Historically, since its establishment after the Greek War of Independence, the Hellenic Army had had a small cavalry force, which only gradually rose to three regiments in 1885.

[4] After the end of the Balkan Wars, the new peacetime organization of the Hellenic Army included the creation of a two-brigade Cavalry Division, with headquarters at Thessaloniki, but this was left incomplete, as the second brigade was never constituted.

[12] At the time of the Turkish Great Offensive and the breakthrough of the Greek front in August 1922, the Cavalry Division's force was dispersed on various missions.

The most notable event during the retreat was the cover provided to the remnants of the Southern Group of the Greek army at the Battle of Salihli, which prevented their encirclement and capture.

Under the command of Colonel Georgios Skandalis, it became part of the Army of the Evros during the standoff with Turkey before the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne.

[29] From 24 March, the division took up defensive positions south of Lake Ohrid, but with the German invasion of Greece looming, on 7 April it was redeployed west of Florina, with the aim of covering the flanks of the Western Macedonia Army Section (TSDM) and the rest of the Greek army in Albania, and establishing a connection with the British W Force.

However, after fierce fighting, the Germans broke through the British and Greek forces defending the Kleidi pass further east on 12 April.

The Cavalry Division conducted a fighting retreat, holding the Agia Foteini Pass for several hours on 15 April, but failing to prevent the fall of Kastoria to the Germans on the evening of the same day.

[32] As the German advance further west cut off the roads leading into Thessaly, the Cavalry Division continued its retreat west to the Pindus Mountains until 20 April, when the commander of the Greek army in Epirus, Lieutenant General Georgios Tsolakoglou, began armistice negotiations with the Germans.