6th Ranger Battalion
The 6th Ranger Battalion was a United States Army Ranger Battalion which saw action in the Pacific during World War II. The battalion is best known for its role in the Raid at Cabanatuan in the Philippines in January 1945.[1]
6th Ranger Battalion
98th Field Artillery Battalion[edit]
The 6th Rangers history begins with a mule-drawn pack artillery unit, the 98th Field Artillery Battalion. The 98th Field Artillery was formed at Camp Carson, Colorado in 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James M. Callicutt. In December 1942, the battalion embarked for Brisbane, Australia, but due to Australian animal importation laws, the battalion was redirected to New Guinea, arriving at Port Moresby on 17 February 1943.
The Battalion spent the next 12 months in training, but saw no combat. In February 1943, US Sixth Army decided that the battalion was obsolete, and removed the unit's 800 mules, as well as its commander, who was transferred to the 1st Cavalry Division. The battalion's new commander was Lieutenant Colonel Henry A. Mucci.[2] The mules and some of the artillerymen and mule skinners were transferred to the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) in Burma,[3][4]
Ranger training[edit]
Mucci had led a training camp in Hawaii which used Ranger training techniques. He announced that the battalion was being converted from field artillery to Rangers, and downsized from 1,000 men to only 500. Some of the artillery officers were transferred out and replaced by infantry and engineer officers.
The task of conversion and training took over a year, but by July 1944 it was completed. The battalion was transferred to Finschhafen, New Guinea, where it was reorganized as a Ranger battalion and redesignated as the 6th Ranger Infantry Battalion.
After the raid[edit]
For the remainder of the Luzon campaign, the 6th Rangers performed a variety of small-scale missions, including long-range reconnaissance patrols, mopping up bypassed pockets of Japanese resistance, and serving as a headquarters guard for the Sixth Army. On 23 June, they seized an airfield near the town of Aparri to prepare for the arrival of Task Force Gypsy, comprising 11th Airborne Division paratroopers and glider troops. The Rangers then pushed south and linked up with the 37th Infantry Division, concluding their last major operation of the war.[9]
After the war, the 6th Ranger Battalion was sent to Japan for occupation duties. The battalion was deactivated on 30 December 1945, and its members sent home or assigned to other units.[10]
In 1986, the inactive 6th Ranger Infantry Battalion was consolidated with units of the 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger) during its reorganization into the 75th Ranger Regiment.[11]