20th Field Artillery Regiment
Historical Missions
"Duty Not Reward"
United States Artillery can be traced back to the Military Company of
Massachusetts, which was chartered in 1638, and with other colonial artillery
companies formed what became the Continental Artillery. More than a century
later, in April 1775, the legislature authorized the formation of an artillery
regiment. This unit was first commanded by Colonel Richard Gridley, a former
British artillery officer who later was replaced by Colonel Henry Knox.
Colonel Knox eventually became the Chief of Artillery and is credited with
shaping artillery tactics for the remainder of the Revolution.
From the historical battlefields of Yorktown and Gettysburg, through the
Western Plains, Mexican and Spanish American Wars, the artillery was always
there. In fact, the nickname, "Redlegs", comes from that era when artillery
uniforms had a 2-inch red stripe on their trousers and horse artillery men
wore red canvas leggings. Continuing through the modern days of the European
and Asian Theaters of WWII, the Pusan Perimeter in Korea, the Ia Drang Valley
in Vietnam, to the "Steel Rain" of Desert Storm, "Redlegs" have served with
distinction and valor in all of our country's armed conflicts.
The Early Years, 1916
The 20th Field Artillery Regiment is an Field Artillery regiment of the United
States Army constituted 01 July 1916 in the Regular Army. It served in France
during World War - I with the 5th Division, at St. Mihiel and Lorraine.
The Front Lines were positioned along a ridge of high ground on the hills east
of the Meuse river as far as the town of St. Mihiel. The town is located in
the Department of Meuse in Lorraine. It was captured by the German Army in the
first weeks of the war. At St. Mihiel the Front Lines turned at a 90 degree
angle in an easterly direction across the low lying hills from the eastern
Meuse river bank into the plain of the Moselle river. This created the bulge
of a salient held by the German Army, protruding into the French-held
territory. The battle area became known as the St. Mihiel Salient. In
September 1918 the United States Expeditionary Force launched an offensive to
break through the German line at St. Mihiel.
The attack at the St. Mihiel Salient was part of a plan by Pershing in which
he hoped that the United States would break through the German lines and
capture the fortified city of Metz. It was one of the first US solo
offensives in World War I and the attack caught the Germans in the process of
retreating. This meant that their artillery were out of place and the American
attack proved more successful than expected. Their strong blow increased their
stature in the eyes of the French and British
World War II 1941 - 1945
The regiment and the battalion was reactivated in June 1940 at Fort Benning,
Georgia, as an element of the 4th Division, later re-designated as the 4th
Infantry Division. During World War II, the unit participated in the Normandy
Campaign, and subsequent campaigns in Northern France, the Rhineland,
Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe.
Korean WAr 1950 - 1952
In 1957 the 2nd Battalion was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division and
activated in Korea. In 1960 the battalion was re-designated the 2nd Rocket
Howitzer Battalion, 20th Field Artillery until taking its present disignation
of 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery in a 1971 redesignation.
Vietnam War 1965 - 1972
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In 1965, the 1st Cavalry Division went home from the DMZ, Koreaa, but only
long enough to be reorganized and be reequipped for a new mission. On 01 July
1965, the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) was officially activated. It was
made up of resources of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) and brought to
full strength by transfer of specialized elements of the 2nd Infantry
Division. As a part of this reorganization, the 1st Battalion (Airborne) 38th
Infantry was redesignated the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 5th Cavalry Regiment
and the 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 38th Infantry was redesignated the 2nd
Battalion, (Airborne), 5th Cavalry Regiment. On 03 July 1965, in Doughboy
Stadium at Fort Benning, Georgia the colors of the 11th Air Assault Division
(Test) were cased and retired. As the band played the rousing strains of
GarryOwen, the colors of the 1st Cavalry Division were moved onto the
field.
This time the 2-75 inch rockets were mounted on UH-1B Huey helicopters. The
battalion had the ability to provide immediate artillery fire support to the
airmobile units of the First Team, often operating beyond the range of
conventional artillery. Because the ARA pilot was at the target site, fire
could be quickly adjusted for maximum accuracy and could provide extremely
close fire support.
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During the Vietnam War the 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery became an
Aerial Rocket Artillery Battalion, equipped with "B" and "C" model UH-1 and
"G" model Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopters. It was known as
"Blue Max." On 15 September, 1965 the battalion stepped ashore at Qui
Nhon, Republic of Vietnam as the only Aerial Rocket Artillery (ARA) battalion
assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. Two days later they flew their first
combat mission as "C" Battery fired 2.75 inch rockets in support of the 101st
Airborne Division.
On September 18, 1965, the battalion demonstrated another new technique, the
"light ship", a Huey mounted with seven landing lights. The illumination the
ship provided proved extremely effective as a tool for base security. On 11
October, the battalion fired the first SS-11 guided missile to be used in
combat, destroying a villa and the Viet Cong inside. During the period 17
September to 20 October, the battalion flew 78 missions and expended 2,870
rockets.
In late October the battalion was called upon to provide support for the
Pleiku Campaign, for which the division would earn the Presidential Unit
Citation. Alpha Battery saw the first major action in the campaign when Plei
Me Camp came under attack the night of 29 - 30 October. Using the light from
flares dropped by the Air Force, battery pilots bombarded enemy forces
assaulting and mortaring the camp. As one platoon expended its ordnance
another would take its place. The action continued until 0430 hours with
rocket s fired within 100 meters of the friendly forces.
During the Pleiku Campaign, "C" Battery was positioned on a small strip on a
tea plantation south of Pleiku City. On the night of 12 - 13 November the
enemy attacked the position in battalion strength. As the first mortars hit
the camp, pilots dashed to their helicopters and quickly had them all in the
air, the first instance in Vietnam when all aircraft evacuated without loss
from an airstrip under attack.
On 28 November, "B" Battery flew a unique mission on when Special Forces
requested that the battery destroy the gates of a fortified VC village. The
gate's heavy timbers were protected by booby traps and weapons positions.
Three well-aimed SS-11 wire-guided missiles blasted the gates open.
In 1966, the battalion participated in numerous operations. The battalion also
began a major civil affairs program in early 1966, donating clothing, toys and
sundries to villagers in the hamlet of Tu Luong, near Camp Radcliff. This
program proved its effectiveness when in February a battalion helicopter
crashed south of An Khe. The villagers volunteered to search the VC-infested
hills for the aircraft and its crew, and successfully located it in time to
save two seriously injured crewmen.
On May 16, 1966, two pilots of the 20th. volunteered to fly in support of a
company in contact and in danger of being overrun by a large VC force. They
inched their aircraft through the fog, rain and darkness up the slope of a
mountain peak east of An Khe, until they were hovering directly over the
beleaguered company; then, directed by the artillery forward observer below,
they unleashed ripple after ripple of rockets into an enemy assault force.
Their timely fire support was credited by the ground commander with
stabilizing and extremely grave situation.
On May 22, 1966 the battalion fired it 100,000th rocket in Vietnam in support
of Operation CRAZY HORSE.
On October 9, 1966, the battalion demonstrated just how much the enemy feared
their weapons. "A" Battery received a fire mission against an enemy bunker
that could not be effectively engaged with 2.75 inch rockets. Two SS-11 guided
missiles were fired at the bunker; the first exploded a foot away from the one
by six foot aperture. The second entered the aperture and exploded inside,
destroying it. The 55 VC in the adjoining bunker decided not to test the
accuracy pf the pilot and laid down their arms.
At 0105 hours on December 22, LZ Bird was attacked by the 18th North
Vietnamese Army (NVA) Regiment and "A" Battery responded to the call for
support. Despite the night, fog and heavy rain the battery delivered a
withering fire on the attacking enemy half an hour after the battle began.
"C" Battery soon joined the fight and the aircraft stayed on station until the
attack was repelled and the enemy force destroyed.
Operation PERSHING, was to be the longest operation of the Division, began in
February to root out the enemy forces in the Bong Son Plain, An Lao Valley and
the mountains adjacent to An Lao. The battalion moved its command post, with
"A" and "C" Batteries, to LZ Two Bits.
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During this period the battalion had added to its arsenal CH-47's, Chinooks
armed with grenade launchers, two pods of rockets and two .50 caliber
machineguns. Additionally, the Battalion added the mortar aerial delivery
system consisting of 81 mm mortars used on interdiction targets with canopy
cover. In March, a five man recon team on the ground came under heavy
automatic weapons fire. Lift ships wouldn't make an extraction of the team
from a sharp ridgeline obscured by clouds, so a CH-47 hovered near the ledge,
which was too small to allow a landing, set its rear wheels on the ground and
took the men aboard. Enemy fire made several hits but the extraction was
completed successfully without injury. By the end of the year the battalion
had fired 500,000 rockets since arriving in Vietnam.
In early 1968, the Division moved from II Corps to I Corps in 1968, meeting
the enemy head on in the battle of Hue, Khe Sanh and the A Shau Valley. In
numerous close firefights aerial rocket artillery blasted the enemy, foiling
his plans for victory. The deadly accuracy of the SS-11 missile penetrated VC
bunkers and fortifications. Psychological Operations used pictures of ARA
aircraft to frighten enemy soldiers into surrendering.
During 1968 the battalion made the transition between Huey ARA ships and the
AH-1G Cobra. Unlike the Huey, the Cobra was specifically designed for fire
support, and carried firepower equivalent to that of three conventional
artillery batteries. The Cobra could pack 76 rockets and has a mini-gun
capable of firing 4,000 rounds per minute. Added to the mini-gun in later
models was the 40 mm grenade launcher, which can chuck out 400 rounds per
minute.
In July 1968, the Battalion fired its 750,000th rocked in Vietnam; however
the unit had not forgotten the other side of the war. That summer it also
adopted an orphanage in Quang Tri, helping to expand the orphanage's space,
building beds and providing medical care. In addition to their regular fire
missions, the ships of the Battalion carried out regular mortar patrols at the
division basecamp and brigade headquarters.
By the end of 1968 the 2nd Battalion, 20th Artillery helicopters were known
throughout the 1st Cavalry Division as "Blue Max," a fitting tribute to pilots
and crewmen whose skill and daring at least matched that of the World War - I
flying aces with the the award originated. The blue Maltese Cross on the
original medal was adopted by the battalion as a symbol.
In December 1968 the Battalion, with the rest of the division, moved to a new
area of operations, the III Corps Tactical Zone near the Cambodian border
north of Saigon. That same month the NVA assaulted LZ Dot, located 43
kilometers northwest of the new division basecamp at Phuoc Vinh. Some 2,000
enemy hit the tiny LZ at midnight with a human wave assault after a mortar and
rocket attack. ARA was called in, decimating the enemy just as they penetrated
the outer wire. At 0630 hours the enemy broke contact, leaving 287 dead.
Returning to the States, the Battalion was inactivated 10 April, 1971 at Fort
Lewis, Washington, redesignated 01 September, 1971 as the 2d Battalion, 20th
Field Artillery, relieved from assignment to the 1st Cavalry Division on 13
September, 1972 and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division, and activated at
Fort Carson, Colorado.
Relieved 16 September 1980 from assignment to the 4th Infantry Division
the Battalion was attached to the 8th Infantry Division in Wiesbaden, Germany
in 1976, where it would remain until it was deactivated in 1984, subsequently
reactivated in 1987 and again deactivated in 1992. On 16 Jqanuary, 1996,
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 2d Battalion, 20th Field Artillery,
was redesignated as "B", 20th Field Artillery, assigned to the 4th Infantry
Division, and activated at Fort Hood, Texas.
On 17 September 1998, reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters, Battery,
2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery (organic elements concurrently
activated).
In 2001 the battalion supported the testing and fielding of the M270A1
launcher and became the first M270A1 MLRS unit in the Army. Soldiers with the
2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, held a launching ceremony on 17
April to present the new MLRS to the 4th Infantry Division. The ceremony
consisted of a live-fire exercise attended by key members of the 4th Infantry
Division and the 49th Armored Division, Texas Army National Guard.
Iraqi Freedom - I 2003
In March 2003. the Battalion deployed to Iraq and took part in the 2003
invasion of Iraq, where they performed not only their traditional field
artillery tasks, including firing the first deep missile fires of the
Division in combat, but performed armed reconnaissance missions, joint
security patrols, cordon and searches, raids, and a wide variety of civil
military operations. The Battalion redeployed to Fort Hood in March 2004 and
on 16 December, 2004 was relieved from assignment to the 4th Infantry
Division.
Iraqi Freedom - IV 2006 - 2008
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The Battalion was reactivated as part of 41st Fires Brigade, assigned to III
Corps, at Fort Hood, Texas. As part of the transformation of the US Army to
the modular force structure, the 41st Fires Brigade was designated as the III
Corps Fires Brigade intended to support the 1st Cavalry Division.
Upon returning to Fort Hood the unit underwent training equipment maintenance
until on 01 Ochtober it was redesignated as the 2nd Battalion, 20th Field
Artillery Regiment and called into action in December 2005, in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. Upon return from deployment in December 2006 it was
increased in size by the addition of a 3rd Firing Battery ("C" Charlie), and
adding a radar unit (A/26 FA). In addition, a previous support company, the
67th FSC, which had only been temporarily (ad-hoc) attached at the beginning
of the deployment was made a permanent part of the battalion. The addition of
the 67th FSC thus increased the potency of the battalion.
Iraqi Freedom - IV 2006 - 2008
The unit deployed in OIF 07-08 to Taji to conduct MLRS fires.
Iraqi Freedom - VI 2008 - 2010
The unit deployed again in OIF 08-09 in Wasit Province, Iraq conducting
counterinsurgency operations. The battalion served as the last unit on a 15
month deployed cycle.
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