113th Cavalry Regiment (United States)

The 113th Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment originating as an Iowa National Guard unit with history tracing back to the 19th century Indian Wars.

History
It was heavily involved in fighting during World War II against German forces in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany from June 1944 - May 1945. Following a long period of inactivation after World War II, one squadron of the 113th Cavalry was reactivated in 1992 and is currently serving in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Iowa had organized the 1st (Iowa) 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. After World War I, the 113th Cavalry was constituted in 1921 as part of the Iowa National Guard 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 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, 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), both subordinated to the 113th Cavalry Group. Subsequently, the 113th Cavalry Group served as the mechanized cavalry group for the U.S. XIX Corps, fighting in Normandy, Holland, 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.

The 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry was reactivated on September 11, 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 an F at Waterloo. With the next reorganization, the D, E and F Troops were detached when the 1-113th Cavalry reorganized into a RSTA (Cavalry) and became an organic asset to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division. It remains an active duty unit of the Iowa National Guard.

There are three troops that comprise the 1-113th Cavalry and one support unit along with a headquarters troop. A and B troops drill out of Camp Dodge Iowa; and C troop is headquartered in Le Mars, Iowa. The support unit, D Company, 334th Brigade Support Battalion (BSB), trains in Sioux City, along with the HHT, as well as a detachment from 2-168 Transportation Company (TC). C troop returned from Iraq in October 2006. A Troop deployed in June 2007, and the squadron as a whole, including D Company, 334th BSB, and 2-168 TC, deployed in November 2010 with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.