Division History
1st Cavalry Division was a Romanian cavalry formations during world war 2, originally formed as the 1st Romanian Cavalry Brigade, was reformed into the 1st Cavalry Division on March 1942.
Tha division fought on the Eastern Front and during Fall Blau was part of the III Corps, Romanian 3rd Army on the northern flank of the German 6th Army
During the autumn of 1942 and winter of 1942-43, the division took part in the Battle of Stalingrad, most of it falling into the encirclement. Because it only had one artillery regiment, on 23 September 1942, the 1st Howitzer Battalion/1st Motorized Artillery Regiment was transferred from the 1st Armored Division to the 1st Cavalry Division.
In the spring of 1943 its remains returned home. The last detachment arrived on 4 April 1943.
On 20 March 1943 it was merged with the remains of the 7th Cavalry Division.
After the merger with the remains of the 7th Cavalry Division in March 1943, the unit was named 1/7th Cavalry Division, until 31 July 1943, when it returned to the original name of 1st Cavalry Division.
Initially, the reorganization plan called for a transformation into an armored cavalry division, but it was modified in 1944 for a motorized cavalry division, due to the lack of a sufficient number of tanks. However, the reequipping process was not finished until 23 August 1944 and the unit remained only partially motorized. It went on to serve mostly as an infantry unit during the anti-Axis campaign.
Tha division fought on the Eastern Front and during Fall Blau was part of the III Corps, Romanian 3rd Army on the northern flank of the German 6th Army
During the autumn of 1942 and winter of 1942-43, the division took part in the Battle of Stalingrad, most of it falling into the encirclement. Because it only had one artillery regiment, on 23 September 1942, the 1st Howitzer Battalion/1st Motorized Artillery Regiment was transferred from the 1st Armored Division to the 1st Cavalry Division.
In the spring of 1943 its remains returned home. The last detachment arrived on 4 April 1943.
On 20 March 1943 it was merged with the remains of the 7th Cavalry Division.
After the merger with the remains of the 7th Cavalry Division in March 1943, the unit was named 1/7th Cavalry Division, until 31 July 1943, when it returned to the original name of 1st Cavalry Division.
Initially, the reorganization plan called for a transformation into an armored cavalry division, but it was modified in 1944 for a motorized cavalry division, due to the lack of a sufficient number of tanks. However, the reequipping process was not finished until 23 August 1944 and the unit remained only partially motorized. It went on to serve mostly as an infantry unit during the anti-Axis campaign.
Featured Missions
| Campaign | Mission |
|---|---|
| Battle of Stalingrad | Gumrak Airfield Pocket |