During World War II (1939-1945), the German army and the Waffen-SS, despite the popular opinion that they were fully motorized, had several cavalry units at their disposal. Chronologically, the first cavalry division was the 1st Cavalry Division, which fought on the Eastern Front in the years 1941-1942 as part of General Guderian's armored forces, and in 1942 was transformed into the 24th Panzer Division. In the first half of 1943, however, the German army had three independent cavalry regiments, which, however, were largely based on motorized equipment. In 1944, these regiments, together with the Hungarian cavalry division, created a cavalry corps serving in Belarus. It is also worth adding that relatively many cavalry units were created as part of the Waffen-SS. One can mention here, for example, the SS Cavalry Brigade, which was later transformed into the 8th SS Cavalry Division. Cossack units were also formed in the German cavalry - e.g. the 1st Cossack Cavalry Division.
The 1st Cavalry Division was formed shortly after the September campaign (at the end of October 1939) on the basis of the 1st Cavalry Brigade. The latter, in turn, was formed in 1938 on the basis of those German cavalry regiments that had not yet been transformed into motorized or mechanized units. The place where the brigade was formed was the village of Wystruæ in East Prussia. The 1st Cavalry Brigade took an active part in the September campaign in 1939, fighting as part of the Army Group "North". The unit took a very indirect part in the Battle of M³awa, and later reached Maków Mazowiecki and shortly thereafter over the Narew. On September 9, the brigade's units managed to capture a bridgehead on the Bug River. Until September 16, she fought in the Radzymin area, ending her participation in the September campaign with these actions. On October 25, the 1st Cavalry Brigade was converted into the 1st Cavalry Division. In 1940, it took part in the fighting on the Western Front, fighting in Belgium and France. Until the summer of 1941, the division was stationed in France, carrying out occupation tasks, when it was transferred to the east. From the very beginning, the division took part in Operation Barbarossa, fighting as part of the XXIV Corps, fighting mainly in the area of the Pripyat River. In November 1941, it was transferred to France and transformed into the 24th Panzer Division.