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The US 1st Cavalry Division (1st Cav Div) is a heavy-armored division of the United States Army.
It is based at Fort Hood, Texas, and is the largest division in size of the U.S. Army with 16,700 soldiers. Currently the 1st Cavalry Division is attached to the U.S. Army III Corps. and is commanded by Major General Peter W. Chiarelli.
The history of the 1st Cavalry Division begins in 1855, when the unit then designated as the 2nd Cavalry Regiment was formed. In 1861 it was redesignated the 5th Cavalry. This unit participated in several battles in the American Civil War, including Bullrun, Antietam, Gettysburg, Wilderness, and Appomattox.
The modern 1st Cavalry Division was activated on 31 August 1921. Its first major conflict was World War II.
The 1st Cavalry Division arrived in Australia 11 July 1943, continued its training at Strathpine, Queensland, until 26 July, then moved to New Guinea to stage for the Admiralties' campaign 22-27 February 1944. The Division saw its first combat in the Admiralty Islands, units landing at Los Negros Island 29 February 1944. Momote airstrip was secured against great odds. Attacks by fanatical Japanese were thrown back, and the enemy force surrounded by the end of March. Nearby islands were taken in April and May. The Division next took part in the invasion of Leyte, 20 October 1944, captured Tacloban and the adjacent airstrip, advanced along the north coast, and secured Leyte Valley, elements landing on and securing Samar Island Moving down Ormoc Valley (in Leyte) and across the Ormoc plain, the Division reached the west coast of Leyte 1 January 1945. The Division then invaded Luzon, landing in the Lingayen Gulf area 27 January 1945, and fought its way to Manila by 3 February 1945. Prisoners at Santo Tomas University were liberated and the 1st Cavalry had advanced east of Manila by the middle of February before the city was cleared. On 20 February the Division was assigned the mission of seizing and securing crossings over the Marikina River and securing the Tagaytay-Antipolo Line. After being relieved 12 March in the Antipolo area, elements pushed south into Batangas and Bicol Provinces. They mopped up remaining pockets of resistance in these areas in small unit actions. Resistance was officially declared at an end 1 July 1945. The Division left Luzon 25 August 1945 for occupation duty in Japan, arriving in Yokohama 2 September 1945 and entering Tokyo 8 September, the first United States Division to enter the Japanese capital.
Occupation duty in Japan followed for the next five years. In the summer of 1950, North Korea attacked South Korea, and the 1st Cavalry Division was rushed to Korea to help shore up the Pusan Perimeter. After the X Corps attack at Inchon, a breakout operation was launched at the Pusan Perimeter. The 1st Cavalry Division remained in the line until it was relieved by the 45th Infantry Division from the United States Army National Guard in January 1952. Following the relief, the division returned to Japan. 1957 saw the division back in Korea, where it remained until 1965.
The Vietnam War was when the division next saw combat. By this time, it was no longer an infantry unit, but an air assault division, using helicopters. The division was re-roled in this way in early 1965, and left for Vietnam later that year. The unit, along with the 101st Airborne Division perfected new tactics and doctrine for helicopter-borne assaults over the next five years in Vietnam.
The unit's first major operation was the Pleiku Campaign. During this action, the division conducted 35 days of continuous airmobile operations. It earned the first Presidential Unit Citation presented to a division during the Vietnam War. Most of 1967 was spent in Operation Pershing. This was a large scale search of areas in the II Corps are which saw 5,400 enemy killed and 2,000 captured. Moving to the I Corps zone, the division saw out the Tet Offensive. 1st Cavalry Division was involved in liberating Quang Tri and Hue. After the intense fighting in Hue, the division then moved to relive the Marine Corps units at the besieged base of Khe Sann.
In 1970, a change of pace in the war occured. The division was among the American units that crossed the border into Cambodia, extending the extent of the ground war quite considerably. However, relatively shortly thereafter, American units withdrew from the country. American units were also leaving Vietnam in large numbers, and by 1973, all were out. 1st Cavalry Division left during 1972.
In the aftermath of Vietnam, the 1st Cavalry Division was converted from the airmobile role into a triple capabilities or TRICAP division. The unit received an infusion of mechanised infantry and artillery, in order to make it capable of missions needing three types of troops; armor, airmobility, and air cavalry. However, the TRICAP concept was not particularly longlasting, and by the 1975, the division was equipped as a heavy armored force.
It next saw combat as a heavy division, in the Gulf War of 1990-1991. The 1st Cavalry Division deployed as part of VII Corps, when American heavy armor forces were deployed abroad in significant numbers for the first time since 1945. The division only had two regular brigades assigned to it at the time, and they both deployed. It was planned to add a third brigade from the 2nd Armored Division, but in the end that brigade was needed to give the United States Marine Corps forces on the coast additional firepower. Consequently, 1st Cavalry Division did not see much combat. It was in corps reserve for much of the ground war, only seeing action in the last few hours.
The division did not take part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. However, it is currently scheduled to deploy to Iraq as part of the first major roulement of the American occupation forces of the country.
Work in Progress...
Organization
The US 1st Cavalry Division consists of the following elements:
History
External Links
http://pao.hood.army.mil/1stcavdiv/default.htm
