Brazilian cavalry

Brazilian Cavalry
Cavalry branch badge
Country	Brazil
Branch	Brazilian Army
Type	Cavalry
Patron	Manuel Luís Osório
Colors	White   Red[1]

The Brazilian cavalry is one of the branches that make up the Brazilian Army. It operates in armored vehicles and, like the infantry, has the role of directly confronting the enemy, but with distinct missions such as reconnaissance and vanguard. It is organized into regiments and squadrons, which are equivalent to the infantry's battalions and companies. Its main types are tank (Leopard 1 and M60), mechanized (with wheeled vehicles — EE-9 Cascavel, EE-11 Urutu and VBTP-MR Guarani), armored (with tracked vehicles — tanks and the M-113) and guard (on horseback). Its troops serve in vehicle crews or as fusiliers on board, who can also fight on foot.

Brazil has had cavalry on horseback since the colonial period, standing out in the South. It had different forms and origins, such as the social elite in the Milícias and Ordenanças, the Regular Regiment of Cavalry of Minas, with a police character, the peon militias on Brazil's southern borders and the Guarani and German Lancers. Officers from Rio Grande do Sul preferred the cavalry branch during the Empire of Brazil era and in the Military School of Realengo (1912–1945), among them the patron of the cavalry Manuel Luís Osório (1808–1879), who distinguished himself during the Paraguayan War. Material difficulties hampered the maintenance of horses during campaigns.

Horses became obsolete in the 20th century world wars, being replaced in industrialized countries by motorized, mechanized and armored forces. In Brazil the process was lengthy, and traditionalists argued that the country's economy and infrastructure were insufficient to sustain full mechanization. In the 50's and 60's mechanized forces coexisted with horses. Only during the 1970s reforms the war industry had developed enough to retire horses. As in some other countries, the change did not extinguish the cavalry branch: its armored vehicles have capabilities and roles similar to those of horses, while the traditions of the cavalrymen remain in part inherited from the horseback period. Since then, its technological level depends on the acquisition of new generations of vehicles. As in neighboring countries, they are not of the latest generation.

Most of the corps are grouped into five brigades, four in the South and one in the Central-West region. Infantry brigades also have some cavalry forces, including specialized squadrons — parachute, airmobile and jungle squadrons. A division-based organization lasted from the 1921 reform until the 1970s, when it gave way to the current brigades, each with, in addition to cavalry, artillery, engineering and logistics forces. Four cavalry brigades are mechanized, with mechanized and armored regiments, and one is armored, with tank regiments and armored infantry battalions.