Created in 1921, it is the last division to take up the traditions of the United States Cavalry. After participating in the Pacific campaigns (including the Admiralty Islands campaign) and reconquering the Philippines, it was one of the 4 divisions assigned to the occupation of Japan within the Eighth Army of the United States after having had 970 killed and 3,311 wounded.
At the outbreak of the Korean War, she was sent in haste to participate in the defense of the perimeter of Pusan and then took part in the landing of Inchon and, among other things, in Operation Commando. It was relieved in 1952 after suffering high casualties with 3,811 killed and 12,086 wounded in action.
The 1st Cavalry Division is mainly known for its role during the Vietnam War:the division had the particularity of being the first totally airmobile division, as illustrated in the film Apocalypse Now.
Indeed, following the airmobile warfare tests conducted by the 11th Air Assault Division since 1963 following the guerrilla strategy in progress during the Vietnam War, on July 1, 1965, it was recreated as the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).
It deployed rapidly in the Republic of Vietnam where the units of The vanguard arrived on August 25, 1965. The division then had a strength of 15,787 soldiers and 1,600 vehicles. It then had a total of 428 helicopters:93 observation (Hugues OH-6 Cayuse, Bell OH-58 Kiowa from 1969), 287 utility or assault (Bell UH-1 Iroquois, Bell AH-1 Cobra from 1967) and 48 transport (Boeing CH-47 Chinook), and a squadron of 6 Grumman OV-1 Mohawk reconnaissance aircraft. The divisional artillery consists of 3 battalions each equipped with 12 M102 105 mm howitzers. It has its own military engineering and support units. She suffered 5,444 killed and 26,592 wounded in action in this long war.
At the end of this conflict in the 1970s, the division was for a time reorganized according to a particular model:one brigade remained airmobile, one was armored, the third was an infantry brigade. This model is discontinued, and today the 1st Cav is an armored division of the US Army. She participated in 1996 in the SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina
It served during the Iraq war, in the province of Baghdad, during the year 2004 until April 2005 and had to deplore 165 killed and 1,500 wounded out of a workforce of 17,000 men.
Commanders
Maj. Gen. Robert L. Howze Sept 1921 – June 1925
Brig. Gen. Joseph C. Castner June 1925 - Jan 1926
Maj. Gen. Edwin B. Winaus Jan 1926 - Oct 1927
Brig. Gen. Samuel D. Rockenback Oct 1927 - Nov 1927
Maj. Gen. George Van Horn Moseley Nov 1927 - Sept 1929
Brig. Gen. Charles J. Symmonds Sep 1929 – Oct 1930
Brig. Gen. George C. Barnhardt Oct 1930 - Dec 1930
Maj. Gen. Ewing E. Booth Dec 1930 – Mar 1932
Brig. Gen. Walter C. Short March 1932 - March 1933
Maj. Gen. Frank R. McCoy March 1933 – Oct 1933
Brig. Gen. Walter C. Short Oct 1933 – April 1934
Brig. Gen. Hamilton S. Hawkins April 1934 – Sept 1936
Brig. Gen. Francis Le J. Parker Sept 1936 - Oct 1936
Maj. Gen. Ben Lear Oct 1936 - Nov 1938
Maj. Gen. Kenyon A. Joyce Nov 1938 - Oct 1940
Maj. Gen. Robert C. Richardson, Jr. Oct 1940 - Feb 1941
Maj. Gen. Innis Palmer Swift Feb 1941 - Aug 1944
Maj. Gen. Verne D. Mudge Aug 1944 - Feb 1945
Brig. Gen. Hugh F. T. Hoffman Feb 1945 - Jul 1945
Maj. Gen. William C. Chase Jul 1945 - Feb 1949
Brig. Gen. William B. Bradford Feb 1949 - Feb 1949
Maj. Gen. John M. Devine Feb 1949 – Aug 1949
Brig. Gen. Henry I. Hodes August 1949 - Sept 1949
Maj. Gen. Hobart R. Gay Sept 1949 - Feb 1951
Maj. Gen. Charles D. Palmer Feb 1951 - Jul 1951
Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Harrold July 1951 - March 1952
Maj. Gen. Arthur G. Trudenu March 1952 – March 1953
Brig. Gen. William J. Bradley March 1953 - April 1953
Maj. Gen. Joseph P. Cleland May 1953 - June 1953
Maj. Gen. Armistead D. Mead Jun 1953 – Dec 1954
Brig. Gen. Orlando C. Troxel Jr. Dec 1954 - May 1955
Maj. Gen. Edward J. McGraw May 1955 - Nov 1956
Maj. Gen. Edwin H. J. Carns Nov 1956 - Aug 1957
Maj. Gen. Ralph W. Zwicker Oct 1957 - Jan 1958
Maj. Gen. George E. Bush Jan 1958 - April 1959
Maj. Gen. Charles E. Beauchamp April 1959 - May 1960
Maj. Gen. Charles G. Dodge May 1960 - Dec 1960
Maj. Gen. Frank H. Britton Dec 1960 - Jul 1961
Maj. Gen. James K. Woolnough Jul 1961 – Sep 1962
Brig. Gen. D.C. Clayman Sept 1962 - Oct 1962
Maj. Gen. Clifton F. Von Kann Oct 1962 – June 1963
Brig. Gen. Charles P. Brown June 1963 - August 1963
Maj. Gen. Chas F. Leonard Jr. Aug 1963 - Oct 1964
Maj. Gen. Hugh Exton Oct 1964 - June 1965
Maj. Gen. Harry W. O. Kinnard Jul 1965 - May 1966
Maj. Gen. John Norton May 1966 - March 1967
Maj. Gen. John J. Tolson March 1967 – August 1968
Brig. Gen. Richard L. Irby August 1968 - August 1968
Maj. Gen. George T. Forsythe Aug 1968 - Apr 1969
Maj. Gen. E. B. Roberts May 1969 - May 1970
Maj. Gen. George William Casey May 1970 - July 1970
Maj. Gen. George W. Putnam August 1970 - May 1971
Maj. Gen. James C. Smith May 1971 - Jan 1973
Maj. Gen. Robert M. Shoemaker Jan 1973 - Feb 1975
Maj. Gen. Julius W. Becton, Jr. Feb 1975 - Nov 1976
Maj. Gen. W. Russell Todd Nov 1976 - Nov 1978
Maj. Gen. Paul S. Williams Jr. Nov 1978 - Nov 1980
Maj. Gen. Richard D. Lawrence Nov 1980 - Jul 1982
Maj. Gen. Andrew P. Chambers July 1982 - June 1984
Maj. Gen. Michael J. Conrad June 1984 - June 1986
Maj. Gen. John J. Yeosock June 1986 - May 1988
Maj. Gen. William F. Streeter May 1988 - July 1990
Maj. Gen. John H. Tilelli, Jr. Jul 1990 - Jul 1992
Maj. Gen. Wesley K. Clark July 1992 - March 1994
Maj. Gen. Eric K. Shinseki March 1994 - July 1995
Maj. Gen. Leon J. LaPorte Jul 1995 - Jul 1997
Maj. Gen. Kevin P. Byrnes Jul 1997 - Oct 1999
Maj. Gen. David D. McKiernan Oct 1999 - Oct 2001
Maj. Gen. Joe Peterson Oct 2001 - August 2003
Maj. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli August 2003 - Nov 2005
Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr. Nov 2005 - Feb 2008
Brig. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks Feb 2008 - April 2008
Maj. Gen. Daniel P. Bolger April 2008 - April 2010
Maj. Gen. Daniel B. Allyn April 2010 - present
The 1st Cavalry Division is quartered at Fort Hood, Texas.
Organization
The 1st Cavalry Division comprises three maneuver brigades, a tactical support air brigade, an artillery brigade, an engineer brigade, a divisional support services command plus various specialized units:
1st Brigade ("Iron Horse"), from Fort Hood, Texas.
2nd Brigade ("Blackjack"), from Fort Hood, Texas.
3rd Brigade ( "Greywolf"), of Fort Hood Texas.
4th Brigade ("Warriors"), also called Aviation Brigade, of Fort Hood, Texas.
Division Artillery ( "Red Team"), abbreviated Divarty, of Fort Hood, Texas.
4th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment (4-5 ADA), of Fort Hood, Texas.
Engineer Brigade, of Fort Hood, Texas.
Division Support Command ("Wagonmaster"), abbreviated as Discom or DSC, of Fort Hood, Texas.
13th Signal Battalion (13th Sig Bn), from Fort Hood, Texas.
312th Military Intelligence Battalion (312th MI Bn), from Fort Hood, Texas.
545th Military Police Company (545th MP Co), Fort Hood, Texas.
The 1st Cavalry Division comprises more than 17,000 personnel.
Its aviation brigade includes:
18 AH-64 Apache
16 OH-58 Kiowa
16 UH-60 Black Hawk