6th armored cavalry this is your regiment

8/7/2019 6th Armored Cavalry This is Your Regiment

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DEDICATED

To those members of the

regiment who have given

their lives in the battlesof their country.

FOREWORDThis history is designed to give

members of the regiment a briefglimpse into the background of

The Fighting Sixth. Being brief,

this work can only sketch thosehighlights of history in which this

Regiment played a part.

Three


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A HOUSE DIVIDED

The c ras h of cannon at Fo rt Sumter in the spri ngof 1861 sp lit the Union acro ss the middle, dividing the

North and the South into two armed camps. Rightly(P

wrongly, ea ch felt that right was on its s id e and thatit must fight for its beliefs. Mobilization began.

On 4 May 1861, president Abraham Lincoln issuedthe m obilization proclamation for the North, and the 6thUS Cavalry was formed. Although the original namewas the 3d US Cavalry, all cavalry was reorganized byCongress on 3 August 1861, and the name wa s changedto the 6th US Cavalry. From that time until this, theSixth ha s been on continuous active duty, throughthirty-five major campaigns and a dozen foreign coun-tries.

From August 1861 unt il March 1862 the Regimentrecruite d and trained i t s members from Ohio, Penn syl-vania and New York. On 10March 1862, it began itscareer, which has won it the title of The Fightin g

Sixth, when it took to the field in the Centersvilleand Manass as area. From that dat e until Appamattox-and peace-the command engaged in frequent, bitterand bloody battles with the Army of the Potomac.

Throughout the ci vi l War the Sixth fought underthe top le ad ers of the North a ga in st top commanders ofthe South. Severa l times during th e war the Regimentcrosse d sab res with General J. E. B. Stuarts cavalry,both in the atta ck and in the defense. On 16 June1862, it fought a s uccess ful delaying action again stthe Confederate leader at Ha c k Creek when his caval-ry succ eed ed in getting in the rear of Union forces.At the Batt le of Gettysburg in July 1863, the Sixth wasSi x I Seven


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Tarchamps, and the zone assigned to the Sixth CavalryGroup was cleared quickly. Having completed its mis-

sion, and by doing so, making possible the advance of the units on its flanks, the Sixth Cavalry Group. i n fur- therance of the Corps plan, requested and was grantedpermission to advance far beyond its original objective.The Group drove on and assisted in the capture ofSoniez. The outstanding action of the Sixth Cavalry

Group broke the back of the German resistance in theHarlange pocket, which had held up the Corps advance for a period of 11 days. The determination and indomi-

table fighting spirit of these courageous officers and men exemplify the finest traditions of the MilitaryService.

By order of the Secretary of War:

Official:

Gen. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWERChief of Staff

EDWARD F. WITZELMajor General, the Adjutant General

Twenty-efght

1. For as long as each of us shall live we shallhear the unceasing praise of men and nations ringingin our ears - praise for the victory the armies of TheUnited Nations have won, the tribute of civilization

for the freedoms our force of arms ha s preserved in an- cient Europe. This honor is the appreciation of the

world to you, men of the 6th Cavalry Squadron.

2. Youknow, as I, that this acc laim was won in

the blood of those whom we left on each battlefield. Ishall ever remember with you: . . . The concussion andcrack of our guns trying to silence the German Reply

at CARLING; . ..The miserable, cold, glowing, stink-ing silence ofChristmas Night. 1944, at TINTANGE

and BIGONVILLE; ... The ice-lined, drift-filled fox-holes in front of the little mill at BETLANGE; ...The convergence of our tracers on German targets aswe rolled across the snow into TARCHAMPS; . . .Th e

deep drifts, steep pine forests, north and south of

ESCHWEILER; .. . The appearance of those pill-boxesacross the OUR RIVER and the way we eased across, covered by a mantle of fog at STOLZEMBOURG; . ..The impregnable SIEGFRIED LINE and our passage

through it; ...The barrages that fell on WAXWEILER

as we fought in and out of the valley; and, damnit, thesame thing again at LASEL; .. . The confusion of thatnight march to SPESSART; . ..The debacle at ANDER- NACH; .. . The day we rolled across the RHEIN, theroadblocks enroute to ZOLHAUS, the dumbfounded

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Germans in the valley up to PANROD, the way we got

to GIESSEN and LANG GONS; . .. How we got aroundWERDAU and later took the place; .. . The end run

around ZWICKAU to cut the Autobahn; . ., Our threecolumns into ADORF, and the ro ads that disappearedwhere we stopped on the CZECHOSLOVAKIAN border

on VE-Day.

ron Commander are the praise of men and of the UnitedStates for what you have accomplished. The reward

which is mine and mine alone is the honor of havingserved as Commander of the Sixth Cavalry Squa dron.For each round you fired; each yard you progressed; for each patient minute on each outpost; for each bold second that you attacked; for each bolt, gear, and valve

you kept running; for each word or signal you sent byelectric impulse through the air; each mouthful of food

you provided; each drop of gasoline you brought for-ward; each order and report you wrote for me; each pa-

per you processed; each letter you typed - for these things Iowe my everlasting appreciation. This I can-

not express.

shall never again share with you, I leave my assign- ment as your Commander, and turn over my reins to thequalified hands of those who helped me through our

3. Those rewards which come to me as your Squad-

4. With reluctance and with a sentiment that I

campaign across Europe. May the blessings of God,

men, and history continue to smile upon you whe rever

time and the nation guides the future of the Sixth Cav-alry Squadron - always, DUCIT AMOR PATRIAE.

SAMUEL McC Goodwin Lt. Col., CavalryCommanding

OCCUPATlON AND REORGANIZATION

Long beforetioned Germa

assigned onepowers of USoviet Russi a.and waited forto st ep into tlaw and order.the "big stick"that Germany

and take the

On 8 MayCavalry GroupGerman bordeedto remainafter hostilities

Berlin for aBavaria, theirroad blocks, I

US insta l la t io

The second major reorganization of the Regimenttook place on 1 May 1946 when it was redesignatedSixth Constabthe 6th and 28th

joined by theby the 13th Clary was desioccupying force.

On 1 Julysibility for se

V-E Day arrived, the Allies had appor-ny and Austria into four zones each and

of these zones to each of the four bignited States, Great Britain, France and. Military governments had been set up

long months for the end ofthe war, readyhe devastated and beaten land and return

The military governmentswere to carryof occupying troops, to make ce rta in

would abandon the low road of fascismhigh road of democracy

1945, when hostilities ceased,. --

in Germany for occupation duty. Sceased, two squadrons marched

four month period. Upon returning tomain duties included maintenance of motor patrols and the guarding of varin s within their area of responsibility

the Sixthfound itself on the Czechoslovakian-

r. As a Regular Army unit it was select-

oonto

ous

"=a

a-

th eiulary Regiment. The squadrons became

Constabulary Squadrons, and were53d Constabulary Squadron, and in Juneonstabulary Squadron. Th e US Constabu-gned to perform the specif ic dut ies ofan

1946, the regiment assumed the respon-curity a long most of the US Zone of Ge r -

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many, as well as a large in ter ior area .The ir main du-t ies were to quel l the Black Market , pat rol borders,and po l ice the Ci t izen ry . The i r veh ic les were M-8

Armored Cars, jee ps , and motorcycles. Str iped helmetand yel low scarves marked the colorful mounted parade

through the streets of various cities and towns DuringSeptember 1948, th e Regimental Headquar ters moved

to Straubing, relieving the 11th Constabulary Regiment

(now the 11th Armored Cavalry) for the Second t ime(the first being at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, in 1919).

occupation completed. the Sixth was again reorganizedre-equipped, and redesignated as the 6th Armored Cav-

alry. Armored Cars and motorcycles gave way to lightand medium tanks and jeeps . Squadrons and Troopsbecame Battal ions and Companies. The organizationand equipment became substantially the same as theregiment h as today.

scale f ield t raining exercises and maneuvers. Withthe outbreak of hos t i l i t ies in Korea, the tens ion and

training increased. Grafenwohr, Camp de Munsingen and,Hohne became a s familiar asthe home s tatio ns ofDeggerndorf, Landshut, Straubing, and Regensburg.

Although faced by 172 rugged mountain miles ofborder to patrol, the regiment found time to assist theGerman People. During the terrible floods of the Dan-ube River each spring, troops worked around the clockon mercy mission s; however, regimental assistancewas not limited to times of disaster. Orphanages andschoo ls were helped materially e ach Christmas a s officers and men donated freely and wrote home for cloth-

ing and other necessities for the children.

German Rifle and Shooting Clubs often listed the

names of Sixth Cavalrymen a s members. Hunting andfis hin e oarti es found Germans and Americans si de bv

On 20 December 1948, with the first phase of the

In 1949 , the r eg iment par t i c ipa ted in f ive l a rge


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War and hatred faded a s the years rolled by andfriendships grew. On a cold rainy day in February1957, a s the Sixth staged its final review before return-ing to the United States, i t was presented a large sil-

ver shield by the Bavarian Government. Theshieldbears the inscription To The Sixth Armored CavalryRegiment (The Shield ofBavaria For Its OutstandingService in Bavaria, 20 , November 1948, 17 March 1957,

Dr . Wilhelm Hoegner, Minister President of Bavaria.It symbolized the warm friendship which had arisen

during the post-war years between the regiment and thepeople i t had helped to conquer and remained to pro-tect. This isthe only known official recognition given

an American unit by a state of Germany since prior toWorld War II.

Thus th e ("Fighting Sixth ended it s tour on theeasternmost outpost of democracy a s it again ex-changed duty statio ns for the third time with the 11th

Armored Cavalry under Operation Gyroscope.a n absence of almost 14 years, the regiment returnedto American soil aboard the USNS Gei ger and the USNSBuckner, arriving i n New York late in March 1957.

Fort Knox, Kentucky was t o be our new home.

Its fi rs t major mission a t the "Home of Armor"

to furnish lo gisti cal support to Reserve and NatioGuard Units during their summer training periods.Second Battalion, reinforced by members of the otbattalions cordoned the streets of Williamsburg,ginia, during the vi sit of Queen Elizabeth IIof GreatBrita in in October 1957. Following th e Queens visit.

the troops participated in the reenactment of theof Yorktown (Virginia). Some wore the white unif

of the French while others portrayed the ColonialAmerican Forces . Their outs tanding performance

brought personal prais e from Pre sid ent Eisenhower anda letter of appreciation from the Secretary of the Army.Mr. Wilber M. Brucker.

The Regiment began writing a new chapter inhistory in early January 1958 as 1400 young men re-

Thirty-four

After

was

nalThe

herVir-

Battleorms

its

ported to begin their military training. Upon comple-tion of their Basi c Training they s ai l for Europeand the 11th Armored Cavalry.

tradi tions of t he old Army and the duti es ofthe hourwere our creed. From garrison to combat, as the du-ties of the hour sh all dictate, the Fighting Sixth

will maintain the highest traditions of the Armyas itha s during the 98 y e a r s ofi ts valiant history.

The words of General Pershing are still true-"The

THIS IS YOUR REGIMENT

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AF P-4720-O-Army-Knox- Apr 58- 10M

6th armored cavalry this is your regiment

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