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Men on Iron Ponies: The Death and Rebirth of the Modern U.S. Cavalry Hardcover – May 4, 2009

by Matthew Darlington Morton (Author)

5 customer reviews

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At the end of World War I, the United States Army—despite its recent experience with trenches, machine guns, barbed wire, airplanes, and even tanks—maintained a horse-mounted cavalry from a bygone era. From the end of World War I until well into World War II, senior leaders remained convinced that traditional cavalry units were useful in reconnaissance, and horses retained a leading role. Months into World War II, the true believers in the utility of the horses had their hopes shattered as the last horse cavalry units either dismounted to fight as infantry or traded their oat-eating horses for gasoline-guzzling “iron ponies.” The horse belonged to the past, and the armored truck was the way of the future.

Morton has examined myriad official records, personal papers, doctrine, and professional discourse from an era of intense debate about the future of the U.S. Cavalry. He has captured the emotion of the conflict that ultimately tore the branch apart by examining the views of famous men such as George S. Patton, Jr., Lesley J. McNair, George C. Marshall, and Adna R. Chaf-fee, Jr. More importantly, Morton brings new light to lesser-known figures—John K. Herr, I. D. White, Lucian K. Truscott, Willis D. Crittenberger, Charles L. Scott, and William S. Biddle—who played equally important roles in shaping the future of the U.S. Cavalry and in determining what function it would play during World War II.

At the heart of the book are the myriad questions about how to equip, train, and organize for a possible future war, all the while having to retain some flexibility to deal with war as it actually happens. Morton goes beyond the explanation of what occurred between the world wars by showing how the debate about the nature of the next war impacted the organization and doctrine that the reformed U.S. Cavalry would employ on the battlefields of North Africa, Italy, the beaches of Normandy, and through the fighting in the Ardennes to the link-up with Soviet forces in the heart of Germany. Leaders then, as now, con-fronted tough questions. What would the nature of the next war be? What kind of doctrine would lend itself to future battle-fields? What kind of organization would best fulfill doctrinal objectives, once established, and what kind of equipment should that organization have? The same challenges face Army leaders today as they contemplate the nature of the next war.

Men on Iron Ponies: The Death and Rebirth of the Modern U.S. Cavalry

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Editorial Reviews

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“Cavalryman Matt Morton knows that gathering battlefield intelli-gence means being ready to fight for it. Historian Matt Morton portrays in vivid images the decades-long struggle—political, often petty—between the horse cavalry traditionalists and the reformist advocates of mechanization to achieve that essential capability.”—Colonel Matthew Moten, Ph.D., Professor and Acting Head, Department of History, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York

“A coherent, intelligent study of the cavalry branch’s flawed efforts to grapple with the problems of mechanization during the interwar period. It will make a major contribution to the literature on innovation during this period.” —Dr. Williamson Murray, Ohio State University

“The definitive history of mechanized cavalry in WWII. This is a model work of its kind, one I would be proud to have written.” —Dennis Showalter, Colorado College, author of Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century

About the Author

Matthew Darlington Morton, a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army with a Ph.D. in history from Florida State Uni-versity, taught military history at West Point. He is currently serving as a strategic plans and policy officer in Europe.

Hardcover: 300 pages
Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press; 1 edition (May 4, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0875803970
ISBN-13: 978-0875803975
Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 5 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,721,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #23582 in Books > History > Military > World War II
- #25975 in Books > History > Military > United States
- #118394 in Books > History > Americas > United States

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Brave Rifles!

By74th Colonelon November 19, 2012

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Exceptional work by a cavalryman who lived in the wake of the cavalry's mechanized transformation. Matt Morton produced a critical slice of history which is often misunderstood, overlooked, and/or misintrepted. The Divorce and how it went down within the cavalry branch in the 1930's between the loyal horse supporters and their brothers moving toward gasoline and mechanization is over-shadowed by the outcome of the WWII and the changes that came from the after action reviews from the reconnaissance forces that fought in N. Africa, Italy, and across norther Europe. How did we go from horse to today's armored cavalry? It is a complicated tail of loyalty versus reality, culture versus adaptation, and the age old struggle to evolve in the face of a changing environment...something the U.S. Army has sometimes struggled to do as rapidly as needed. Morton's work tells this story and is a must read for all modern day Armor officers, Armored Cavalryman, and infantrymen who serve as reconnaissance leaders. Well researched, it captures the personalities of the time (Marshall, McNair, Patton, Truscott, Herr, and others) and reminds the reader how important people and personalities are during a time when an organization needs its leaders to lead change. We are in one of those times right now and the reader can draw a number paralells from the pages. As a the current Regimental Commander of one Cavalry Regiments that played a vital role in this transformation I found it exilerating and could not put it down. I have spent 20+ years in the Armor/Cavalry Branch and now for the first time feel like I truly understand how and why my branch of service (Armor) looks and acts like it does. This is a priceless piece of work, so necessary for the preservation of this subtle but significant evolution in U.S. military history.

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Five Stars

Bychristopher d. leljedalon June 28, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Awesome Book, well researched and worth the read!

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Tanks for the Cavalry

ByRetired Readeron April 23, 2010

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This book is at best supplemental reading to the better researched, organized, and conceptualized book, "Through Mobility We Conquer" (2006 University of Kentucky).
Colonel Morton appears to have based his work on the false assumption that the prior to WWII the only tactical role for the U.S. Cavalry (horse and mechanized) was reconnaissance. This is nonsense. He compounded this false assumption by either failing to read or failing to understand the basic doctrine guiding the transformation of the U.S. 1st Cavalry Regiment into a mechanized cavalry regiment beginning in 1932. This regiment was designed to be a combat force with attached reconnaissance elements in the form of an armored car/scout car troop. Its main force however was to be light tanks, originally the obsolete 6-ton infantry tank (which for bureaucratic reasons were called `combat cars' by the cavalry).
By a fortunate coincidence in 1935 an entirely new `combat car' was developed as the M1 Combat Car. The M1 was fast, reliable, and, for the time, well armed with turret mounted .50 caliber and .30 caliber machineguns as well as a hull mounted .30 caliber machine gun. This new mount was used to equip both squadrons of the 1st Cavalry and allowed the troopers to fight mounted and efficiently perform the traditional cavalry multiple roles of screening, reconnaissance, and attacking enemy formations while mounted. Incidentally the M1 introduced a proto-type suspension and track system that was so successful, it was used for all U.S. tracked armored vehicles during the first three years of WWII.
The newly mechanized 1st Cavalry was soon joined by the newly mechanized 13th Cavalry (also equipped with M1's) to form the 7th Mechanized Cavalry Brigade which also incorporated artillery and infantry elements for specific exercises and maneuvers. Up until 1938 this was the largest armored formation in the U.S. Army. Yet in the end, the 7th Brigade was absorbed into the newly created Armored Command.
This is what Colonel Morton should have been discussing, but he seems to have gotten somewhat sidetracked.

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Mechianzed Cavalry

ByK.Schneideron March 28, 2010

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

An excellent and well researched book on the death of the horse cavalry and it's re-birth into motorized cavalry.
The book shows how backwards so many army leaders were about the horses place on the modern battlefield. The author shows how several officers pushed there ideas and there doctrine on how best to fight the mechanized war that was in front of them. It is an asset to any military historian and should be read by current generation of military leaders.

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Most recent customer reviews

A cogent and thoughtful study ... rewarding for any student of modern military history!

Matthew Morton has written a cogent, thoughtful study that blends historical narrative with timely analysis. "Men on Iron Ponies" describes the development of U.S.Read more

Published on January 8, 2011 by Tisha L. Powell

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