H GERMAN CAVALRY DIVISION (WWII)

During World War II (1939-1945), the German army and the Waffen-SS, despite the popular opinion that they were fully motorized, had several cavalry units at their disposal. Chronologically, the first cavalry division was the 1st Cavalry Division, which fought on the Eastern Front in the years 1941-1942 as part of General Guderian's armored forces, and in 1942 was transformed into the 24th Panzer Division. In the first half of 1943, however, the German army had three independent cavalry regiments, which, however, were largely based on motorized equipment. In 1944, these regiments, together with the Hungarian cavalry division, created a cavalry corps serving in Belarus. It is also worth adding that relatively many cavalry units were created as part of the Waffen-SS. One can mention here, for example, the SS Cavalry Brigade, which was later transformed into the 8th SS Cavalry Division. Cossack units were also formed in the German cavalry - e.g. the 1st Cossack Cavalry Division.