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15th Cavalry Regiment (United States)
Encyclopedia
The 15th Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the United States Army
. It was one of the Expansion Units originally established for the Spanish American War, but has been a general workhorse unit ever since.
The Regiment's next action was part of the Cuban Pacification from 1906 to 1909, followed by duty along the Mexican border and the hunt for Poncho Villa from December 1917 to March 1918.
Sadly after 20 years of continuous active service, the Regiment was deactivated on 18 October 1921 as part of the massive cutbacks in the Regular Army following the "war to end all wars".
, was charged with the mission of training the U.S. Army's MOS 19D enlisted Cavalry Scouts.
(Inactivated October 1921, reactivated March 1942)
(Redesignated March 1944 as 15th Cavalry Group, Mechanized)
(Redesignated May 1946 as 15th Constabulary Regiment)
(Inactivated December 1948, reactivated November 1950 as 15th Armored Cavalry Group, Mechanized)
(Redesignated September 1953 as 15th Armor Group)
(15th Armor Group Inactivated December 1955, incorporated into the Combat Arms Regimental System 1957, regimental headquarters disbanded.)
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. It was one of the Expansion Units originally established for the Spanish American War, but has been a general workhorse unit ever since.
Origins
The 15th Cavalry Regiment was formed in 1901 at the Presidio of San Francisco, California. Immediately upon its organization in 1901, the 15th Cavalry embarked for the Philippines to quell an insurrection in the United States' newly acquired territory. The fierce combat in the Philippine jungles against the savage Moros forged the spirit of the Regiment in fire and blood; a spirit exemplified in the motto the Regiment chose for itself-TOUS POUR UN, UN POUR TOUS (All for one, one for all).The Regiment's next action was part of the Cuban Pacification from 1906 to 1909, followed by duty along the Mexican border and the hunt for Poncho Villa from December 1917 to March 1918.
World War One
When the United States entered World War I, the Regiment sailed for France as one of the four mounted Regiments on duty with the Allied Expeditionary Force. The fighting had already bogged down into trench warfare and the role of horse Cavalry was nearly over. The 15th was called upon to dismount and relieve exhausted infantry units in the trenches. It was the tank that finally broke the trench lines to end both the war and the role of the horse soldier. The 15th served occupation duty after the war until June 1919 when it returned to the United States.Sadly after 20 years of continuous active service, the Regiment was deactivated on 18 October 1921 as part of the massive cutbacks in the Regular Army following the "war to end all wars".
World War Two
With the advent of the Second World War, the 15th was again called to service in March 1942. The spirit and elan of the Cavalry were to lead the Army again, this time with new mounts, the armored car and tank. After undergoing training at the Desert Training Center in California, the regiment sailed for the European Theater of Operations, arriving in Scotland in March 1944. Here, the 15th was reorganized as the 15th Cavalry Group (Mechanized). The Group was composed of the 15th and 17th Reconnaissance Squadrons. The 15th Cavalry Group landed on Utah Beach on the 5 July 1944 as part of Patton's Third Army. The 15th served in four major campaigns in Europe: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe. The 15th Cavalry Group and its two squadrons fought as part of the Third Army, Ninth Army and was later assigned as a security force for several different divisions. The end of the war found the 15th deep inside Germany, covering over 1000 miles of enemy held territory since landing on the Continent began in June 1944. When the war ended, the 15th Cavalry Group and its two squadrons had taken nearly 7000 German prisoners and had destroyed 78 guns and 495 enemy vehicles.Postwar - the Constabulary Era
Following the war, the 15th was redesignated the 15th Constabulary Regiment, charged initially with occupation duty of the defeated Germany. The 17th Reconnaissance Squadron was deactivated in January 1947, but the 15th Squadron, redesignated as the 15th Constabulary Squadron, continued serving. As the cold war began in earnest, the Regiment's duty shifted to patrolling the border between West Germany and East Germany, as well as the border with Czechoslovakia. The Constabulary Force guarded the border until 1952.Service During the Cold War
From 1952 to 1987, the Regiment went through a series of redesignations, inactivations and reactivations. Elements of the regiment served across the Army from Korea, Germany, and the United States. Troop G served in Viet Nam from 1971 to 1972, being equipped at the time with M551 "Sheridan" Armored Airborne Reconnaissance Assault Vehicle (AARAV).Reorganization and Current Status
In March 1987, the Army overhauled its Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) to restore some order to the history and lineage of its regiments. One goal of this reform was to keep on active duty those regiments which had earned distinguished records over long years of service. The 15th Cavalry clearly deserved such recognition and in March 1987, the 15th Cavalry Regiment was reactivated at Fort Knox, Kentucky, by the activation of its 5th Squadron. The Squadron, as part of the 194th Armored Training Brigade194th Armored Brigade (United States)
In 1962, the 194th Armored Brigade was assigned to the US Army's Combat Developments Command to test new materiel at Fort Ord, California. It assumed the mission of the tank battalion of the 5th Infantry Division previously there. The next change occurred in the mid 1960s amid Army-wide reductions...
, was charged with the mission of training the U.S. Army's MOS 19D enlisted Cavalry Scouts.
15th Cavalry Regiment
- Constituted 1901-02-01 in the Regular ArmyRegular ArmyThe Regular Army of the United States was and is the successor to the Continental Army as the country's permanent, professional military establishment. Even in modern times the professional core of the United States Army continues to be called the Regular Army...
as the 15th Cavalry Regiment - Organized 1901-02-12 at the Presidio of San FranciscoPresidio of San FranciscoThe Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... - Assigned in December 1917 to the 15th Cavalry Division
- Relieved 1918-05-11 from assignment to the 15th Cavalry Division
- Inactivated 1921-10-18 at Fort D.A. Russell, WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
- Redesignated 1942-03-22 as the 15th Cavalry Regiment, Mechanized, activated at Fort RileyFort RileyFort Riley is a United States Army installation located in Northeast Kansas, on the Kansas River, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 100,656 acres in Geary and Riley counties and includes two census-designated places: Fort Riley North and Fort...
, KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, and assigned to the Second Army. - Regiment moved to Camp MaxeyCamp MaxeyCamp Maxey was a World War II infantry training camp named in honor of Samuel Bell Maxey.Located just north of Paris, Texas, it opened on July 15, 1942 under the command of Colonel C.H. Palmer...
, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
on 1943-01-23, assigned to X Corps, and participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers of 1943-06-18-1943-08-28. - Regiment relocated to the Desert Training CenterFort Irwin Military ReservationFort Irwin & the National Training Center is a major training area for the United States Military and is a census-designated place located in the Mojave Desert in northern San Bernardino County, California. Fort Irwin sits at an elevation of . The 2010 United States census reported Fort Irwin's...
on 1943-08-20. - Regiment Staged at Camp ShanksCamp ShanksCamp Shanks, named after Major General David Carey Shanks was a United States Army installation in and around Orangeburg in the Town of Orangetown, New York. Situated near the juncture of the Erie Railroad and the Hudson River, it served as a point of embarkation for troops departing overseas...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on 1944-02-14. - Regiment Deployed from the New York Port of Embarkation on 1944-03-01.
- Regiment arrived in EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 1944-03-07. - Regiment broken up at TrowbridgeTrowbridgeTrowbridge is the county town of Wiltshire, England, situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, approximately 12 miles southeast of Bath, Somerset....
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, on 1944-03-12 and its elements reorganized and redesignated as follows:
- Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 15th Cavalry Group, Mechanized;
- 1st Squadron became 15th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized, attached to 15th Cavalry Group (Mech).
- 2nd Squadron became 17th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized, attached to 15th Cavalry Group (Mech).
- After 12 March 1944, the above units underwent the following changes:
HHT, 15th Cavalry Group, Mechanized
- Unit arrived in France on 1944-07-05.
- Unit entered Combat on 1944-08-02 near AvranchesAvranchesAvranches is a commune in the Manche department in the Basse-Normandie region in north-western France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called Avranchinais.-History:...
for the assault on BrestBrest, FranceBrest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
; remained at St. Nazaire and LorientLorientLorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
until relieved by the 66th Infantry Division, and performed screening missions for the Ninth Army until 1945-02-13. - Unit attached to [XVI Corps] (United States)and crossed over into Holland on 1945-02-16, and entered GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on 1945-03-03. - Unit located at MontabaurMontabaurMontabaur is a town and the district seat of the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. At the same time, it is also the administrative centre of the Verbandsgemeinde of Montabaur – a kind of collective municipality – to which 24 other communities belong...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on 1945-08-14, which is when the Japanese agreed to Surrender. - Converted and redesignated 1946-05-01 as Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 15th Constabulary Regiment
- Reorganized and redesignated 1948-02-02 as Headquarters and Headquarters and Service Troop, 15th Constabulary Regiment
- Inactivated 1948-12-20 in Germany
- Converted and redesignated 1950-10-23 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 15th Armored Cavalry Group
- Activated 1950-11-15 at Camp PolkFort PolkFort Polk is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, approximately 7 miles east of Leesville, Louisiana and 20 miles north of DeRidder, Louisiana....
, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties... - Redesignated 1953-09-25 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 15th Armor Group.
- Inactivated 1955-12-01 at Fort KnoxFort KnoxFort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. The base covers parts of Bullitt, Hardin, and Meade counties. It currently holds the Army Human Resources Center of Excellence to include the Army Human Resources Command, United States Army Cadet...
, KentuckyKentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
15th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized (less Troop E)
- Unit arrived in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on 1944-07-05. - Unit crossed over into Holland on 1945-02-16.
- Unit entered GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on 1945-03-09. - Unit was located at VerlVerlVerl is a town in the district of Gütersloh in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 15 km south of Bielefeld and 10 km east of Gütersloh....
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on 1945-08-14, which is the day that Japan agreed to surrender. - Converted and redesignated 1946-05-01 as the 15th Constabulary Squadron and assigned to the 15th Constabulary Regiment
- Inactivated 1948-12-20 in Germany and relieved from assignment to the 15th Constabulary Regiment
- Activated 1949-05-20 in Germany
- Inactivated 1952-12-15 in Germany
- Converted and redesignated 1954-08-13 as the 15th Reconnaissance Battalion
Troop E, 15th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized
- Troop E, 15th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized, converted and redesignated 1946-05-01 as the Light Tank Troop, 15th Constabulary Regiment.
- Inactivated 1947-02-28 in Germany
- Disbanded 1953-02-25
- Reconstituted 1954-08-14 in the Regular Army as Troop L, 15th Cavalry Regiment.
17th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized (Less Company F)
- Unit arrived in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on 1944-07-15. - Unit crossed over into Holland on 1945-10-16.
- Unit entered GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on 1944-11-23. - Unit was located at Wiedenburck, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on 1945-08-14, which is the day that Japan agreed to surrender. - 17th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized, inactivated 1947-01-20 in Germany
- Redesignated (less Company F) 1948-09-01 as the 501st Reconnaissance Battalion
- Activated 1948-09-25 at Fort SillFort SillFort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...
, OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state... - Inactivated 1949-01-25 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma
Company F, 17th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized
- Redesignated 1948-09-01 as the 550th Light Tank Company
- Redesignated 1951-03-19 as the 550th Tank Company
- Activated 1951-04-06 at Fort BenningFort BenningFort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788... - Inactivated 1958-06-25 at Fort CampbellFort CampbellFort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astraddle the Kentucky-Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee...
, KentuckyKentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth... - Redesignated 1958-10-01 as Troop F, 15th Cavalry Regiment
Consolidation
- HHC, 15th Armor Group; 15th and 501st Reconnaissance Battalions; and Troops F and L, 15th Cavalry Regiment, consolidated, reorganized and redesignated 1957-04-01 to 1959-05-01 as the 15th Cavalry Regiment, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental SystemU.S. Army Combat Arms Regimental SystemThe Combat Arms Regimental System , was the method of assigning unit designations to units of the five combat arms of the United States Army from 1957 to 1981. CARS was superseded by the U.S...
- Redesignated 1963-07-01 as the 15th Armor Regiment
- Redesignated 1967-07-01 as the 15th Cavalry Regiment
- Troop G, 15th Cavalry Regiment arrived in VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
on 1971-12-15. For this security assignment, Troop G was equipped with M-551 Sheridan Assault Vehicles in place of their normal Tracked Vehicles. - Troop G returned from Vietnam on 1972-02-26.
- Withdrawn 1987-03-25 from the Combat Arms Regimental System, reorganized under the United States Army Regimental SystemU.S. Army Regimental SystemThe United States Army Regimental System was established in 1981 to replace the Combat Arms Regimental System, to provide each Soldier with continuous identification with a single regiment, and to support that concept with a personnel system that would increase a soldier’s probability of serving...
, and transferred to the United States Army Training and Doctrine CommandUnited States Army Training and Doctrine CommandEstablished 1 July 1973, the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command is an army command of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It is charged with overseeing training of Army forces, the development of operational doctrine, and the development and procurement of...
.
Campaign participation credit
- Philippine Insurrection:
- Mindanao;
- Luzon 1902
- World War I:
- Streamer without inscription
- World War II:
- Normandy;
- Northern France;
- Rhineland;
- Central Europe
- Vietnam:
- Consolidation II (Troop G only).
Commanding officers
- COLONELS OF THE REGIMENT (Commanding Officers of the 15th Cavalry Regiment, 1901 - 1955)
- 1st COL William M. Wallace March 1901 - October 1906
- 2nd COL George F. Chase October 1906 - May 1907
- 3rd COL Joseph Garrard May 1907 - April 1914
- 4th COL George H. Morgan April 1914 - July 1915
- 5th COL William A. Shunk July 1915 - October 1916
- 6th COL William H. Hay October 1916 - October 1917
- 7th COL Melvin W. Rowell October 1917 - May 1918
- 8th COL Herman A. Sievert May 1918 - July 1919
- 9th COL Mortimer A. Bigelow July 1919 - August 1919
- 10th COL Michael M. McNamee August 1919 - October 1919
- 11th COL Charles A. Hedekin October 1919 - February 1920
- 12th COL Michael M. McNamee February 1920 - April 1920
- 13th COL Thomas B. Dugan April 1920 - September 1921
- 14th COL Roy B. Harper September 1921 - October 1921
(Inactivated October 1921, reactivated March 1942)
- 15th COL J. Frank Richmond March 1942 - November 1942
- 16th COL John B. Reybold November 1942 - August 1944
(Redesignated March 1944 as 15th Cavalry Group, Mechanized)
- 17th LTC Robert J. Quinn August 1944 - June 1945
- 18th COL David Wagstaff June 1945 - April 1946
(Redesignated May 1946 as 15th Constabulary Regiment)
- 19th COL Harold G. Holt April 1946 - July 1947
- 20th COL William H. Hill September 1947 - July 1948
- 21st LTC Evert S. Thomas July 1948 - December 1948
(Inactivated December 1948, reactivated November 1950 as 15th Armored Cavalry Group, Mechanized)
- 22nd COL Alan L. Fulton November 1950 - November 1952
- 23rd LTC Wilbur Stephenson November 1952 - July 1955
(Redesignated September 1953 as 15th Armor Group)
- 24th LTC Delbert Tanner July 1955 - December 1955
(15th Armor Group Inactivated December 1955, incorporated into the Combat Arms Regimental System 1957, regimental headquarters disbanded.)