World War II Close Up: They Saved the Stallions

I am convinced that there is so much interesting information about World War II that books will still be published on the topic in 2095! It's still a popular topic with young readers, especially when undiscovered facets, such as the plight of the famous Lippizaner stallions in Austria, come to light.

The action starts at a high point, with Alois Podhajsky's need to leave the Spanish Riding School in Vienna with the Lipizzaner stallions. He'd been keeping them safe for four years, but could see that the current rounds of bombing were making it impossible to stay. How does one evacuate so many horses? But first, we flashback and find out how he came to be involved with this fabled institution, and how one of the horses, Nero, was responsible for all of the others being safe at the end of the war.

Born in 1898 in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina, Podhajsky moved frequently with his father, who was in the army. Because of the changing boundaries during the early part of the twentieth century, he learned many languages. He was very interested in equestrian pursuits, and joined the army in 1916, and his life was saved by one of the horses. In 1932, he started working for the Spanish Riding School, which allowed him to use his many skills at dressage. In 1938, Austria was annexed by the Germans, which meant that Podhajsky had to answer to them. He took it as his personal mission to keep the horses and the school safe.

This was not an easy task. The stud farm, and the mares, had been moved to the relative safety of Czechoslovakia. As the war progressed, Podhajsky used the horses to haul the furnishing and memorabilia of the school to a safer area. He also found a castle in St. Martin, and got permission in 1944 to evacuate the horses to the stables there. This was no small task. It involved getting the horses onto trains, which were frequently attacked. Once the horses were in St. Martin, there were problems with their accomodations (the horses ate some of the new wooden enclosures!) as well as with the local residents, who thought that horse meat would be a good way to supplement their meager meat rations! Still, he was able to keep the horses safe.

When the US troops arrived, he was able to get an audience with Patton, thanks to a horse named Nero who had been in the 1936 Olympics. Podhajsky asked Patton for special protection, as well as help in evacuating the mares to a safer place, since they were in an area upon which the Soviets were advancing. Patton was glad to provide both, and the groundwork was done by various soldiers who were fond of the horses. Operation Cowboy is one of those WWII initiatives that was unknown to me, but was utterly fascinating.