Cavalry mechanized group

A cavalry-mechanized group (Russian:Конно-механизированная группа (КМГ)) was a type of military formation used in the Red Army during World War II against Germany and Japan.

The main force element providing combat power was the armoured and motorized formations of the mechanized corps, while the horse-mounted elements of the cavalry corps provided increased flexibility in infiltration and fighting in difficult terrain such as large forests, or swamps, and the ability to continue mobile operations when cut off from supply lines.

They would then be inserted to penetrate deep into the rear of the German lines and interrupt supply and reinforcement movements there.

This was a risky task, shown for example by the destruction of Cavalry-Mechanized Group Pliyev during the Battle of Debrecen in Hungary, in autumn 1944.

Only when they faced a completely disorganised enemy, for example during the battle of the Korsun Pocket in 1944, or when they were themselves in a desperate situation, such as during Operation Mars in 1942, would they undertake a traditional cavalry charge.