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Draft:123rd Cavalry Regiment (United States)

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The 123rd Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment of the United States Army, part of the Kentucky National Guard. Originally organized in 1921 as two machine gun squadrons under the 22nd Cavalry Division, the units were reorganized as a new cavalry regiment in 1929. The 123rd Cavalry was disbanded in 1940 when the National Guard inactivated its cavalry divisions and its elements were converted into two antiaircraft artillery battalions.

Cavalry history

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In 1928-1929, the U.S. Army Cavalry Branch decided to discontinue the usage of separate machine gun squadrons as a part of cavalry brigades, instead assigning one machine gun troop to each cavalry regiment. This coincided with the organization of four new cavalry regiments in the National Guard, most of which were made up of separate cavalry troops and squadrons that had previously been allotted to states under special allotments based upon their historical significance to the states. Most of the National Guard machine gun squadrons were either integrated into new or existing cavalry regiments as those units’ recently authorized third squadrons, or were demobilized.[1]

53rd Machine Gun Squadron

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The 53rd Machine Gun Squadron was constituted in the National Guard on 1 June 1921, assigned to the 22nd Cavalry Division, and allotted to Kentucky. The squadron headquarters was organized on 30 July 1921 and federally recognized at London, Kentucky. The squadron, or elements thereof, was called up to perform the following state duties: strike duty in the coal fields at the Anderson Steel and Newport Rolling Mills near Newport, Kentucky, 2 February–31 March 1922; strike duty at Madisonville, Kentucky, 8 July–30 August 1922, and near Newport, Kentucky, 2 February–24 April 1923; and to preserve order at a criminal trial in Lexington, Kentucky, 1–2 February 1926. The squadron headquarters and headquarters troop was disbanded on 15 January 1927 at London, and reconstituted and federally recognized on 21 February 1927 at Lexington. The squadron conducted annual summer training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, 1922–28. The squadron's subordinate troops were absorbed into the 123rd Cavalry Regiment on 1 April 1929, and the headquarters and headquarters troop was demobilized on 30 June 1929.[2]

54th Machine Gun Squadron

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The 54th Machine Gun Squadron was constituted in the National Guard on 1 June 1921, assigned to the 22nd Cavalry Division, and allotted to Kentucky. The squadron headquarters was organized on 29 November 1922 and federally recognized at Monticello, Kentucky. The headquarters and headquarters troop was disbanded on 10 April 1924 at Monticello, reconstituted on 3 July 1924, and organized at Frankfort, Kentucky. The squadron, or elements thereof, wad called up to perform the following state duties: strike duties in the coal fields at the Anderson Steel and Newport Rolling Mills near Newport, Kentucky, 2 February–31 March 1922; strike duties at Madisonville, Kentucky, 8 July–30 August 1922; strike duties near Newport, 2 February–24 April 1923; strike duties at the Straight Creek Mining District, 8 April–14 May 1924; strike duties at the Dix River Dam,10–17 November 1924; to preserve law and order at Sand Cave, Kentucky, 2 February–18 March 1925, during the rescue attempt to save the celebrated cave explorer Floyd Collins; criminal trials in Lexington, Kentucky, 1–2 February 1926, and Louisville, Kentucky, 22–28 April 1926; and to preserve order at the rape trial of two Negro men at Madisonville, 23–26 November 1927. The squadron conducted annual summer training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, 1922–28. Subordinate troops were absorbed into the 123rd Cavalry Regiment on 1 April 1929, and the squadron headquarters and headquarters troop was demobilized on 30 June 1929.[3]

123rd Cavalry Regiment

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The 123rd Cavalry Regiment was constituted in the National Guard on 15 March 1929, assigned to the 22nd Cavalry Division, and allotted to the state of Kentucky. The regimental headquarters was organized on 1 April 1929 and federally recognized at Louisville, Kentucky. Subordinate squadron headquarters were organized and federally recognized on 1 May 1930 as follows: 1st Squadron at Frankfort, Kentucky; 2nd Squadron at Springfield, Kentucky; and 3rd Squadron at Covington, Kentucky. Subordinate troops were organized from existing troops of the demobilized 53rd and 54th Machine Gun Squadrons. The regiment, or elements thereof, was called up to perform the following state duties: 3rd Squadron for preservation of order at a criminal trial at Elizabethtown, Kentucky, 28 April–2 May 1931; entire regiment to perform riot control at the coal miners’ strike in Harlan County, Kentucky, 6 May–30 June 1931; entire regiment to perform flood relief duties along the Ohio River, January–February 1937; several elements to perform strike duties in eastern Kentucky during May–June 1939. Conducted summer training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, 1929–40. The regiment was relieved on 1 November 1940 from the 22nd Cavalry Division. Concurrently, the regimental headquarters was disbanded and subordinate elements were used to form the 103rd and 106th Separate Battalion, Coast Artillery (Antiaircraft)..[4]

Coast artillery legacy

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103rd Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion (Mobile)

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The 103rd Separate Battalion, Coast Artillery (Antiaircraft) was inducted into federal service at home stations on 24 February 1941, and later reorganized as an automatic weapons battalion, equipped with M45 Quadmounts on M17 trailers and Bofors 40 mm L/60 guns on cruciform mounts, both towed by GMC CCKW 2½-ton 6×6 trucks. The battalion sailed from the New York Port of Embarkation on 30 April 1942 and arrived in Northern Ireland on 15 May 1942. It landed in North Africa on 8 December 1942 and in Sicily during the first day of Operation Husky on 9 July 1943. It returned to England on 9 December 1943 and prepared for the Allied invasion of German-occupied France, landing in France after D-Day on 10 June 1944. In August 1945, after the end of World War II in Europe, it was stationed near Kynšperk nad Ohří, Czechoslovakia.

106th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion (Self-Propelled)

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References

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  1. ^ Clay, Steven E. (2010). U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941, Volume 1. The Arms: Cavalry, Field Artillery, and Coast Artillery, 1919-41. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. p. 666.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ Clay, Steven E. (2010). U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941, Volume 1. The Arms: Cavalry, Field Artillery, and Coast Artillery, 1919-41. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. p. 670.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ Clay, Steven E. (2010). U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941, Volume 1. The Arms: Cavalry, Field Artillery, and Coast Artillery, 1919-41. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. p. 671.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ Clay, Steven E. (2010). U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941, Volume 1. The Arms: Cavalry, Field Artillery, and Coast Artillery, 1919-41. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. p. 639.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.