The 106th Cavalry Regiment (formerly organized as a group) was a mechanized cavalry unit of the United States Army in World War II recognized for its outstanding action. The group was organized in 1921 as part of the Illinois National Guard and during the Spanish–American War and World War I was known as the 1st Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry. It underwent a number of reorganizations before World War II. Like other Guard units during the inter-war years, the 106th held weekly or monthly drills and yearly training. Readiness for war in 1940 led to the mechanization of the unit and induction into federal service at Camp Livingston, Louisiana on 25 November 1940.
After the Pearl Harbor attack, the 106th trained at Camp Hood, Texas until the spring of 1944 when they deployed to Europe. Upon arriving in England, the group was reorganized into the 106th and 121st Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons along with a Group Headquarters. When they were moved to Europe, they were often in the lead of other units. Lightly armed, they scouted ahead to fix enemy locations. For the next year and a half, they fought through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Austria, earning five campaign streamers and two Croix de Guerre from Charles de Gaulle, President of the Provisional French government. The regiment led the Allied advance across the Rhine and were the first unit to attack a town south of the Siegfried Line or West Wall.
In late 2006, the 33rd Brigade Combat Team of the Illinois Army National Guard was formed and the 2nd Squadron, 106th Cavalry was included in the reorganization. Through the histories of its ancestor units and a series of consolidations and reorganizations, the 106th Cavalry Regiment claims battle honors for the Spanish-American War, World War I, and campaigns in the Pacific War during World War II, in addition to service on the Western Front of World War II.
Early history
The ancestor units of the present 106th Cavalry were first constituted in the Illinois National Guard in the late 1890s. Through units of the 1st Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, Troop A of the 106th Cavalry, from Pontiac, Illinois, and Troop B, from Aurora, Illinois, claim service in the Spanish-American War.
Interwar period
The 106th Cavalry was constituted in the National Guard in 1921, allotted to Illinois and Michigan, and assigned to the 22nd Cavalry Division. The 1st Squadron was organized on 6 July 1922 at Detroit, Michigan, the 2nd Squadron on 20 October 1922 at Springfield, Illinois, and the regimental headquarters on 9 July 1927. The regiment was reorganized as a three-squadron regiment on 10 April 1929 by the redesignation of the 1st Squadron as the 3rd Squadron, with a new 1st Squadron organized at South Haven, Michigan and the headquarters of the 2nd Squadron relocated to Urbana, Illinois. The Illinois elements of the regiment conducted summer training at Camp Grant, while the Michigan elements trained at Camp Grayling. On 1 April 1939, the regiment was reassigned to the 23rd Cavalry Division. On 1 September 1940, the 1st and 3rd Squadrons were reorganized and redesignated the 1st Battalion, 177th Field Artillery Regiment and 2nd Battalion, 210th Coast Artillery Regiment, respectively, and relieved from the 106th. The 106th was reorganized as an entirely Illinois-based two-squadron regiment when the 23rd Reconnaissance Squadron of the 23rd Cavalry Division was redesignated and assigned as the new 1st Squadron. The regiment was relieved from the 23rd Cavalry Division on 1 October 1940 and redesignated the 106th Cavalry (Horse-Mechanized), consisting of one mounted squadron and one armored car squadron. The 106th was inducted into federal service on 25 November 1940 in Chicago. The regiment moved to Camp Livingston, Louisiana on 3 January 1941 under command of V Corps.
The Black Horse Troop
in 1929, Major General Roy D. Keehn, Adjutant General of Illinois and commander of the 33rd Division, received permission from Secretary of War Charles P. Summerall to organize the Headquarters Troop and Band, 106th Cavalry. The Headquarters Troop was federally recognized on 27 April 1929, while the Band was federally recognized on 12 June 1929. The federal government provided funds for forty-two horses, but "the troop's organizers felt that one-hundred matched black horses were required to fully equip a troop and band of this character;" businessman Samuel Insull and others raised approximately $100,000 to outfit the troop and the mounted band, and formed the "Chicago Black Horse Troop Association" to coordinate funding, organization, and operations. The troop wore a dress uniform of blue shell jackets. The troop participated in parades and ceremonies as a horse mounted unit.
World War II Along with other National Guard units, the regiment was federalized in 1940. At the beginning of World War II, most of the members of the regiment were given the opportunity to enroll in officers school. A core group of about 60 men chose to stay with the unit. The regiment was assigned to the Third Army on 12 January 1942, and to IV Corps on 1 May 1942. In spring 1942 the regiment became fully mechanized. The regiment participated in several maneuvers at Hineston, Kinisatchie, and Dry Creek, Louisiana; and in the Louisiana Maneuver Area through the beginning of November 1942.
They were assigned to XV Corps on 1 March 1943 and transferred to Burkeville, Texas, on 25 June 1943, after which it was sent to Camp Hood, Texas on 25 August 1943 under the Tank Destroyer Command. The regiment staged at Camp Shanks, New York from 20 February 1944 until 27 February when it departed the New York Port of Embarkation for England.Stanton, Shelby, World War II Order of Battle: An Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division, 1939–1946, Stackpole Books (Revised Edition 2006), p. 317 Constituted: 1921. Activated: 25 November 1940. Overseas: 1943–1945. Campaigns: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe Days of combat: 480. Awards: Fourragère-1 French Croix de guerre with Palm-2, DSC-1; SS-58; BS-519. Commander: Colonel Vennard Wilson, (25 November 1940 – 23 October 1945). Casualties: KIA-194, MIA-4, Wounded-499 Returned to U.S.: 1 October 1945. Inactivated: 23 October 1945.
Subordination U.S. 1st Army, VIII Corps 27 June – 31 July 1944 U.S. 3rd Army, XV Corps 1 – 27 August 44 U.S. 3rd Army, XII Corps 28 August – 10 September 44 U.S. 7th Army, XV Corps 28 September 44 – 15 October 45
Campaign summary The 106th served in the European campaign. The unit comprised approximately fifteen hundred men and was given various typical mechanized cavalry missions later recognized by the French nation with the award of two Croix de Guerre. The unit finished its wartime duty with the 7th Army, XV Corps.
As a forward cavalry force, the 106th provided the first American troops to enter Salzburg, Austria. The 121st Squadron of the 106th received information that the Germans were holding the King of the Belgians and his family prisoner in a chateau near Strobl, Austria. Captain Benecke, the commander of B Troop of the 121st Squadron, led some cavalrymen of his unit, including those who spoke German, on a rescue party. The group later served as Honor Guards for the King of the Belgians and his consort. The 106th secured a truce from the defending German Army on 7 May, the day before the German High Command surrendered to the Allies on 8 May 1945.
Organization and tactics The 106th Cavalry Group's purpose was to act as the "eyes and ears" of a field army or army group, scouting ahead of slower and heavier-equipped armored and infantry formations to locate the enemy and shield friendly units from ground detection. Whenever enemy forces were found, the cavalry was designed to determine opposing size and positions using reconnaissance-by-fire tactics, and report this information to higher command. The group was too lightly armed to engage in sustained combat, and regular infantry or armor was utilized if the opposition proved beyond cavalry-group capabilities. Another routine aspect of its reconnaissance duties involved employment of the cavalry group to fill measurable gaps separating frontline Allied units. The cavalry group was also assigned missions requiring rapid movement to bypass enemy forces, if opportune weaknesses or uncovered terrain was discovered by mechanized reconnaissance methods.Stanton, Shelby, World War II Order of Battle: An Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division, 1939–1946, Stackpole Books (Revised Edition 2006), p. 23
Equipment and armament
The 106th Cavalry was lightly equipped to allow it to move quickly and deploy rapidly. They fought mounted in mobile Bantam Jeeps and M8 armored cars. Each squadron's complement of troops and vehicles consisted of a headquarters troop that included communication, administrative, mess, maintenance, transportation, and supply support, a medical detachment, a cavalry assault gun troop, and three reconnaissance troops, lettered A, B, and C. A squadron of about 760 men was about the equivalent of a typical Army battalion in numbers, though Cavalry units were typically smaller.
The three reconnaissance troops were each equipped with Bantam jeeps with a bracket-mounted .30 caliber machine gun, manned by a soldier sitting in the front passenger seat. A second Bantam jeep was mounted with a 60mm mortar manned by two soldiers. Sometimes the Bantam was mounted with a .50 caliber machine gun. Each troop was usually equipped with a mixture of the three vehicles. To maximize speed and maneuverability on the battlefield, the Bantams were not given extra armor protection. The only modifications the 106th made was to add a wire cutter. They mounted a steel pole on the front bumper that extended above the driver's head because the Germans would sometimes stretch piano wire over roads with the intention of injuring or decapitating the driver.
The third vehicle used was the six-wheeled, lightweight M8 Greyhound armored car, mounted with a 37 mm gun in a movable turret that could swing a full 360 degrees. It also featured a .30 caliber coaxial machine gun that could move independently of the turret. The M8 was equipped with powerful FM radios to enable battlefield communications.
E Troop, the squadron's mobile artillery, was the Cavalry Assault Gun Troop and consisted of three assault gun platoons. Each platoon was equipped with assault guns, short-barreled howitzers in an open turret on an M8 chassis. They also utilized two halftracks to carry their headquarters unit and an ammunition section. Two gun sections used an M8 Greyhound.
F Troop consisted of five light tank companies. Early in the war, each company had three light tank platoons, consisting of five 37mm M5A1 Stuart light tanks. While fast and maneuverable, the Stuart's armor plating and its cannon were soon found to be no match against the German tanks. In February 1945, they were replaced with the more heavily armed 75 mm M24 Chaffee light tank.
The M5 Stuart light tank was capable of speeds up to on the road, while the M24 Chaffee could travel at speeds up to on paved surfaces. The M8 armored car was capable of speeds of up to , while the Bantams could exceed . The officers usually rode with their enlisted men in the Bantams, while the squadron's support troops used a variety of vehicles including the Bantams, military trucks, and armored halftracks. At times, the men would dismount from their light vehicles and take on infantry roles, digging in to create a stronger defensive line.