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. The book also explores the debates over how best to use cavalry and how these discussions evolved during the first half of the century. During World War I, the first cavalry theorist proposed combining arms coordination with a mechanized force as an answer to the stalemate on the Western Front. Hofmann brings the story through the next fifty years, when a new breed of cavalrymen became cold war warriors as the U.S. Constabulary was established as an occupation security-police force. 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 changing international dynamics of 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 other branch of the military underwent greater changes during this time than the cavalry.

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." --