infantry division stood with the understanding that it might be modified to deal with a particular enemy.[1]
The Lassiter Committee apparently devoted little attention to the cavalry division and recorded less about its rationale for retaining the unit. Mobility and firepower dominated the new organization. The Cavalry Journal, the official organ for the arm, had repeatedly condemned the 1917 organization as an absurdity. Burdened with more than 18,000 men and 16,000 animals, the division was too large and cumbersome. It required a preposterous amount of road space, roughly thirty miles, and was incapable of maneuver because it lacked an efficient communication system.[2]
The postwar cavalry division, approximately two-fifths the size of its predecessor, abandoned the three-brigade structure (Chart 6). It included two cavalry brigades (two cavalry regiments and one machine gun squadron each), one horse artillery battalion, and combat and service support units. Each cavalry regiment consisted of two squadrons (of three troops each), a headquarters and headquarters troop and a service troop. Initially the committee desired a third squadron to train men and horses, which represented a major investment in time and money. March denied the request because the Army was to maintain training centers. Unlike the infantry, which incorporated the machine gun into the regiment, cavalry maintained separate machine gun squadrons of three troops each because of the perceived immobility of such weapons compared with other divisional arms. A headquarters for special troops was authorized, under which were placed the division headquarters troop, a signal troop, an ordnance maintenance company, and a veterinary company. All transportation was pack- or animal-drawn, except for 14 cars, 28 trucks, and 65 motorcycles scattered throughout various headquarters elements in the division. Without trains, the division measured approximately 6.5 miles if the men rode in columns of twos. The Army chief of staff approved the new cavalry division on 31 August 1920.[3]
After approving both types of divisions, March directed the preparation of final tables of organization. When published the following year, the infantry division fell just below Pershing's recommendation of 20,000, numbering 19,997 officers and enlisted men. The cavalry division totaled 7,463.[4]
As the War Plans Division prepared the new tables, it also developed tables for understrength peacetime units because the Army's leadership did not expect to be able to maintain the number of men authorized under the National Defense Act. These tables were designed so that the units could expand without having to undergo reorganization. The peacetime infantry division was thus cut to 11,000 with all elements retaining their integrity except the division headquarters and military police companies, which were combined. The peacetime cavalry division strength was set at 6,000. But severe cuts in the War Department's budget made it impossible initially even to publish the peacetime tables. Fortunately, the service journals undertook that task.[5]
- ↑ Ltr, George C. Marshall to Walton H. Walker, 21 Dec 37, Marshall Papers.
- ↑ Rpt of Special Committee, WPD, 8 Jul 20; "Cavalry Organization," Cavalry Journal 29 (Jul 20): 116; "Cavalry Reorganization," Cavalry Journal 30 (Jan 21): 62–63.
- ↑ T/O 1921, Table 401 W, Cavalry Division, 4 Apr 21; Memo, GSC for Dir of Operations, 30 Jul 20, sub: Comments on report of Special Committee on Reorganization of the Regular Army, Memo, Ch of Cavalry for CofS, 10 Aug 20, sub: Comments on Recommendations of Special Committee on Reorganization of the Army, 11 Aug 20, CSC file 8481-136, RG 165, NARA; Memo, CofS, 31 Aug 20.
- ↑ T/O, Table 1 W, Infantry Division, 4 May 21; T/O, Table 401 W, Cavalry Division, 4 Apr 21.
- ↑ T/O, Table 1 Peace (P), Infantry Division, 1921; T/O, Table 401 P, Cavalry Division, 21; "Tables of Organization", Cavalry Journal 30 (Oct 1921): 422-15.
