main engagement with UNEP is focused on endangered species and illegal wildlife trade - mostly elephants, rhinos, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaya-toure/my-biggest-concern-and-main-engagement-with-unep-is-focused-on/) [Yaya Toure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaya-toure/) > [ I imagine the film \["300"\] as if I was a Spartan and I had never seen an immortal or a Persian, or an elephant… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-snyder/i-imagine-the-film-300-as-if-i-was-a-spartan-and-i-had-never-seen-an/) [Zack Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-snyder/) > [China is responsible for a lot of the major conservation issues we're facing. It's the main market for rhino horn. Tigers are being killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-carwardine/china-is-responsible-for-a-lot-of-the-major-conservation-issues-we-re/) [Mark Carwardine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-carwardine/) > [I very much like Kenya. It's hard to beat the Masai Mara and the idea of ballooning across it. I have a great time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-burnett/i-very-much-like-kenya-it-s-hard-to-beat-the-masai-mara-and-the-idea/) [Mark Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-burnett/) > [Consider developing your whole self with the same raw focus and intensity that you develop a particular skill set. Get focused. Go out, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-holden/consider-developing-your-whole-self-with-the-same-raw-focus-and/) [Anthony Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-holden/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) ## More by Jared Diamond > [Bird taxonomy is a difficult field because of the severe anatomical constraints imposed by flight. There are only so many ways to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/bird-taxonomy-is-a-difficult-field-because-of-the-severe-anatomical/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [What did the last Easter Islander say as he chopped down the last tree? The Easter Islanders didnt have anthropologists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/what-did-the-last-easter-islander-say-as-he-chopped-down-the-last/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [“We come to conquer this land by his command, that all may come to a knowledge of God and of His Holy Catholic Faith;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/we-come-to-conquer-this-land-by-his-command-that-all-may-come-to-a/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [“With the rise of chiefdoms around 7,500 years ago, people had to learn, for the first time in history, how to encounter strangers regularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/with-the-rise-of-chiefdoms-around-7-500-years-ago-people-had-to-learn/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [Human societies vary in lots of independent factors affecting their openness to innovation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/human-societies-vary-in-lots-of-independent-factors-affecting-their/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [No government is here forever. And there are other forces - the most potent force in our society, in fact, big business - doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/no-government-is-here-forever-and-there-are-other-forces-the-most/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [“Those parasites pass to a person from an eaten animal, but the virus causing laughing sickness (kuru) in the New Guinea highlands used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/those-parasites-pass-to-a-person-from-an-eaten-animal-but-the-virus/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [“...invokes the supposed stimulatory effects of their homeland's cold climate and the inhibitory effects of hot, humid, tropical climates on human creativity and energy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/invokes-the-supposed-stimulatory-effects-of-their-homeland-s-cold/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [“Throughout the Americas, diseases introduced with Europeans spread from tribe to tribe far in advance of the Europeans themselves, killing an estimated 95 percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/throughout-the-americas-diseases-introduced-with-europeans-spread/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples' environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/history-followed-different-courses-for-different-peoples-because-of/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [We study the injustices of history for the same reason that we study genocide, and for the same reason that psychologists study the minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/we-study-the-injustices-of-history-for-the-same-reason-that-we-study/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [I decided that now is the time to start doing the things that really interest me and I find important. It was in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/i-decided-that-now-is-the-time-to-start-doing-the-things-that-really/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [“As a result of that confined distribution, peoples who pride themselves on being civilized have always viewed writing as the sharpest distinction raising them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/as-a-result-of-that-confined-distribution-peoples-who-pride/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [Infectious diseases introduced with Europeans, like smallpox and measles, spread from one Indian tribe to another, far in advance of Europeans themselves, and killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/infectious-diseases-introduced-with-europeans-like-smallpox-and/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [In fact, everywhere in the world there has been a flux between big and small societies. Big political units are constantly being formed, later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/in-fact-everywhere-in-the-world-there-has-been-a-flux-between-big-and/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) [Explore all 161 Jared Diamond quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) ## More Cavalry quotes > [Nobody ever wins by the cavalry coming to rescue you. It isn't a question of you're happy if you get married, or you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/nobody-ever-wins-by-the-cavalry-coming-to-rescue-you-it-isn-t-a/) [Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/) > [“The cavalry ain't coming. You have to do it yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-gardner/the-cavalry-ain-t-coming-you-have-to-do-it-yourself/) Christopher Gardner > [Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them. Operations of thought are cavalry charges in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/civilization-advances-by-extending-the-number-of-important-operations/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Artillery is more essential to cavalry than to infantry, because cavalry has no fire for its defence, but depends on the sabre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/artillery-is-more-essential-to-cavalry-than-to-infantry-because/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [By the last returns to the Department of War the militia force of the several States may be estimated at 800,000 men - infantry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-monroe/by-the-last-returns-to-the-department-of-war-the-militia-force-of-the/) [James Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-monroe/) > [This coffee falls into your stomach, and straightway there is a general commotion. Ideas begin to move like the battalions of the Grand Army…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/this-coffee-falls-into-your-stomach-and-straightway-there-is-a/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“Don’t shoot,” Tom cautioned again. “That brave in the lead has a crooked lance with a white flag. Whatever it is they’re wantin’, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-anderson/don-t-shoot-tom-cautioned-again-that-brave-in-the-lead-has-a-crooked/) [Catherine Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-anderson/) > [The man who could withstand, with his fellow-men in single line, a charge of cavalry may lose all command of himself on the occurrence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-helps/the-man-who-could-withstand-with-his-fellow-men-in-single-line-a/) [Arthur Helps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-helps/) > [“Chorus of old men: If we give them the least hold over us, 'tis all up! their audacity will know no bounds! We shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/chorus-of-old-men-if-we-give-them-the-least-hold-over-us-tis-all-up/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [The first time we did cavalry charge I was so breathless with excitement I nearly fell off the horse. I actually saw stars in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/the-first-time-we-did-cavalry-charge-i-was-so-breathless-with/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Of course no one thought of anything except of attacking the enemy. It lies in the instinct of every German to rush at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manfred-von-richthofen/of-course-no-one-thought-of-anything-except-of-attacking-the-enemy-it/) [Manfred von Richthofen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manfred-von-richthofen/) > [Galton's eccentric, sceptical, observing, flashing, cavalry-leader type of mind led him eventually to become the founder of the most important, significant and, I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/galton-s-eccentric-sceptical-observing-flashing-cavalry-leader-type/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [There's a fragment that goes, "Some say the most beautiful thing in the world is a great cavalry riding down over the hill. Others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/there-s-a-fragment-that-goes-some-say-the-most-beautiful-thing-in-the/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [Suppose someone sits down where you are sitting right now and announces to me that he is Napoleon Bonaparte. The last thing I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-solow/suppose-someone-sits-down-where-you-are-sitting-right-now-and/) [Robert Solow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-solow/) > [“But the cavalry arrived only in the movies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/but-the-cavalry-arrived-only-in-the-movies/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Browse all 80 Cavalry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cavalry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "African cavalry mounted on rhinos or hippos would have made mincemeat of European cavalry mounted on horses. 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