The 7th Cavalry Brigade was a brigade of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, active from 1932 to 1940. Colonel

Daniel Van Voorhis Daniel Van Voorhis (October 24, 1878 – January 9, 1956) was a United States Army lieutenant general and was noteworthy for his assignments as commander of V Corps and the Caribbean Defense Command, as well as his efforts in creating the Army's ...

took a

cadre Cadre may refer to: *Cadre (military), a group of officers or NCOs around whom a unit is formed, or a training staff *Cadre (politics), a politically controlled appointment to an institution in order to circumvent the state and bring control to th ...

of 175 officers and enlisted men from

Fort Eustis Fort Eustis is a United States Army installation in Newport News, Virginia. In 2010, it was combined with nearby Langley Air Force Base to form Joint Base Langley–Eustis. The post is the home to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Co ...

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold res ...

in February 1932, and established a Provisional Armored Car Platoon. This was based on an earlier effort, but was predicated on a new Cavalry Regiment TO&E (Table of Organization and Equipment) which was published that year. Also published, but never implemented, was a cavalry division TO&E which reflected the then unnatural assimilation of machines into the Horse Cavalry. Van Voorhis's cadre and platoon became the kernel for the 7th Cavalry Brigade, which went active on 1 March 1932 at

. At first, it was nothing more than a headquarters detachment and the Armored Car Platoon. On 3 January 1933, the 1st Cavalry Regiment was relieved from assignment to the 1st Cavalry Division, and was moved from Fort D.A. Russell to

. The earlier Mechanized Platoon was incorporated into the new regimental TO&E, and the result was the 1st Cavalry Regiment echanized which went active on 16 January 1933. The new regimental commander was Colonel Van Voorhis, late of the experimental Mechanized Force, while the executive officer was

Adna Chaffee Adna Romanza Chaffee (April 14, 1842 – November 1, 1914) was a lieutenant general in the United States Army. Chaffee took part in the American Civil War and Indian Wars, played a key role in the Spanish–American War, and fought in the Boxe ...

. The Post Commander of Fort Knox was Brigadier General Julian R. Lindsey, another cavalryman. To round out the cavalry nature of the unit, Major

Robert W. Grow Major General Robert Walker Grow (February 14, 1895 – November 3, 1985) was a senior United States Army officer who commanded the 6th Armored Division during World War II. He was notable for his court-martial in 1951 for failing to safeguard c ...

was on the regimental staff. Van Voorhis added the

13th Cavalry Regiment The 13th Cavalry Regiment ("13th Horse") is a unit of the United States Army. The 2nd Squadron is currently stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, as part of the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. History The 13th Cavalry Regimen ...

, the 68th Field Artillery Battalion, the 7th Reconnaissance Squadron, the 7th Signal Troop, the 4th Medical Troop, the 47th Engineer Troop and the 17th Quartermaster Battalion. The 7th Cavalry Brigade was fully formed. Van Voorhis remained in command until September 1938, when he was promoted to command the

V Corps (United States) V Corps (), formerly known as the Fifth Corps, is a regular corps of the United States Army at Fort Knox. It was previously active during World War I, World War II, the Cold War, the Kosovo War, and the War on Terrorism. Shoulder sleeve insig ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, Indiana. Chaffee took over from Van Voorhis. On 7 May 1940, the 7th Cavalry Brigade took part in the

Louisiana Maneuvers The Louisiana Maneuvers were a series of major U.S. Army exercises held in 1941 in northern and west-central Louisiana, an area bounded by the Sabine River to the west, the Calcasieu River to the east, and by the city of Shreveport to the nort ...

at Monroe, Louisiana that were instrumental in developing the armored division concept. The maneuvers concluded on 27 May 1940, and the brigade returned to Fort Knox on 31 May 1940, and preparations began to expand the brigade into a tank division. After the brutal

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became a ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the United States was looking for new ways to engage in armed conflict. As the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

invaded France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, the United States military hierarchy realized that an armored division was essential for a modern army. While training outside of

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the prin ...

, the commanders of the 7th Cavalry Brigade met in a high school basement to discuss the creation of an American armored division. Major General Frank M. Andrews, Generals Adna R. Chaffee and

Bruce Magruder Bruce Magruder (December 3, 1882 – July 23, 1953) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the Moro Rebellion, Pancho Villa Expedition, World War I, and World War II, he attained the rank of major general. Magruder was most ...

, and Colonel George S. Patton Jr. agreed to recommend to Washington that the U.S. Army establish its first tank division.{{cite book, last=Worth, first=Greg, title=1st Armored Division: WWII & Beyond, year=2005, publisher=Turner Publishing Company, location=Kentucky, isbn=1-59652-011-6, page=10 On 10 July 1940, in a conference with the Chief of Staff of the Army, the U.S. Army founded an Armored Force. Two weeks later General Adna R. Chaffee was given the order to head the creation of America's first tank division. Soon afterwards the new 1st Armored Division absorbed the 7th Cavalry Brigade.

References

007 The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

Military units and formations established in 1932 Military units and formations disestablished in 1940