Alongside Infantry Divisions, the Cavalry Division provided an Army’s mobility.
In the British Army, a Cavalry Division generally consisted of three Cavalry Brigades, each including three Cavalry Regiments. They were then supported by Divisional Troops.
The Great War
At the outbreak of war, each Cavalry Regiment had a machine gun section of two guns carried in limbered wagons.
In 1915, with the formation of the Machine Gun Corps, each Cavalry Brigade was supported by a Cavalry Machine Gun Squadron into which the machine guns of the cavalry regiments were brigaded.
Inter-War
During the inter-war period, a Cavalry Division didn’t include machine gun units as the Machine Gun Corps (Cavalry) had been disbanded and the Vickers machine guns returned to the cavalry regiments.
Sources
- The National Archives, WO 24/931, War Establishments 1923
