"WHAT THE INFANTRY COULD NOT DO, THE CAVALRY WILL DO" - these words of General A.N. Kuropatkin, commander-in-chief of the Russian army in the war with Japan, were said about the battles of 1904-1905. However, in the First World War and Civil War, the combat use of cavalry only confirmed the correctness of his assessment. Already the first battles of 1914 showed the superiority of the Russian cavalry over the cavalry of the Germans and Austrians both as personnel and in combat training, and on the fronts of the Civil War, the red cavalry (primarily from the legendary 1st and 2nd Cavalry Armies) played a key role, seriously affecting its outcome. Cavalry - the elite of the armed forces - acted in breakthroughs, pursued the enemy, performed reconnaissance and security functions, raided, delivered quick and strong blows to the enemy. Cavalrymen and Cossacks equally successfully fought both on horseback and on foot, used all types of weapons and military equipment, and actively interacted with their brothers in arms. THE NEW BOOK of the leading historian of the Russian army of the first quarter of the 20th century, based on archival materials, examines in detail the organization, tactics, weapons and combat use of cavalry in the Russo-Japanese, World War I and Civil Wars. Particular attention is paid to the role of cavalry in the battles of 1914-1916, which until now remained outside the interests of historians of the Great War.