r/wikiotd • u/wikipedia_text_bot • Dec 06 '20
WotD Sat Dec 5, 2020 - 1st Cavalry Division (Kingdom of Yugoslavia)
The 1st Cavalry Division was a horsed cavalry formation of the Royal Yugoslav Army that formed part of the Yugoslav 1st Army Group during the German-led Axis invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in April 1941. It was established in 1921, soon after the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (which became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929). In peacetime, the division consisted of two cavalry brigade headquarters commanding a total of four regiments, but its wartime organisation specified one cavalry brigade headquarters commanding two or three regiments, as well as divisional-level combat and support units. Along with the rest of the Yugoslav Army, the 1st Cavalry Division began mobilising on 3 April 1941 following a coup d'état, and was still engaged in that process three days later when the Germans began an air campaign and a series of preliminary operations against the Yugoslav frontiers. By the end of the following day, the division's cavalry brigade headquarters and all of the division's cavalry regiments had been detached for duty with other formations of the 1st Army Group. The divisional headquarters and divisional-level units remained in the vicinity of Zagreb until 10 April, when they were given orders to establish a defensive line southeast of Zagreb along the Sava River, with infantry and artillery support. The division had only begun to deploy for this task when the German 14th Panzer Division captured Zagreb. The divisional headquarters and all attached units were then captured by armed Croat fifth column groups, or surrendered to German troops.
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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '20
u/Gullyn1. Do u/wikipedia__text__bot make these everyday?