1st Cavalry Division (Kingdom of Yugoslavia)

1st Cavalry Division
Active	1921–1941
Country	Yugoslavia
Branch	Royal Yugoslav Army
Type	Cavalry
Size	Division
Part of	1st Army Group
Engagements	Invasion of Yugoslavia (1941)
Commanders
Notable commanders	Dragoslav Stefanović

The 1st Cavalry Division of the Royal Yugoslav Army was established in 1921, soon after the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929. In peacetime it consisted of two cavalry brigade headquarters commanding a total of four regiments. It was part of the Yugoslav 1st Army Group during the German-led World War II Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, with a wartime organisation specifying one cavalry brigade headquarters commanding two or three regiments, and divisional-level combat and support units.

Along with the rest of the Royal Yugoslav Army, the 1st Cavalry Division began mobilising on 3 April 1941 following a coup d'état. Three days later, with mobilisation not complete, the Germans began an air campaign and a series of preliminary operations against the Yugoslav frontiers. By the end of the following day, the division's cavalry brigade headquarters and all of the division's cavalry regiments had been detached for duty with other formations of the 1st Army Group. The divisional headquarters and divisional-level units remained in the vicinity of Zagreb until 10 April, when they were given orders to establish a defensive line southeast of Zagreb along the Sava River, with infantry and artillery support. The division had only begun to deploy for this task when the German 14th Panzer Division captured Zagreb. The divisional headquarters and all attached units were then captured by armed Croat fifth column groups, or surrendered to German troops.