| 111th Philippine Cavalry Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Country | Philippines |
| Active | 1926 - |
| Branch | Philippine Army |
| Current Status | Active, Philippine Cavalry Division, Subic Bay |
| Type | Mechanized Cavalry |
| Engagements | Japanese Invasion of the Philippines, Philippine Resistance, Indonesian Civil War |
Pre-War[]
War[]
After the destruction of most of the regular Forces during the Battle of Manila, the remnants of the Regiment, most importantly McNair's Company, retreated into the backwoods, and it was this unit that at first made contact with the Allies and would subsequently spearhead Allied efforts on Mindanao. No large campaign on the Philippines was planned, it was intended that Allied air and naval units based out of Borneo would neutralize the Japanese presence in the islands and so guard the flank of the allied attack on Formosa.
Between this and the insertion of Commonwealth special forces to aid the local resistance Japanese control of the countryside especially on Mindanao and the surrounding islands became practically non-existent; to the point that McNair's Company, then mounted on ex-Japanese horses captured over the last weeks and months, became the public face of the resistance on the Island as they cut a swath through the Japanese outpost lines around Zamboanga City (including the only Allied Cavalry Charge of the Pacific War) to the point that the Japanese put a price of 50.000.000 Pesos on McNair's head in late 1944.
Current[]
When the war ended, most of the larger cities on the Philippines remained in Japanese hands, but for the most part the handover was peaceful. McNair's company was the first Allied unit into Manila where the President of the Republic proclaimed that thanks to the efforts of the Yanquis and Philippinos in the unit it had earned an 'eternal' place in the Republic's Army and would form the core of a new, fully mechanized 111th.
In 1960, the Regiment was restructured as a mechanized Infantry unit, with
Today the 111th Philippine Cavalry Regiment is sometimes referred to as the spearpoint of the Philippine Army.