WWII M1931 Guidon; 100th Cavalry Recon Troop (Mechanized), 100th DIV; Circa 1943

Description

WWII U.S. M1931 Guidon
100th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, 100th Infantry Division
For your consideration is this beautiful U.S. Model 1931, 100th Cav Rcn Tr Guidon.
Guidon Make:
This guidon was heavily used in the field during World War II. This guidon measures 27” x 21” with the sleeve measures 2-1/4” x 21”.
This guidon is made of a dyed red linen top piece that measures 27” x 10-1/2”. This piece is sewn to a white piece of linen that measures 27” x 10-1/2”.
The bottom white section of this guidon has applied linen numbers & letters that reads, “100 RCN”.
This guidon’s sleeve is lined with a leather tab in the upper & lower sleeve.
The reverse has a mirrored “NCR 001”.
The 100th RCN fought at “Rhineland, Ardennes - Alsace, Central Europe”. This is a theater made piece that was constructed in Europe in 1944 from a cannibalized AXIS flag. It was most likely a NAZI or Austrian flag.
The unit was disbanded 26 January 1946.
Condition:
The overall condition of this guidon is a 7.5 out of 10.
The issue with this piece is that it is sun bleached from usage in the field. The bleaching is due to dies not being set properly on a thin linen material.
This is an extremely rare Cavalry Corps Guidon from the very end of the Cavalry Corps.
199th INFANTRY BRIGADE
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 199th Infantry Brigade
Linage and Honors
Constituted 24 June 1921 in the Organized Reserves as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 199th Infantry Brigade, an element of the 100th Division. Organized in December 1921 at Huntington, West Virginia. Redesignated 23 March 1925 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 199th Brigade. Location changed 27 October 1931 to Parkersburg, West Virginia. Redesigned 24 August 1936 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 199th Infantry Brigade.
Converted and Redesignated 23 February 1942 as 100th Reconnaissance Troop (less 3rd Platoon), 100th Division (Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 200th Infantry Brigade, concurrently converted and redesignated as the 3rd Platoon, 100th Reconnaissance Troop, 100th Division). Troop ordered into active military service 15 November 1942 and reorganized at Fort Jackson, South Carolina as the 100th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, an element of the 100th Infantry Division. Reorganized and Redesignated 2 August 1943 as the 100th Reconnaissance Troop, Mechanized. Reorganized and Redesignated 7 September 1945 as the 100th Mechanized Reconnaissance Troop. Inactivated 11 January 1946 at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia. Redesignated 15 October 1946 as Reconnaissance Platoon, 100th Airborne Division. Activated 2 December 1946 at Louisville, Kentucky. (Organized Reserves Redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps; Redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve). Reorganized and Redesignated 31 August 1950 Anti-tank Platoon, 100th Airborne Division. Reorganized and Redesignated 12 May 1952 as the 100th Reconnaissance Company, an element of the 100th Infantry Division. Inactivated 22 April 1953 at Louisville, Kentucky. Activated 9 April 1955 at Neon, Kentucky. Disbanded 17 April 1959 at Neon, Kentucky.
Reconstituted (less 3rd Platoon) 23 March 1966 in the Regular Army as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 199th Infantry Brigade (3rd Platoon, 100th Reconnaissance Company- hereafter separate linage.) Activated 1 June 1966 at Fort Benning, Georgia. Inactivated 15 October 1970 at Fort Benning, Georgia.
WWII
Rhineland
Ardennes - Alsace
Central Europe
VIETNAM
Counteroffensive, Phase II
Counteroffensive, Phase III
Tet Counteroffensive
Counteroffensive, Phase IV
Counteroffensive, Phase V
Counteroffensive, Phase VI
Tet 69/Counteroffensive
Summer - Fall 1969
Winter - Spring 1970
Sanctuary Counteroffensive
Counteroffensive, Phase VII
Decorations
Valorous Unit Award, Streamer Embroidered SAIGON-LONG BINH (Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 199th Infantry Brigade, cited: DA GO 48, 1968)
Meritorious Unit Commendation, Streamer Embroidered Vietnam 1968 - 1969 (Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 199th Infantry Brigade, cited: DA GO 39, 1970)
Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palms, Streamer Embroidered Vietnam 1968 (Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 199th Infantry Brigade, cited: DA GO 43, 1970)
Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palms Streamer Embroidered Vietnam 1968 - 1970 (Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 199th Infantry Brigade, cited: DA GO 51, 1971)
Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class, Streamer Embroidered Vietnam 1966 - 1970 (Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 199th Infantry Brigade, cited: DA GO 51, 1971)
WWII
Mobilization
On 23 February 1942, the 199th and 200th Infantry Brigade headquarters were disbanded, and the division was placed in command of the 397th, 398th, and 399th Infantry Regiments directly; the 400th Infantry Regiment was inactivated by relief of Reserve personnel. The 100th Infantry Division was ordered into active military service on 15 November 1942 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The enlisted and officer cadre came from the 76th Infantry Division. The commander of the 100th was Major General Withers A. Burress, one of only eleven generals who commanded their divisions from mobilization until the end of the war.
From late 1943 to early 1944, the division trained in the mountains of Tennessee and was subsequently sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for further training. While at Fort Bragg, Technical Sergeant Walter L. Bull earned the first Expert Infantryman's Badge.
Order of Battle
•Headquarters, 100th Infantry Division
•397th Infantry Regiment
•398th Infantry Regiment
•399th Infantry Regiment
•Headquarters and Headquarters *Battery, 100th Infantry Division Artillery
*373rd Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm)
*374th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
*375th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
*925th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm)
•325th Engineer Combat Battalion
•325th Medical Battalion
•
100th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized)
•Headquarters, Special Troops, 100th Infantry Division
* Headquarters Company, 100th Infantry Division
*800th Ordnance Light *Maintenance Company
*100th Quartermaster Company
*100th Signal Company
*Military Police Platoon
*Band
•100th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment
The division sailed to Europe on 6 October of that year. The division arrived at Marseille, France on 20 October. It was made part of VI Corps of the Seventh United States Army, Sixth United States Army Group.
European Theater
As soon as the division was prepared for combat, it began moving into the Meurthe-et-Moselle region, and sent its first elements into combat at St. Remy in the Vosges Mountains on 1 November 1944. The division as a whole began the relief of the 45th Infantry Division at Baccarat on 5 November, and assumed control of the sector on 9 November. The attack jumped off on 12 November, and the division drove against the German Winter Line in the Vosges Mountains. The 100th took Bertrichamps and Clairupt, pierced the German line, and seized Raon-l'Étape and Saint-Blaise-Moyenmoutier between 16 and 26 November. Later in November the division moved into the Vosges region, elements assisted in holding the Saverne Gap bridgehead while the bulk of the division went into reserve. The unit was relieved from assignment to VI Corps and transferred to the US XV Corps on 27 November 1944. It then moved into the Moselle region.
In December 1944, the division went on the offensive in the vicinity of Bitche, France. The division occupied the nearby areas of Wingen and Lemberg after fierce fighting on 6–10 December. The division then advanced to Reyersviller, which fell after fighting on 11–13 December. On 14 December, regiments from the 100th started their assault on a minor fortification Freundenburg and Fort Schiesseck, a major defensive work in the region. Fort Freundenburg was captured on 17 December by the 100th division's 398th Infantry Regiment. Fort Schiesseck capitulated after three more days of heavy assault by the 100th on 20 December. The division was ordered to halt its attack and to hold defensive positions south of Bitche as part of the Seventh Army during the Battle of the Bulge.Thanks to a stout defense, the men of the 100th later became known as the "Sons of Bitche". The German counterattacks of 1 and 8–10 January 1945 were repulsed, after heavy fighting at Bitche. After further attacks stalled and the Germans began to withdraw, the sector was generally quiet and the division prepared to resume its offensive east.
On 15 March 1945, the attack jumped off and on 16 March, Bitche fell to the 100th Infantry Division. The unit was then relieved from assignment to XV Corps, and transferred to XXI Corps on 22 March 1945. Taking Neustadt and Ludwigshafen, the division reached the Rhine River on 24 March. On 25 March 1945, the unit was returned from XXI Corps back to VI Corps. On 31 March 1945, the 100th Infantry Division crossed the Rhine and moved south in the wake of the 10th Armored Division and then east across the Neckar River, establishing and enlarging a bridgehead from 4 to 11 April. Heilbronn fell after nine days of house-to-house combat on 12 April and the division resumed its rapid pursuit of the enemy, reaching Stuttgart by 21 April. The 100th was mopping up along the Neckar, southeast of Stuttgart on 23 April, when it was removed from VI Corps and assigned directly to the Seventh United States Army as an Echelon Above Corps Asset. The division was then assigned primarily to patrolling the sector east of Stuttgart. Shifting to Göppingen on 30 April, the Division engaged in occupational duties as the war in Europe came to an end on V-E Day. The division had spent 163 days in combat.
The division took 13,351 enemy prisoners of war on its own. Members of the division won three Medals of Honor, seven Distinguished Service Crosses, five Legions of Merit, 492 Silver Star Medals, 23 Soldier's Medals, 5,156 Bronze Star Medals, and 90 Air Medals. The division itself was awarded three campaign streamers for participation in the campaign.
100th Infantry Division returned to the United States via the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation on 10 January 1946, and was released from active duty at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia that day. The division then began the process of demobilization, before inactivating on 26 January 1946.