World War II Database

Full Title: Steeds of Steel: A History of American Mechanized Cavalry in World War II

In the late 1930s, the United States Army fielded one of the world's largest horse-mounted forces, but the evolution of mechanized warfare imposed a need for change, and changes took place amidst some resistance. Initially, the mechanized cavalry were very lightly armored and very lightly armed, operating on the doctrine that the mobile units with reconnaissance as main objectives would not regularly engage in combat. That soon was proven ineffective as some cavalry troops were forced to fight dismounted while others became targets of enemy tanks and tank destroyers, thus heavier armor and larger weapons were assigned. Harry Yeide's book Steeds of Steel was written as a history of this development.

The book used unit histories and post-action reports heavily to illustrate when, why, and how the doctrine of US Army cavalry evolved. Other works on the battles of Normandy, Italy, and the Bulge did not always include the contributions of cavalry units; largely used in reconnaissance roles or at times blended in with the infantry, cavalry units indeed played important roles but they never directly determined the outcome of a battle. Yeide's work focused solely on the cavalry units' contributions to each battle, thus providing refreshing new views on already well-known battles. The extensive use of unit histories meant the book was able to present detailed play-by-play on many engagements, providing things such as the count of American vehicles (and infrequently horses) at each fight and the approximate strength of German defenses at each roadblock.

At the end of each campaign, the author also took the time to analyze the experiences gained by the US Army. For example, in the following passage he provided analysis on the comparison of cavalry and non-cavalry units in terms of casualties:

Careful analyses such as above privded grounds to describe how the cavalry evolved both in the short- and long-term perspectives. At the end of the book, Yeide also spent some effort to relate the WW2-era development of cavalry doctrine to today's debate on the future of the cavalry in the modern army. The importance of this kind of discussion was obvious; the goal of studying history was to help make better-informed decisions today, thus Yeide's analyses provided through Steeds of Steel were of value.

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. When used in conjunction with other books detailing campaigns and battles, Steeds of Steel could serve as a resource to form a better picture why certain maneuvers were deployed.

A review copy or review sample of this product was provided by the publisher or vendor to WW2DB; opinions expressed in this review are not influenced by this fact.