The 113th Cavalry Regiment is a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

regiment of the

Iowa National Guard The Iowa National Guard of the United States, National Guard consists of the: *Iowa Army National Guard and the *Iowa Air National Guard The Iowa National Guard headquarters is at Camp Dodge in Johnston, Iowa, Johnston, several miles north of th ...

, with history tracing back to the 19th century

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

. It was heavily involved in fighting during

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 ...

against German forces in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany from June 1944 to May 1945. Following a long period of inactivation after World War II, one squadron of the 113th Cavalry was reactivated in 1992. Since being reactivated, the 1st Squadron of the 113th Cavalry Regiment (part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division) has conducted peace keeping operations in Kosovo, as well as combat deployments during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom.

History

Iowa had organized the 1st Cavalry Squadron in 1915, a unit with four troops (companies) and which had seen service on the Mexican frontier during the pursuit of

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (,"Villa"
''Collins English Dictionary''. ; ;

. During World War I, the squadron was split up; Troop A became the division headquarters troop for the 34th Division, Troop B was reorganized as part of the 125th Machine Gun Battalion, 34th Division, Troop C was reorganized as part of the 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th Division, Troop D was reorganized as part of the 109th Ammunition Train, 34th Division, and the band was reorganized as part of the 301st Cavalry Regiment. The 34th Division shipped to France in late 1918, but did not see any combat, and the 301st Cavalry Regiment was converted to field artillery units in the summer of 1918, but none of these units shipped overseas before the end of the war. After World War I, the 113th Cavalry was constituted in 1921 as part of the

and subordinated to the 24th Cavalry Division. The regiment participated in riot control duties during the Cow War in Iowa in 1931, and elements of the regiment suppressed labor unrest in

Newton, Iowa Newton is the county seat of, and most populous city in, Jasper County, Iowa, United States. Located east of Des Moines, Newton is in Central Iowa. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 15,760. It is the home of Iowa Speedway, Maytag Da ...

, in 1938. The regiment was relieved from assignment to the 24th Cavalry Division in September 1940, inducted into federal service on 13 January 1941, and moved to Camp Bowie, Texas, on 25 January 1941. The 113th Cavalry Regiment (Horse-Mechanized) sailed to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, arriving on 28 January 1944. In England, the regiment was converted to the 113th Cavalry Group (Mechanized), with the 1st Squadron becoming the 113th Cavalry Squadron (Mechanized) and the 2nd Squadron becoming the 125th Cavalry Squadron (Mechanized). Under the combat group concept, even though the two squadrons were only "attached" to the 113th Cavalry Group headquarters as opposed to permanently "assigned" and could be attached and detached at will as the tactical situation warranted, they served as essentially organic elements of the 113th Cavalry Group. Subsequently, the 113th Cavalry Group served as the XIX Corps' mechanized cavalry group, fighting in Normandy, the Netherlands and the conquest of Germany. The 113th Cavalry Group returned to the New York port of entry on 25 October 1945 and was inactivated at Camp Shanks, New York, on 26 October 1945.Shelby Stanton, ''World War II Order of Battle'', New York:Galahad Books, 1991. The 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry was reactivated on 11 September 1992, at ceremonies at Camp Dodge, Iowa, from former elements of the 194th Cavalry. In 1996 the squadron was restructured for the next ten years with the Headquarters and Headquarters Troop (HHT) at Sioux City, Iowa, Troops A and B at Camp Dodge, Troop C at Le Mars, and Troops D, E and later Troop F at Waterloo. With the next reorganization, Troops D, E and F were detached when the 1-113th Cavalry reorganized into a RSTA (Cavalry) and became an organic asset to the 2d Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division. It remains an active duty unit of the

. There are three troops that comprise the 1-113th Cavalry and one support unit along with a Headquarters Troop. Troops A and B drill at Camp Dodge, Iowa, and Troop C is headquartered in Le Mars, Iowa. The support unit, Company D, 334th Brigade Support Battalion (BSB), trains in Sioux City, along with the HHT, as well as a detachment from 2168th Transportation Company (TC). Troop C returned from Iraq in October 2006. Troop A deployed in June 2007, and the squadron as a whole, including Company D, 334th BSB, and the 2168th Transportation Company, deployed in November 2010 with the 2d Brigade Combat Team as part of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

Awards and decorations

Campaign credit

Unit Decorations

References

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113 113 may refer to: *113 (number), a natural number *AD 113, a year * 113 BC, a year *113 (band), a French hip hop group * 113 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route * 113 (New Jersey bus), Ironbound Garage in Newark and run ...

Military units and formations in Iowa Military units and formations established in 1921 1921 establishments in the United States

History

Awards and decorations

Campaign credit

Unit Decorations

See also

References