 |
|
This is a great read for military historians and history buffs that want a good baseline for how armored cavalry started and how the force was reshaped during the realities of war.
Definitely recommended!
Michael Benolkin, Cybermodeler Online
The book is definitely worth a read for those interested in the European War (although Yeide did spent some, though smaller, time with cavalry in the Pacific War as well) as well as those seeking vivid descriptions of ground combat.
C. Peter Chen, World War II Database
The U.S. Army’s mechanized cavalry force served in an astounding variety of ways in World War II—certainly a greater variety in one three-year period than any other cavalry force in human history. Mechanized cavalrymen scouted and fought in tanks, armored cars, and jeeps; battled on and from the sea in tracked amphibians; stormed beaches from landing craft; slipped ashore in rubber rafts from submarines; climbed mountains; battled hand-to-hand on foot like any GI; and even occasionally rode horses. The troopers learned to outwit the enemy in African desert, Italian peaks, European hedgerows, and Pacific jungles. Often, the cavalrymen worked alone, miles ahead of the nearest friendly units. "Steeds of Steel" is their story.
When World War II broke out in September 1939, the U.S. Cavalry was still mainly a proud, horse-mounted force as it had been since the nation’s founding; within a year, the Cavalry branch had lost its horses and very nearly its mission. The cavalrymen took to new steeds of steel, carved out a place on the modern battlefield, and restored their role and pride.
This work follows the mechanized cavalry from its earliest days—cavalrymen landed in North Africa during Operation Torch and fought on the jungle-clad slopes of Guadalcanal—through the campaigns in the Mediterranean, Europe, and the Pacific. The cavalry squadrons and armored reconnaissance battalions fought only against Hitler’s legions, but wherever an American infantry division served, its mechanized cavalry troop joined the battle. The mechanized cavalry’s brilliant legacy has lived on in the armored cavalry for a half-century and more. Oddly, the U.S. Army today is revisiting a debate of the pre-World War II period: Should the cavalry be restricted to stealthy acquisition of information, or should it be ready and able to fight?
"Steeds of Steel" draws heavily on official after-action reports, other contemporary combat records such as S-3 and G-3 journals, and interviews conducted by the Army with soldiers shortly after the actions occurred. Personal recollections written by mechanized cavalrymen and veteran interviews round out the information. Illustrations will come from official U.S. Army photographs.
|
|
 |
