sentences:  17 of the cavalry divisions were granted Guards status and renumbered accordingly.At the start of the conflict, a cavalry division had some 9,000 men; by 1945, they were authorized 6,000 men and often organized into corps of three divisions that were reinforced by artillery, tank, and assault gun elements.After the end of World War II, the remaining 26 cavalry divisions were mostly converted into mechanized and tank units or disbanded.