subject: What Is The Purpose Of The Cavalry Regiment? [print this page] The cavalry is essentially a heavy shock force which has been utilized by armies for thousands of years. One of the first modern day cavalry forces belonged to Hannibal who was the African General who surprised and defeated the Roman Army by crossing the Swiss Alps to engage them in a flank attack. His tactics were the blueprint for the famous attack of General Norman Schwarzkopf , when he lead the attack that destroyed Saddam Husseins Republican Guard during operation Desert Storm.
In Hannibals case he put armor on elephants and drove them through enemy formations before he attacked in order to disrupt their formations and cause fear and panic. In most cases whenever armies used cavalry they would use horsemen to drive through enemy formations and disrupt them. Many times the cavalry was held in reserve until the attackers or defenders saw an area of weakness which could be quickly exploited, or when they needed to utilize some extra punching power to help their campaign.
Modern day cavalry can be used pretty much the same way in the US Army but more often their assignment will be different. With the advent of the tank and heavy armor we can use armored units which are not cavalry units to inflict shock and damage on an enemy force.
The modern day definition of a cavalry regiment is A regiment of US Army or National Guard organized for the specific purpose of reconnaissance, surveillance, and security. The modern cavalry by nature of its mission must be able to move over vast distances very quickly, communicate effectively over long distances, operate on a continuous basis, and maintain it self in very difficult circumstances. The reconnaissance mission means that they will more often than not find themselves in enemy territory for extended periods of time. During those times they must be able to defend themselves and remain hidden to the enemy force. They also have to coordinate their movements with a higher headquarters which may be miles away.
In surveillance operations they will have to remain unseen. They wont necessarily sit in one spot and conduct the surveillance, but they may have to move and accomplish that mission from various positions on the battlefield.
Modern cavalry units may be used to screen the movement of larger forces to provide early warning of enemy contact. In this case the cavalry unit may form a screen in front of or on the flank of the larger unit. Their job may be to engage any enemy forces that they come in contact with, or do nothing and warn of their presence.
Calvary units are heavy mechanized units who travel in tanks, fighting vehicles, and helicopters. The heavy vehicles can move quickly when needed and have the firepower to hold their own in a skirmish. They can be an effective shock force if necessary but now that we have modern mechanized infantry and armored forces they are normally used to be the shock force in an attack.
Cavalry units are sorely needed and invaluable when used in the roles that they are designated to perform. Military Ring Express
