By Major William Carraway
Historian, Georgia Army National Guard
Left: Battery A, 1-118th Field Artillery Regiment in 2014. Right: The Effingham Hussars, Sept. 10, 1901. Georgia National Guard Archives. |
The Springfield-based
Battery A, 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment has
a long rich history. Although federally recognized as the 48th
Military Police Company March 22, 1948 during the post-World War II reorganization
of the Georgia National Guard, the Springfield unit also carries on the lineage
of the Effingham Hussars which was raised in 1846.
Early
History
The
Effingham Hussars entered Confederate service in April 1861 and served in and around
Savannah initially under the command of Captain Edward Bird. In January 1863,
the Hussars were assigned as Company I, 5th Georgia Cavalry under
the command of Capt. Henry Strobhar. Also serving in the 5th Georgia
Cavalry were the Georgia Hussars and Liberty Independent Troop who would go on
to serve in the Georgia National Guard’s 108th Cavalry Regiment. Capt. Henry Strobhar
The 5th
Cavalry served in South Carolina before returning to Georgia in 1864 whereupon
it took part in the battles of the Atlanta Campaign. The 5th Cavalry
surrendered in Hillsboro, N.C. April 26, 1865.
Reorganization
and Mobilization
Following
reconstruction, the Effingham Hussars were reconstituted as a unit of the
Georgia Volunteers July 11, 1872. The Hussars were dissolved in 1910. Reconstituted June
18, 1921 as Company A, 164th Engineers, the company was redesignated Company E,
133rd Engineers May 7, 1924 and subsequently designated the 30th
Military Police Company June 1, 1928. The 30th MP Company was
accepted into federal service September 16, 1940 and served in the European
Theater of Operations with the 30th Division. Landing at Omaha Beach
June 10, 1944, the 30th was heavily engaged in action against St. Lo
and again at Mortain August 6, 1944. Driving east across Belgium, the 30th
assaulted the Siegfried Line and helped stem the German offensive in the
Ardennes in 1945. Crossing the Rhine March 24, 1945, the 30th
advanced through Germany reaching the Elbe. The 30th returned to the
United States in 1945 after more than 280 days in combat and its units were
inactivated.[1]
Post
World War II and the 48th DivisionThe 48th Military Police Company in 1947. Georgia National Guard Archives.
On November
13, 1947, the Georgia National Guard was authorized to reorganize the Springfield
unit as the 48th Military Police Company. The unit was federally
recognized March 22, 1948 and assigned to the 48th Infantry
Division. In 1953, the 48th MP Company won the Governor’s Trophy,
which was presented annually to the company that achieved the highest
percentage in weapons qualifications at annual training.
The Springfield-based Battery C, 230th Field Artillery Battalion in 1958. Georgia National Guard Archives. |
Left to right: an M54 and M7 105 mm self propelled howitzer of the 48th Armor Division. Georgia National Guard Archives. |
Over the
Labor Day weekend in 1958, Springfield Soldiers assisted Georgia State Patrol in
Operation Deathless, an effort to reduce traffic fatalities over the busy holiday
travel period.
A June 1959 Army-wide
reorganization redesignated the Springfield unit as Battery C, 1st
Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment.[4]
Battery C was recognized July 1, 1961 with the award for the best drilled
howitzer section at annual training at Fort Stewart. The unit continued its
exemplary performance with a superior rating in the 1962 inspector general’s
inspection, a feat that it would accomplish several times over the years.
Loss of
the 48th Division and the M109 Era
As part of
an Army-wide restructuring, the Georgia National Guard lost the 48th
Armor Division January 1, 1968. This reorganization prompted the Springfield unit’s
redesignation as Battery C, 2nd Battalion 214th Field
Artillery Regiment.[5] The
2-214th, with units in Savannah, Springfield and Statesboro was part
of the newly established 118th Field Artillery Group (redesignated
the 118th FA Brigade in 1980) and was issued the M-109 155 mm
self-propelled howitzer in fiscal year 1970.
M-109 Howitzers of the Springfield-based Battery C, 2nd Battalion 214th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Stewart in 1973. Georgia National Guard Archives. |
Specialist 4 Isaiah Brown sets the cradleon the gun tube of an M-109 of theSpringfield-based Battery C, 2-214th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Stewart in 1983. Georgia National Guard Archives. |
During the 1983 annual training, the 2-214 became the first reserve unit in the United States Army to pass nuclear fire qualification testing. Conducted over 65 hours under field conditions at Fort Stewart, the nuclear firing test required the Guardsmen to complete 51 firing exercises under grueling time and accuracy standards. The 2-214 far exceeded the standard of 80 percent by successfully completing 50 of 51 missions.[6]
The Georgia National Guard underwent a major reorganization in 1993 which brought about the loss several units including the 118th Field Artillery Brigade, 122nd TLAT and the 2-214th.[7] As a result, the Springfield unit received its current designation as Battery A, 1-118th Field Artillery[8] and was assigned to the 48th Brigade. The 118th accompanied the 48th to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif May 25 to June 15, 1996.
War on
Terror
The 118th FA deployed to Iraq in 2005 with the 48th Infantry Brigade. With the brigade’s reorganization as the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the 118th traded in its Paladins for 105 mm towed howitzers. Battery A mobilized to Afghanistan in 2010 and was recognized with a first-place finish in the Army Award for Maintenance Excellence competition in 2016. The battery again deployed with the 118th to Afghaninstan in 2018 and returned in 2019. Just months later, the 118th was tasked to support the state's coordinated response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Beginning in April 2020, the 118th staffed infection control teams and assisted hospitals and food bank operations.
Soldiers of Battery A, 118th Field Artillery Regiment fire live rounds from their M777 Howitzer at Fort Stewart Dec. 11, 2018. Photo by Maj. William Carraway |
[1] “30th
Division: Old Hickory.” https://www.armydivs.com/30th-infantry-division#:~:text=The%2030th%20Infantry%20Division%20arrived,Lo%20break%2Dthrough.
[2] NG
AROTO 325.4 October 17, 1955 effective November 1, 1955.
[3]
“Springfield Battery Hunts Lost Hunter.” The Georgia Guardsman. January
February 1956, 14.
[4] RA
73-59 June 10, 1959 effective July 1, 1959.
[5] RA
71-67 December 14, 1967, effective January 1, 1968.
[6] “214th
Gunners Pass Nuclear Firing Test.” The Georgia Guardsman, June July 1983 1
and 8.
[7] Georgia Department of Defense. Annual
Report, 1993, 6.
[8] RA
169-93 August 9, 1993, effective September 1, 1993.
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