Patton's Iron Cavalry - The Impact of the Mechanized Cavalry on the U.S. Third Army Page: 11
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and the First World War, earning three campaign streamers. Inactivated in 1921, the regiment
was reformed in the expansion of the army after Pearl Harbor.8
The 16th Cavalry group was similar to the 15th in that it was also reactivated in 1942 after
having been disbanded in 1921 by order of the National Defense Act of that same year. With no
battle history or campaign streamers to their credit, the troopers of the 16th Cavalry in Europe
would have to create their own legend.9
The 106th Cavalry group is the lone National Guard representative in this sample.
Originally created in 1921 from existing units, some of which had been in service since 1897, the
106th possessed no battle history of its own, but had inherited three First World War campaign
streamers from pre-existing formations. The regiment was formed from the National Guards of
Illinois and Michigan with a squadron from each state. Like the 6th Cavalry, the 106th had
participated in the horse-mechanized experimentation of the 1930s and early 1940s.
Additionally, its status as a National Guard formation allowed its personnel to remain relatively
stable in the massive reorganization and growth of the army from 1940 to 1943. This stability
would help the 106th gain a reputation as a remarkably fierce and deadly adversary.10
This study assesses these groups' impacts upon the Third Army and demonstrate that the
mechanized cavalry groups, despite serious issues with organization and equipment, were
absolutely critical to the success of the army as a whole. Furthermore, it sheds light upon a
largely forgotten portion of the history of the U.S Army in the ETO.11
8 Ibid., 179-181.
9 Ibid., 181-183.
o10 Ibid., 219-222.
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Nance, William Stuart. Patton's Iron Cavalry - The Impact of the Mechanized Cavalry on the U.S. Third Army, thesis, May 2011; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc68023/m1/17/?rotate=90: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .