Through Mobility We Conquer: The Mechanization of U.S. Cavalry

The U.S. Cavalry, which began in the nineteenth century as little more than a mounted reconnaissance and harrying force, underwent intense growing pains with the rapid technological developments of the twentieth century. From its tentative beginnings during World War I, the eventual conversion of the traditional horse cavalry to a mechanized branch is arguably one of the greatest military transformations in history. Through Mobility We Conquer recounts the evolution and development of the U.S. Army's modern mechanized cavalry and the doctrine necessary to use it effectively, and explores the debates over how best to use cavalry. Having reviewed thousands of official records and manuals, military journals, personal papers, memoirs, and oral histories -- many of which were only recently declassified -- George F. Hofmann now presents a detailed study of the doctrine, equipment, structure, organization, tactics, and strategy of U.S. mechanized cavalry during the first half of the twentieth century. Illustrated with dozens of photographs, maps, and charts, Through Mobility We Conquer examines how technology revolutionized U.S. forces in the twentieth century, and demonstrates how perhaps no branch of the military underwent greater changes during this time than the cavalry.

About the Author :
George F. Hofmann, history professor at the University of Cincinnati, served in the U.S. Army (Armor). He is the author of The Super Sixth: A History of the 6th Armored Division in World War II and Its Post-War Association and Cold War Casualty: The Court-Martial of Major General Robert W. Grow; and is coeditor (with Donn A. Starry) of Camp Colt to Desert Storm: The History of U.S. Armored Forces. General Donn A. Starry (Ret.) is the author of Mounted Combat in Vietnam and is the principal architect of the Air-Land Battle doctrine, which was used successfully in the Gulf War. He retired in 1983 after a distinguished military career, culminating as commander of the Armor Center and School at Fort Knox (1973-1976), the Fifth U.S. Corps in U.S. Army, Europe (1976-1977), the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (1977-1981), and the U.S. Readiness Command (1981-1983).

Review :
""Hofman provides an often fascinating insight into how the US Cavalry grappled with the problems of mechanization in the inter-war years."" -- Australian Army Journal "Hofmann...was honored for his examination of the evolution of armor in the U.S. Army and the assimilation of cavalry into the armored force." -- The Army Historical Foundation [Kaufmann won the LTG Richard G. Trefry Award "Hofmann's book has several strengths, most notably depth of research...and breadth of information. He introduces and discusses a number of significant cavalry reformers who seldom appear in the historical record...If one is interested in the evolution of the United States cavalry and its doctrine during the interwar years and World War II, Through Mobility We Conquer is worth wading through." -- Journal of America's Military Past "Winner of the LTG Richard Trefry Award given by the Army Historical Foundation." --