USAFFE
United States Army Forces
in the Far East 1941

MacArthur Restructuring

by Greg Novak

The major problem that MacArthur saw in upping the strength of the 45th and 57th Infantry Regiments was that enlistees that would meet the standards of the Scouts in serving as privates would be better used as NCOs in the new divisions of the new Philippine Army. When the Philippine Army was called into US service, the pay scale did not change even though they were now serving in the US Army. Members of the Scouts were paid on the US scale, members of the Philippine Army on their lower pay scale. Given one's choice in the matter, the best personnel would volunteer for Scout openings.

The solution to disband the 45th Infantry Regiment was adopted but never carried out. The personnel from that unit were to be placed in the remaining Scout units, including the 57th to bring them up to full war strength. To replace the 57th, two American Infantry Regiments were to be shipped out to the Philippines. The 161st Infantry, a unit of the Montana National Guard left homeless when the 41st Infantry Division converted from the four regiment square organization to the three regiment triangular, was to replace the 45th. In addition, the 34th Infantry Regiment, an infantry regiment of the Regular Army, would travel with the 161st, and upon arrival in the Philippines, would be used to complete the 31st and 16lst to war strength. Both regiments were actually traveling on December 7 to San Francisco to embark for the Philippines, with a projected arrival date in Manila of December 30. They were both diverted to Hawaii to join the garrison there, and ended up helping form the 24th and 25th Infantry Divisions when the Hawaiian Division was split in two in mid 1942.

To support the infantry elements of the Philippine Division, there were a number of other combat units, among which was the 26th Cavalry (PS). The oversized US Cavalry Regiments of WWI had been downsized during the 1920s and 1930s to a far smaller organization. One of the last of the Army's mounted cavalry units, it was an interesting mixture of mounted and mechanized troops.

The 26th is often said to have had a lower TO&E than the its sister cavalry regiments. However, this was not the case, as the 26th was as strong as the mainland regiments. The problem is a case of comparing who to what. The stateside mounted cavalry regiments during the 1930s had been reduced to two squadrons of two rifle troops, as opposed to the 26th's two squadrons of three rifle troops. They had regained their third rifle troop in 1941, making them equal to the 26th in size. The problem comes when you compare it to the other cavalry regiment of 1941.

As the US Cavalry attempted to find a new role for itself in 1940-41, it experimented with various new TO&Es to recreate a new regiment for WWII. The Horse-Mechanized Regiment of 1941 was the answer that was used for the National Guard Cavalry Regiments called into federal service. This organization, which was never used in combat, consisted of a regimental headquarters, a mechanized cavalry squadron, a mounted cavalry squadron, and a transport element. This last unit had sufficient transport to pick up the mounted squadron and move it by truck, after which it would dismount and go riding off into action. The fact that this last element used up personnel and transport without a combat purpose doomed this TO&E. However, compared to this unique TO&E, the 26th was at a lower strength than these stateside cavalry units.

The 26th had the following:

26th Cavalry Regiment, 1941, with: Experienced; Morale: 9

Regimental Headquarters, with 1 mounted command stand and 1 command car
Regimental Headquarters, with

    1 staff radio truck
    1 mounted band
    1 support stand
    1 light truck

Regimental Weapons Troop, with; 2 M3A1 Scout Cars with AAMG and 2 MMG stands

Regimental Supply Troop, with

    1 mounted support stand
    2 pack mule stands
    1 supply truck with field kitchen

2 Cavalry Squadrons, each with:

    Squadron Headquarters, with:
      1 mounted command stand
      1 recon cavalry stand
      3 Troops, each with:
        1 command cavalry stand
        2 cavalry stands
        1 cavalry pack LMG stand

Notes

1. The cavalry pack LMG stands must be dismounted to fire, they may not fire mounted. They move as cavalry stands however, and not as pack stands.

2. The Weapons Troop contained the American version of the machinegun cart. While the MMG stands are mounted in the scout car, allow it to fire T: AAMG, MG. If the MMG stands dismount, they fire as a Scout MMG stand, and the scout car may only fire T:AAMG.

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© Copyright 1993 by Greg Novak.
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