The mechanized infantry is one of the least-studied components of the U.S. Army's combat arms, and its most visable piece of equipment, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, is one of the military's most controversial pieces of equipment. This study traces the idea of mechanized infantry from its roots in the early armored operations of World War I, through its fruition in World War II, to its drastic transformation in response to the threat of a nuclear, biological, and chemical battlefield. The U.S. Army's doctrinal migration from the idea of specialized armored infantry to that of more generalized.

Acknowledgments; Abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Infantry and Tanks: Early Armored Warfare and the Origins of the Mechanized Infantry Idea, 1916-1939; 2. Armored Infantry in World War II; 3. Infantry with Tanks: From Armored Infantry to Mechanized Infantry, 1945-1965; 4. The NATO Center and Early Infantry Fighting Vehicle Development, 1960-1964; 5. The Warsaw Pact Threat and U.S. Infantry Fighting Vehicle Development, 1967-1975; 6. Armored Cavalry: Problems of Doctrine and Equipment, 1940-1975; 7. From MICV to Bradley Fighting Vehicle, 1975-1983; A photo essay follows page 93.