Archive for the '1919-1936' Category

Peace Again

May 16th, 2008

From:
ONE HUNDRED YEARS WITH THE SECOND CAVALRY
By Joseph I. Lambert, Major, Second Cavalry
Copyright 1939 Commanding Officer, Second Cavalry, Fort Riley, Kansas
Capper Printing Company, Inc.

From 1919 to 1939 the Second Cavalry performed peace time duties as a school training Regiment at the Cavalry School, Ft. Riley, under the guidance of such men as General Patton, Truscott, Keyes, Mattox, and a host of others.

Here they experimented on the first armored cars, and in 1936 as more money was received for maneuver purposes they participated in the first Armored and cavalry maneuver which was held at Ft. Riley, Kansas.

On May 9, 1936, the Second Cavalry celebrated its centennial — 100 years of devoted service — and some of the men who took part were named S.W. Benkosky; E.C. George; D. Boone; C. Watson; M.F. Caldwell; W.E. Wells; Cook; C.A. Hurt; F.W. Murray and M.G. Winn.

In 1938 two Armored Regiments, the 1st and 13th, joined the Second Cavalry for maneuvers, and with the addition of Artillery and light planes it became an exercise to gain coordination in the use of combined arms.

The invasion of Poland by the German Panzers in 1939 gave increased impetus to the work on American mechanization and led to the first extensive maneuver in 1940 when the Second Cavalry and small Regular Army forces were joined by the 35th and 36th National Guard Divisions for exercises in Northern Minnesota.

By 1941 the Regiment was participating in large scale maneuvers in Louisiana, and served a stretch at Tuscon, Arizona in January 1942 on border duty. Since the emphasis was now on Armor, the Regiment, still a horse outfit, returned to Camp Funston, Ft. Riley, Kansas. Here on 15 May 1942 it was deactivated to form the 2nd Armored Regiment of the 9th Armored Division, the outfit that was to demonstrate its Cavalry training and alertness in the seizure of the Remagen bridge in March 1945.

After the World War

May 15th, 2008

From:
ONE HUNDRED YEARS WITH THE SECOND CAVALRY
By Joseph I. Lambert, Major, Second Cavalry
Copyright 1939 Commanding Officer, Second Cavalry, Fort Riley, Kansas
Capper Printing Company, Inc.

Any chronicle of an organization in peace time is necessarily not as filled with adventurous and exciting events as that of a war period. Officers and enlisted men of the regiment are well acquainted with happenings in the command since the World War. The record as set forth here from the late war through the year 1936 is intended as a faithful story of the highlights of the regimental history.

The Cavalry School was reestablished at Fort Riley following the World War. In order to illustrate the teachings of this school in a practical way, it is necessary to demonstrate the principals taught, by the use of troops. The Second Cavalry was brought to the post primarily to carry out this important duty. The training of the regiment has been carried on to the present time primarily to put into practice this idea. Since the Cavalry Board is also located here, the troops are constantly testing equipment for it. In addition, the regiment must carry on routine training to fit it for active field service.

It was necessary to carry on a recruiting campaign in order to bring the depleted numbers of the organization to working strength. This effort was successful and by the end of the year 1920, the present strength was twenty-eight officers and 964 enlisted men. During this period many soldiers took advantage of the new Educational and Vocational system of schools which offered courses in elementary, grammar, and high school subjects. Enlisted men also took advantage of the recreational athletics, musical and dramatic entertainments, service club, and library.

Before the World War the breeding of riding horses in this country was not done along scientific lines. Many of the horses on ranches and farms were sired by stallions which were not registered or pure bred. The result was that, except for racing animals, there were comparatively fewer horses in this country than in Europe capable of performing in a proper way either in the army or in civilian hands. Continue Reading »