In World War II the U.S. Army's mechanized cavalry force served in an astounding variety of ways. Mechanized cavalrymen scouted and fought in tanks, armored cars, and jeeps; battled on and from the sea in tracked amphibians; stormed beaches from landing craft; slipped ashore in rubber rafts from submarines; climbed mountains; battled hand-to-hand; and even occasionally rode horses. This work follows the mechanized cavalry from its earliest days—landing in North Africa during Operation Torch and fighting on the jungle-clad slopes of Guadalcanal—through the campaigns in the Mediterranean, Europe, and the Pacific. Drawing on official after-action reports, contemporary combat records, personal recollections, and interviews conducted by the Army with soldiers shortly after battle, Steeds of Steel provides a vivid picture of what the war was like for the men of the mechanized cavalry.