Riders of the apocalypse

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Military historian David R. Dorondo examines the history of the German cavalry, a combat arm that survived World War I and rode to war again in 1939. He places the cavalry's World War II actions within the larger context of the mounted arm's development from the Franco-Prussian War to the Third Reich's surrender. The author contends that politicized command decisions, technical insufficiency, industrial bottlenecks, and wartime attrition forced Army leaders to rely on combat horsemen throughout World War II. He describes these horsemen as best represented by the 1st Cavalry Brigade/Division that saw combat in Poland, Holland, France, Russia, and Hungary, but whose service was dishonored by the 8th Waffen-SS Cavalry Division, a unit that killed more civilians than enemy soldiers. Drawing extensively on primary sources, Dorondo shows clearly how the cavalry's tradition carried on in a world undergoing rapid military industrialization, a story not widely known until now.