''This page is about the 101st Cavalry Regiment. The 101st Cavalry Group was its headquarters unit.'' The 101st Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the

New York National Guard The New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs (NYS DMNA) is responsible for the state's New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard, New York Guard and the New York Naval Militia. It is headed by Adjutant General of New ...

that has existed in various forms since 1838 and which saw service in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, the Mexican Border Conflict,

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. Currently, the regiment consists of one battalion, the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry, which also carries the lineage of the former 1st Battalion, 127th Armored Regiment (founded 1838), and 1st Battalion, 210th Armor (founded 1860).

History

The 101st Cavalry Regiment was constituted on 30 December 1920 from the 1st and 2nd New York Cavalry Regiments and had its headquarters in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. The regiment was initially assigned to the 21st Cavalry Division. The regiment was inducted into federal service in January 1941 and reorganized into the: * ''101st Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized)'', the former 1st Squadron * ''116th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized)'', the former 2nd Squadron * ''101st Cavalry Group (Mechanized)'', its headquarters unit, the former regimental headquarters troop

World War II

With this organization, the group saw combat in northwest Europe during World War II with the XV and the XXI Corps of the

U.S. Seventh Army The Seventh Army was a United States army created during World War II that evolved into the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) during the 1950s and 1960s. It served in North Africa and Italy in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and Fran ...

in the

Sixth Army Group The 6th United States Army Group was an Allied Army Group that fought in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Made up of field armies from both the United States Army and the French Army, it fought in France, Germany, Au ...

. Late in the war it was attached to the

12th Armored Division The 12th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army in World War II. It fought in the European Theater of Operations in France, Germany and Austria, between November 1944 and May 1945. The German Army called the 12th A ...

of XXI Corps. Among other exploits, troops of the 101st Cavalry captured German field marshal

Albert Kesselring Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 – 16 July 1960) was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' of the Luftwaffe during World War II who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. In a military career that spanned both world wars, Kesselring beca ...

as well as the Japanese ambassador to Germany in May 1945. Following the war, the 101st Group was inactivated on 25 October 1945 at

Camp Myles Standish Camp Myles Standish was a U.S. Army camp located in Taunton, Massachusetts during World War II. It was the main staging area for the Boston Port of Embarkation, with about a million U.S. and Allied soldiers passing through the camp on their wa ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Post-War

The regiment was reformed as the ''101st Armored Cavalry Regiment'' on 1 January 1950 with headquarters again at Brooklyn. On 16 March 1959, the unit was retitled the ''101st Armored Regiment'', which endured until 15 April 1963 when the unit was renamed the ''101st Cavalry'', reduced in strength to one squadron, and subordinated to the 42nd Infantry Division.Pope, pp. 13–15 In 1993, the 101st was consolidated with the 1st Battalion, 210th Armor, taking the 210th's lineage but keeping its designation as the 101st Cavalry. The 1st squadron of the 101 Cavalry was disbanded in August 2006. The 2nd squadron remains and is headquartered in Niagara Falls, NY. 2nd Squadron is the reconnaissance squadron of the 27th IBCT, and they consist of A Troop (Mounted), B Troop (Mounted), and C Troop (Dismounted). The 2nd Squadron also carries the lineage of the 1st Battalion, 127th Armor Regiment, which converted into the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry when the New York National Guard reorganized in 2005-2006. The squadron deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 and again in 2012. The Squadron, with additional support from the 27th IBCT, deployed to Ukraine in 2017 in order to support the training of Ukrainian soldiers. Elements of the Squadron deployed to Germany and Horn of Africa in 2022.

Unit Commendations

Meritorious Unit Commendation - 2005 - Iraq Philipine Unit Commendation - 1945 - Phillipines

References

{{Reflist

Reading

* Clay, Steven E., ''U.S. Army Order of Battle 1919-1941'' (Vol. 2), Fort Leavenworth: Combat Studies Institute Press, 2010. * Pope, Jeffrey L. and Kondratiuk, Leonid E., ''Armor-Cavalry Regiments'', Washington: National Guard Bureau, 1995.

External links

101st Cavalry Regiment World War Two

Official History of the 101st Cavalry Group, Part I

Official History of the 101st Cavalry Group, Part II
* https://www.nationalguard.mil/News/Article/1959494/ny-national-guard-cavalry-troopers-earn-their-spurs/ - Order of the Spur, September 2019 101 Military units and formations established in 1920 New York National Guard