The American cavalry has been associated for most with Hollywood movies where horsemen charged with revolvers, carbines and swords against the Indians. But there was also a case when the Americans rushed out a la Hollywood in reality and in fact during the Second World War.
Cavalry, when World War II broke out, was considered an obsolete weapon. The American army, the most motorized of the wars, retained few mounted regiments. One of them was the 26th Philippine Scouts.
The 26th Regiment was formed in 1922 in the Philippines. His men were American and Filipino. At the beginning of 1941 the regiment 837 men. It had machine guns, but no mortars, no anti-tanks. When the US entered the war after Pearl Harbor, the 26th was stationed north of Manila with the exception of Island F which was located south of Manila.
The volume of the 26th reinforced with artillery units faced the Japanese invaders on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, losing in five days of fighting ¼ of its men and ½ of its horses. Gradually the regiment retreated with the rest of General MacArthur's units towards Bataan.
Ili F under Lt Edwin Ramsey was in a better condition. Thus he was ordered to secure the village of Morong which the American command believed the Japanese had not yet captured. But he had made a mistake...
Invasion
Ramsay led his army towards the village. Before entering, however, he decided to perform reconnaissance. Thus he himself moved with an ulama of 27 men towards the enemy's gap, supposedly a village. Terrified, the American lieutenant found with his own eyes that the village was full of Japanese soldiers.
Without losing his courage, taking advantage of the surprise of the Japanese that the last thing they expected to see was American cavalry, he ordered his men to advance! The American horsemen had surrendered their sabers since 1934. So the advance was carried out by the horsemen with Colt pistols…
Americans and Filipinos rushed in screaming causing panic among the Japanese who put it to their feet under close range fire. The Japanese abandoned the village and Ramsey soon after deployed the entire island into a line of snipers holding the village for 5 hours, until the arrival of friendly reinforcements.
Eventually the Japanese routed the Allied forces at Bataan. The regiment was disbanded, but the indefatigable Ramsey continued to fight at the head of Filipino guerrillas for the next few years until January 1945 when American forces liberated the island of Luzon. Ramsey fighting all these years had 42 kilos left...
That was the story of the last mounted American warriors until October 22, 2001 when 12 American special forces mounted a raid in Afghanistan... But that's another story.
Lieutenant Ramsey.