History
The 14th Cavalry was constituted February 2, 1901 by War Department General Order Number 14. The unit was organized at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, March 5, 1901.
The 14th was stationed in the Philippines from 1903–1906 during the insurgency campaigns. Upon successful completion of that campaign in 1906, the regiment then returned home to the United States and took up garrisons in the Pacific Northwest, where it assumed peacetime duties. The regiment was called back to the Philippines in 1909, although this time it was only engaged in garrison duties and training.
In 1912, the regiment was called for service in the Mexican campaign, joining General 'Black Jack' Pershing's expeditionary forces in the summer of 1916, chasing bandits throughout the Mexican plains. The regiment then returned back to Texas, where it began the task of border patrolling until 1918, when it was called into service in Europe. The Armistice at Versailles was signed before the regiment could cross the Atlantic and the regiment resumed its border patrol mission.
In 1920, the 14th Cavalry Regiment moved to Iowa and for approximately the next two decades served in a peacetime capacity. In 1942, the regiment was inactivated, and from its lineage came the 14th Cavalry Group, 14th Tank Battalion and 711th Tank Battalion. On 28 August 1944, the 14th Cavalry Group sailed for Europe, where it landed on Omaha Beach on 30 September and pressed east. On 18 October, the unit was split into the 18th Squadron, attached to the 2nd Infantry Division, and the 32nd Squadron, attached to the 83rd Infantry Division.
The unit regained its autonomy on 12 December 1944 and began guarding the Losheim Gap in Belgium. On 16 December, the 14th Cavalry Group received the full brunt of the German winter counteroffensive in the Battle of the Bulge. After two days of savage fighting, the unit reassembled at Vielsam, Belgium and was attached to the 7th Armored Division.
On 23 December, the unit secured the southern flank of the perimeter, which allowed friendly troops to withdraw to safety. On 25 December, the unit was reequipped, attached to the XVIII Airborne Corps and moved back into the Bulge to push back the German Army. After the bloody and brutal fight in the Ardennes, the regiment was assigned to the 3rd US Army, and ended the war near the Austrian border.
While the 14th Cavalry Group was fighting the German Army at the Battle of the Bulge, the 14th Tank Battalion was assigned to the 9th Armored Division's Combat Command B (CCB) and took part in operations in the vicinity of St. Vith, Belgium from 17 to 23 December 1944. The battalion was subject to constant German tank and infantry attacks, repeatedly throwing back the numerically superior attacking German forces while sustaining heavy losses. By denying the Germans their objective, the 14th Tank Battalion disrupted the enemy's time line and momentum, causing the Germans to divert a Corps to capture St. Vith. For seven days, the 14th Tank Battalion, as part of CCB, held St. Vith before being ordered to withdraw west of the Salm River. For their actions in defense of St. Vith, the 14th Tank Battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.
The 14th Tank Battalion again attained fame on 7 March 1945 by unexpectedly seizing the Ludendorf railroad bridge at Remagen and helped establish the first Allied bridgehead over the Rhine River. A Company led the advance across the bridge and established fighting positions on the eastern side, repelling multiple German counterattacks by armor and infantry. After ten days of withstanding enemy attacks by ground, air and waterborne forces, the Ludendorf bridge fell; however, by this time, additional pontoon bridges had been established and the bridgehead reinforced, allowing the unimpeded movement of US forces into Germany. For their actions, four soldiers from the 14th Tank Battalion were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the battalion was awarded its second Presidential Unit Citation.
After World War II, the group was reorganized as the 14th Constabulary Regiment and served as a police unit until 1948, when it as again reorganized as the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment and served until 1972 as such on "Freedoms Frontier" at Fulda, Bad Kissingen and Bad Hersfeld, Germany, performing reconnaissance and border duties for NATO until its colors were cased and it was replaced by the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment.
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