Armored cavalry

Armoured cavalry (or U.S. armored) began to replace horse cavalry as the reconnaissance arm in most armies after the First World War, although many armies continued to maintain horse cavalry through the end of the Second World War.

It differed from regular armour units in that the main AFVs were armoured cars or scout cars, with some light or medium tanks; motorcycle troops or infantry in trucks or half-tracks rounded out the unit.

Horse-mounted troops used various forms of armour for their own protection, and often added protective elements to their mount's tack. Horse armour included hardened leather in the ancient world, expanding to barding and even plate armour by the Middle Ages. From antiquity, light cavalry was generally more agile and more lightly protected than heavy cavalry, which used larger horses needed to carry heavier, more reinforced equipment and riders.

Between the late 17th and mid-19th centuries, armoured cavalry referred to those cavalry regiments that retained the cuirass, and were commonly known as cuirassiers. After the First World War cavalry units were mostly converted from horses to either armoured cars or tanks which became known as either mechanized cavalry fulfilling a reconnaissance role, or armoured cavalry serving in the offensive role that seeks to break through the enemy defences.

In October 1928, a new era began for the cavalry of the British Army when the 11th Hussars became the first regular cavalry regiment to "mechanize", to change from a horsed cavalry role to a mechanized one, re-equipping with armoured cars previously used by the Royal Tank Corps. Other regiments followed suit; in April 1939, the Royal Armoured Corps was formed to encompass the eighteen mechanized cavalry regiments of the line alongside the eight battalions of the Royal Tank Regiment, but did not include the Household Cavalry. The remaining two regular cavalry regiments were based in Palestine, and following the outbreak of war retained their horses until 1940 (the Royal Dragoon Guards) and 1941 (the Royal Scots Greys). Following mechanization, the few remaining distinctions of unit type became meaningless; cavalry regiments moved between the heavy and light armoured roles regardless of their names.

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