121st Brigade (United Kingdom), Origin
By the time the new 120 Bde was organised the flow of volunteers had dwindled, and the standard of height for infantry soldiers had been lowered in order to encourage recruitment. Some of these so-called 'bantams' were well-knit, hardy men, but many others, especially in 121st Bde, were under-developed and unfit. It was estimated that the four battalions in the brigade would provide enough fit men for only two serviceable battalions. To prevent the departure of the division to the Front being indefinitely postponed, the divisional commander asked for fresh units to be drafted in. 121st Brigade was completely reorganised in February 1916. Divisional training was then intensified and the division was warned for overseas service in May 1916.


121st Brigade (United Kingdom), Origin, Training
Divisional organisation and training was delayed because some of the brigades contained a large proportion of under-developed and unfit men. 121st Brigade had to undergo a drastic weeding-out and  the drafting in of new battalions before it was fit for service. This was completed in  February 1916. Divisional training was then intensified and it was warned for overseas service in May 1916. Disembarkation was carried out at Le Havre between 2 and 6 June, and 40th Division concentrated in the Lillers area by 9 June ready to take its place in the line. Units went into the trenches attached to formations of I Corps for familiarisation, and then the division took over its own section of line.


121st Brigade (United Kingdom), Operations
121 Brigade's active service was entirely spent on the Western Front. During 1917 it took part in the following actions:


121st Brigade (United Kingdom), Operations, Reorganisation
In February 1918, British brigades were reduced to a three-battalion basis and brigade machine gun companies were combined into divisional battalions. 21st Middlesex transferred to 119th Bde in 40th Division, and 121 MG Company joined 40th Bn Machine Gun Corps.


121st Brigade (United Kingdom), Operations, Reorganisation
Following heavy casualties during the German Spring Offensive of 1918, 40th Division was reduced to two composite brigades. 1st Composite Brigade formed under Brig-Gen J. Campbell of 121 Bde on 18 April had the following composition:


121st Brigade (United Kingdom), Operations, Reorganisation
1st Composite Bde was employed on digging the Herzelee–le Brearde Line in front of Cassel. In early May 1918, all of 40th Division's remaining infantry battalions were reduced to training cadres and were posted to other formations while the trench mortar batteries disbanded. On 6 May 1918, 121 Bde's three infantry battalions were reduced to cadre and were posted away, and the trench mortar battery disbanded.


121st Brigade (United Kingdom), Reconstituted
40th Division began to reform on 14 June 1918, and between 18 and 20 June three battalions were transferred from 59th (2nd North Midland) Division to reconstitute 121 Bde:


121st Brigade (United Kingdom), Reconstituted
On 13 July the term 'Garrison' was dropped from the battalion titles, and the brigade light trench mortar battery had been reformed. By 18 July the brigade resumed its place in the Front Line.


121st Brigade (United Kingdom), Disbandment
After the Armistice, the division was engaged in road repair and refresher courses for men returning to civilian trades. Demobilisation proceeded rapidly during January and February 1919, and its units were reduced to cadre strength by March. The final cadres disappeared during May.


121st Brigade (United Kingdom), Commanders
The following officers commanded 121 Brigade during the First World War:


121st Brigade (United Kingdom), Second World War
121 Brigade was never reformed, but the number was used for deception purposes during the Second World War. 30th Battalion Norfolk Regiment, a line of communication unit serving in 43rd Brigade in Sicily and composed mainly of men below Medical Category 'A', was redesignated '121st Infantry Brigade' and acted as if it were a full brigade in an equally fictitious '40th Infantry Division' from November 1943 until May 1944.


121st Delaware General Assembly
The 121st Delaware General Assembly was a meeting of the legislative branch of the state government, consisting of the Delaware Senate and the Delaware House of Representatives. Elections were held the first Tuesday after November 1 and terms began in Dover on the first Tuesday in January. This date was January 3, 1961, which was two weeks before the beginning of the fifth administrative year of Governor Elbert N. Carvel and at the first administrative year of Eugene Lammont as Lieutenant Governor.


121st Delaware General Assembly
Currently the distribution of the Senate Assembly seats was made to seven senators for New Castle County and for five senators to each Kent and Sussex counties. Likewise the current distribution of the House Assembly seats was made to fifteen representatives for New Castle County and for ten representatives each to Kent and Sussex counties. The actual population changes of the county did not directly affect the number of senators or representatives at this time.


121st Delaware General Assembly
In the 121st Delaware General Assembly session both chambers had a Democratic majority.


121st Delaware General Assembly, Members, Senate
About half of the State Senators were elected every two years for a four-year term. They were from a district in a specific county, with the number of districts determined by the state constitution, not the size of the population.


121st Delaware General Assembly, Members, House of Representative
All the State Representatives were elected every two years for a two-year term. They were from a district in a specific county, with the number of districts determined by the state constitution, not the size of the population.


121st Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Rich Farmbrough (talk | contribs) at 17:58, 19 November 2019 (→top: Date formats). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


121st Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
The 121st Division (第121師団, Dai-hyakunijūichi Shidan) was an infantry division of the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the Glory Division (栄光兵団, Eikō Heidan). It was formed 16 January in Tianjin as a triangular division. It was a part of the 8 simultaneously created divisions batch comprising 121st, 122nd, 123rd, 124th, 125th, 126th, 127th and 128th divisions. The nucleus for the formation was the 3rd Cavalry Brigade and the leftovers of 28th division. The division was initially assigned to the 3rd army.


121st Division (Imperial Japanese Army), Action
30 March 1945 the 121st division formation was complete and it was assigned to the 58th army. The division travelled overland to south Korea and was transferred to Jejudo island in June 1945. The 121st division was still building a defenses on the eastern part of the island by the time of the surrender of Japan 15 August 1945.


121st Division (Imperial Japanese Army), Action
The 121st division has returned to Japan via Sasebo, Nagasaki in October - November 1945 and dissolved soon afterwards.


121st Engineer Battalion (United States)
The 121st Engineer Combat Battalion was one of the first American units to land in Normandy on D-Day during World War II.


121st Engineer Battalion (United States), History
The 121st Engineer Combat Battalion was created in 1918 in the District of Columbia National Guard. One of its most distinguished members was General Earle G. Wheeler, who began his military career as a Private in C Company in 1926, and later rose to General (4-star) serving as Chief of Staff of the Army and later as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.


121st Engineer Battalion (United States), History
The 121st was mobilized into Federal service in 1940 as part of the 29th Infantry Division, made up of units from Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The 121st staged at Fort Meade, Maryland for movement to England. At the same time, the 37th Infantry Division from the Ohio National Guard, was staging at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania.


121st Engineer Battalion (United States), History
The 37th has also been alerted for movement to England, and had sent its 112th Engineer Combat Battalion ahead as part of the advance party. Orders were changed and the 37th was diverted for service in the Pacific Theater. There was no time to recall the 112th, or to create and train a new engineer battalion. The War Department ordered all personnel and equipment of the 121st Engineers moved from Fort Meade to Fort Indiantown Gap, and the unit was redesignated the 117th Engineer Combat Battalion. One officer and six enlisted personnel, symbolically representing the 121st Headquarters, each line Company, and the Medical Detachment, remained behind with the organization's colors.


121st Engineer Battalion (United States), History
The new 117th Engineers shipped out to the Fiji Islands, and saw extensive combat in the Philippines. The men from the DC Guard worked under enemy fire building and repairing 64 bridges, destroying enemy held buildings and tank obstacles, and participating in river crossings with "consummate skill and courage."


121st Engineer Battalion (United States), History
When the 29th Division reached England the 112th Engineer Battalion from the 37th Division was redesignated and reconstituted as the 121st Engineers. By the time the 121st saw its first combat, on D-Day at Omaha Beach during the invasion of Normandy, its ranks consisted of the soldiers from Ohio as well as new soldiers from throughout the United States. None of the seven original DC National Guardsmen were with the unit at the time of the invasion.


121st Engineer Battalion (United States), History
The battalion remained active until May 1945 in operations throughout Europe.


121st Engineer Battalion (United States), History
The history, lineage and honors of the original 121st continue today in the lineage of the 372d MP Battalion of the District of Columbia Army National Guard. In 1948, a "new" 121st Engineer Battalion was established in the Maryland Army National Guard.


121st Engineer Battalion (United States), History
Although the Maryland National Guard unit carries the same name as the World War II unit, the new MDNG unit has no previous history.


121st Engineer Battalion (United States), D-Day landing
On 6 June 1944, the 121st Engineer Combat Battalion landed on Omaha beach in Normandy with the first American forces. The company endured much damage to equipment and casualties among the soldiers, but after some recovery it continued to assist in the invasion. For its action during the invasion the 121st was awarded the French Croix de Guerre.


121st Engineer Battalion (United States), After World War II
At the end of World War II the 121st Engineer Battalion was deactivated. It was reactivated as part of its original organization, the District of Columbia Army National Guard, as the 163rd Military Police Battalion. Its history, lineage and honors continue today in the DCARNG's 372nd Military Police Battalion.


121st Engineer Battalion (United States), After World War II
In 1948, a new 121st Engineer Battalion was activated in the Maryland National Guard. This unit carries the designation of the old 121st Engineers, but has no historical link to that organization. The new battalion played a pivotal role in the crowd control efforts after being called in to assist the local authorities during the race riots that took place in Baltimore and Cambridge in the 1960s.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States)
The 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery is currently part of the 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade that is based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Attached to the 1-121st is Battery A located in Hartford, Wisconsin; Battery B located in Plymouth, Wisconsin; 108th Forward Support Company located in Sussex, Wisconsin.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States)
The 1-121st FA originally operated M109 howitzer before switching to the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) in 2003. As of 2010 the 1-121st FA operates the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Early History
On September 11, 1884, the Wisconsin Army National Guard Field Artillery was born when twelve men signed an agreement to organize a field artillery battery in Milwaukee. The formal organization occurred on May 11, 1885, with the creation of the 1st Light Battery. The battery had 65 members, occupied the Farwell Avenue Skating Rink, and trained on a vacant lot on North Prospect Avenue.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Early History
During 1916, the 1st Field Artillery was formed. On June 8, 1916, Battery B was established in Green Bay. On June 12, 1916, Battery C was established in Racine. On June 14, 1916, Battery A, 1st Light Artillery was re-designated as Battery A, 1st Field Artillery. On June 30, 1916, Battery A, 1st Field Artillery was called to active duty on the Mexican border as organized forces were making raids into the United States. Having served with distinction, the battery was released at Camp Douglas, Wisconsin, on October 16, 1916, and reconstituted as the Wisconsin National Guard unit at Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), First World War
Following the United States' declaration of war on Germany in April 1917, the 32nd Division was reorganized under War Department orders of July 18, 1917, from National Guard troops from Wisconsin and Michigan. Wisconsin provided approximately 15,000 troops whilst Michigan raised 8,000. Later 4,000 National Army troops from Wisconsin and Michigan were transferred to the Division shortly before it left for France. On August 4, 1917, Battery F, 121st Field Artillery regiment, was the first unit of the new division to arrive at Camp MacArthur, Texas.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), First World War
From that time until late in September troops continued to pour in as rapidly as railroad facilities could be provided to transport them from the north. The 1st Wisconsin Field Artillery regiment became the 121st Field Artillery, the heavy artillery regiment of the 57th Field Artillery Brigade. The Commanding Officer of the Wisconsin Artillery, Colonel Philip C. Westfahl, became Commander of the new regiment.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), First World War
On September 19, 1917, the Regiment was re-designated as the 121st Field Artillery Regiment and assigned to the 57th Field Artillery Brigade as a part of the 32nd Division. In addition to the 32nd Division, the records indicated the 121st Field Artillery Regiment also supported the 3rd, 47th, 79th, and the regiment distinguished itself in six major campaigns: Aisne-Marne, Alsace, Champagne, Lorraine, Meuse-Argonne, and Oise-Aisne. Along with the General of the Armies John J. Pershing's personal commendation, the regiment received the battle streamer of the French Croix-de-Guerre with Silver Star embroidered Aisne-Marne and Oise-Aisne. The 121st Field Artillery Regiment was demobilized at Camp Grant, Illinois., May 17, 1919.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Second World War
On February 1, 1942, the 32nd Division was converted from "square" configuration to "triangular" and re-designated as the 32nd Infantry Division. Under the Division reorganization, the 121st Field Artillery Regiment was divided. The Regimental headquarters became the HQs for the 173rd Field Artillery Regiment, the 1st Battalion was redesignated as the 121st Field Artillery Battalion and the 2nd Battalion became the 1st Battalion 173rd Field Artillery Regiment. In February 1943 the 173rd Field Artillery Regiment would undergo further re-organizations, with the Regimental HQs becoming the 173rd Field Artillery Group and the 1-173rd being redesignated as the 985th Field Artillery Battalion, and the 2-173rd being redesignated as the 173rd Field Artillery Battalion.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Second World War
The 121st Field Artillery Battalion, as designated on February 1, 1942, distinguished itself in the Pacific Theatre of Operations. Its honors were: Aitape, Biak, Leyte, Luzon and New Guinea (with Saidor Arrowhead). Early in 1943 the 121st Field Artillery Battalion was issued 75 mm howitzers in place of the 155 mm howitzers that were its normal weapons as the general support battalion of Division Artillery.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Second World War
The 173rd Field Artillery Group, as designated in February 1943, distinguished itself in the European Theatre of Operations. Its honors were: Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Second World War
The 985th Field Artillery Battalion and the 173rd Field Artillery Battalion, as designated in February 1943, distinguished itself in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. Its honors were: Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, North Apennines and Po Valley.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Post-Second World War
Demobilization of the regiment following the end of the Second World War occurred over a six-month span: the 173rd Field Artillery Battalion on September 11, 1945, in Italy, the 985th Field Artillery Battalion on October 8, 1945, the 173rd Field Artillery Group on November 27, 1945, at Camp Kilmer, N.J., and the 121st Field Artillery Battalion on February 28, 1946, in Japan.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Post-Second World War
The 121st Field Artillery Battalion at Whitefish Bay and the 173rd Field Artillery Battalion at Superior were reconstituted as National Guard units on June 3, 1947, and July 31, 1947, respectively, as elements of the 32nd Infantry Division.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Post-Second World War
On February 15, 1961, the 121st Field Artillery Battalion was consolidated, reorganized, and redesignated under the Combat Arms Regimental Systems as units of the 121st Field Artillery. The 1st Howitzer Battalion at River Falls, the 2nd Howitzer Battalion at Marshfield, and the 3rd Rocket/Howitzer Battalion at Whitefish Bay.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Post-Second World War
On October 15, 1961, all battalions of the 121st Field Artillery were called to active duty with the 32nd Infantry Division for the Berlin Crisis. Having served with distinction at Fort Lewis, Washington, the 32nd Infantry Division was released on August 10, 1962, and returned under National Guard control within the 1st Battalion 121st Field Artillery at River Falls, the 2nd Battalion, 121st Field Artillery at River Falls, and the 3rd Battalion, 121st Field Artillery at Whitefish Bay.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Post-Second World War
On April 1, 1963, the 32nd Infantry Division was reorganized under the "ROAD" concept. Under this reorganization, the 2nd Battalion, 121st Field Artillery was demobilised. On November 1, 1964, the colors of the 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery were transferred from River Falls to Whitefish Bay.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Post-Second World War
On July 31, 1967, the 1st Battalion and the 3rd Battalion of the 121st Field Artillery were called to state duty during the 1967 Milwaukee riot. The battalions were released on August 2, 1962, then recalled for an additional day on August 7, 1967.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Post-Second World War
On December 30, 1967, the 32nd Infantry Division was inactivated and National Guard units realigned. Along with the 32nd Infantry Division, the 3rd Battalion, 121st Field Artillery was also inactivated.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Post-Second World War
On November 5, 1973, the 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery was called to state duty for a firefighters strike at Milwaukee. The battalion was released on November 8, 1973. On July 8, 1977, the 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery was called to state duty for a state employee strike. The battalion was sent to Taycheedah Correctional Institute near Fond du Lac. The battalion was released on July 21, 1977.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Post-Second World War
On February 1, 1980, the designation of Battery B was transferred during a statewide reorganization. The 1st Battalion, 127th Infantry was inactivated with Company C (-) at Sheboygan being reorganized as Detachment 1, Battery B, and Detachment 1, Company C at Plymouth becoming Battery B (-) of the 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Post-Second World War
On March 1, 1981, the 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery was called to state duty for a firefighters strike in Milwaukee. The battalion was released on March 2, 1981, when an apparent contract settlement was reached. The battalion was recalled on March 19, 1981, when firefighters walked off the job again, and served until March 21, 1981.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Post-Second World War
On August 1, 1990, Battery C was moved from the Whitefish Bay Armory to Sussex and Battery A was moved to the Richards St Armory along with Headquarters Headquarters Battery. This was necessary to improve training conditions for the soldiers.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Global War on Terror
The regiment saw action as part of the United States' contribution to the global war on terror. In April 2006, the 1st Battalion 121st Field Artillery Regiment was mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and moved to Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Following this the 121st was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait. During this deployment, 2 soldiers of the 121st were killed in action.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Global War on Terror
Between January 2009 and January 2010, the 1st Battalion 121st Field Artillery was again raised and began training at Fort Bliss, Texas. The Battalion was later deployed to Iraq.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Global War on Terror
The 1st Battalion 121st Field Artillery Regiment was mobilized between January and October 2013 at Fort Bliss, Texas before deployment to Afghanistan  in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The regiment again served in Afghanistan between April 2014 and January 2015.


121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States), Global War on Terror
In April 2018 the 1st Battalion 121st Field Artillery Regiment was mobilized in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, Operation Spartan Shield, and Operation Freedom Sentinel. As a result, the regiment saw deployment to Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, and the UAE.


121st Fighter Aviation Squadron
The 121st Fighter Aviation Squadron (Serbo-Croatian: 121. lovačka avijacijska eskadrila / 121. ловачка авијацијска ескадрила) was an aviation squadron of Yugoslav Air Force established in April, 1961 as part of 83rd Fighter Aviation Regiment at Zemunik military airport.


121st Fighter Aviation Squadron
It was equipped with US-made North American F-86E Sabre jet fighter aircraft.


121st Fighter Aviation Squadron
In 1963 the 83rd Fighter Aviation Regiment with its both squadrons (120th and 121st Fighter Aviation Squadron) has been dislocated from Zemunik to Titograd military airport.


121st Fighter Aviation Squadron
By the end of year 1964 the 83rd Fighter Aviation Regiment has been disbanded. The 121st Fighter Aviation Squadron was also disbanded. Its personnel and equipment were attached to 120th Fighter Aviation Squadron.


121st Fighter Squadron
The 121st Fighter Squadron (121 FS) is a unit of the District of Columbia Air National Guard 113th Wing located at Joint Base Andrews, Camp Springs, Maryland. The 121st is equipped with the Block 30 F-16C/D Fighting Falcon.


121st Fighter Squadron
The squadron is a descendant organization of the 121st Observation Squadron, established on 10 July 1940. It is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II.


121st Fighter Squadron, Heraldry
In the early 1960s, the 121st Tactical Fighter Squadron developed and approved a fuselage insignia, an iron fist and jet fighter superimposed on a national shield. It was thought that the unit had no previous insignia, but the designers were incorrect. A Maryland Terrapin originally flew with the District of Columbia Air National Guard and, many years later, was reinstated as the unit's insignia.


121st Fighter Squadron, Heraldry
The original design, approved in 1943, and authenticated as correct by the Air Museum, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is described as follows.


121st Fighter Squadron, Heraldry
"A caricatured tan and brown turtle proper , riding a "pogo" stick, leaving a trail of hops and impact marks black, all outlined light turquoise blue. Significance: The turtle depicts slow but sure travel, as characterized by the story of the "Tortoise and the Hare" in "Aesop's Fables." The short hops and limited range of liaison airplanes are depicted by the short hops the turtle is making on the pogo stick."


121st Fighter Squadron, History, Origins
Established by the National Guard Bureau as the 112th Observation Squadron and allocated to the District of Columbia National Guard in July 1940. Not organized until April 1941, formed in Washington D. C. without aircraft assigned.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, World War II
The unit was ordered to active duty in April 1941 as part of the buildup of the Army Air Corps after the Fall of France. Assigned to Bolling Field, D.C. and equipped with light observation aircraft. Transferred to the Third Air Force in September 1941, they began flying anti-submarine flights over the South Carolina coastline from airfields in the Columbia area. It was then moved to the First Air Force at Langley Field, Virginia, again engaging in antisubmarine patrols over the Maryland, Virginia and upper North Carolina coasts and the approaches to Chesapeake Bay. Finally, it was moved to Birmingham, Alabama in October 1942 and then inactivated. The squadron personnel were reassigned to other units and aircraft and transferred to other duties.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, World War II
The squadron was reactivated in April 1943 as a liaison and Observation squadron, with a mission to support Army ground units by flying photo and tactical observation missions, performing battlefield reconnaissance for enemy ground forces, and spotting for artillery fire. They were deployed to the Twelfth Air Force in Algeria in March 1944, engaging in liaison and courier operations for Headquarters, Army Air Forces, MTO. They were equipped with various light observation aircraft, mostly A-20 Havoc light bombers used for aerial photo-reconnaissance and modified A-24 Banshee dive bombers taken out of combat and modified into RA-24 photo-reconnaissance aircraft.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, World War II
They were again reassigned to the Fifth Army in Italy in September, where they engaged in combat reconnaissance and photo-reconnaissance in Italy as part of the Italian Campaign. The squadron was then broken up, with elements of the squadron transferred to the Seventh Army in Southern France, where they performed combat reconnaissance as part of the Southern France Campaign. Other parts of the squadron remained attached to the Ninth Air Force and Sixth United States Army Group during the Rhineland Campaign and the Western Allied invasion of Germany. The remaining elements of the squadron stayed in Italy as part of the Fifth Army as it advanced north and enemy forces withdrew north of Rome. They were stationed near Florence until the end of the war.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, World War II
The squadron was returned to the United States at Drew Field, Florida in August 1945. Most personnel were demobilized although the unit remained active until being inactivated in Oklahoma in November 1945.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard
The wartime 121st Liaison Squadron was redesignated as the 121st Fighter Squadron, and was allotted to the District of Columbia Air National Guard, on 24 May 1946. It was organized at Andrews Field, Maryland, and was extended federal recognition on 20 October 1946 by the National Guard Bureau. The squadron was equipped with P-47D Thunderbolts and was assigned to 113th Fighter Group, also a DC guard unit and was initially gained by Air Defense Command.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard
The mission of the 121st Fighter Squadron was the air defense of the District of Columbia, along with southern Maryland and northern Virginia. Parts were no problem and many of the maintenance personnel were World War II veterans so readiness was quite high and the planes were often much better maintained than their USAF counterparts. In some ways, the postwar Air National Guard was almost like a flying country club and a pilot could often show up at the field, check out an aircraft and go flying. However, the unit also had regular military exercises that kept up proficiency and in gunnery and bombing contests they would often score at least as well or better than active-duty USAF units, given the fact that most ANG pilots were World War II combat veterans.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard
In December 1949 the 121st Fighter Squadron converted from its P-47s to F-84C Thunderjets as the first Air National Guard squadron to be equipped with jet aircraft. It was not to be a happy relationship. During 1950, the 121st had lost four Thunderjets in accidents, and two more to undetermined other causes.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard
On 30 August 1950 the squadron lost a single Republic F-84 Thunderjet during a routine weather training mission of two aircraft. After passing southbound near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the F-84C exploded in mid-air at tree height, left a large crater in a field, and scattered wreckage over 3 acres (1.2 hectares) of the Hilbert cornfield near the Maryland intersection of the Harney and Bollinger School roads. Along with small parts of the aircraft, a few remains of the pilot were recovered; and the element leader in the lead F-84, 1st Lt . William L. Hall, reported "Alkire had not radioed of any difficulty before the explosion."


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Korean War activation
With the surprise invasion of South Korea on 25 June 1950, and the regular military's lack of readiness, most of the Air National Guard was called to active duty, including the 121st, which was activated on 1 February 1951. The 121st Fighter Squadron became an element of Air Defense Command (ADC) and was redesignated as the 121st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. The squadron was joined in the 113th Fighter-Interceptor Group by the Delaware ANG 142d Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons, also equipped with F-84Cs, and the Pennsylvania ANG 148th Fighter Squadron equipped with World War II era F-51D Mustangs at Spaatz Field, Reading.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Korean War activation
ADC moved the 113th group and its parent 113th Fighter-Interceptor Wing from Andrews AFB to New Castle Air Force Base, Delaware, where they replaced the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing and group, which deployed to the Pacific, but the squadron remained at Andrews. The squadron mission was the air defense of the Delaware Bay and the Delmarva Peninsula.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Korean War activation
In September 1951 the squadron converted to airborne interception radar equipped F-94B Starfires with partial all-weather capabilities. ADC's was experiencing difficulty under the existing wing base organizational structure in deploying its fighter squadrons to best advantage. In February 1952, the 113th wing and group were inactivated and replaced by the regional 4710th Defense Wing. The squadron remained assigned to the wing until it was released from federal service in November 1952 and its mission, personnel, and equipment reassigned to the 95th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which activated the same day.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Cold War
With its return to District of Columbia control, the 121st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was re-equipped with propeller-driven F-51H Mustangs and resumed its air defense mission of Washington, D.C. It was not until 1954, with the phaseout of the Mustang and the requirement by Air Defense Command that its interceptor squadrons be equipped with jet-powered aircraft that the squadron was upgraded to postwar-era F-86A Sabres that had been refurbished and reconditioned before being received.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Cold War
In August 1954, the 121st began standing daytime air defense alert at Andrews, placing two aircraft at the end of the runway with pilots in the cockpit from one hour before sunrise until one hour after sunset. This ADC alert lasted each and every day until the end of October 1958


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Cold War
Despite the reconditioning, the F-86A Sabres were weary and required a considerable amount of maintenance to keep in the air. In 1955, the 113th sent them to storage at Davis-Monthan AFB and received F-86E Sabres from active-duty ADC units that were receiving F-89 Scorpion interceptors. In 1957, the F-86H was already being phased out of active service with the USAF, being replaced by the F-100 Super Sabre, and  the 121st received F-86H Sabres in late 1957.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Cold War
In late 1958, the gaining command for the 113th was changed from Air Defense Command to Tactical Air Command (TAC) and the mission of the wing was changed to tactical air support, although the air defense of Washington remained as a secondary mission. The Sabres were phased out in 1960 with the receipt of relatively new F-100C Super Sabres from active duty units receiving the F-100D model. The Super Sabre was a major improvement over the F-86H and it gave the wing a major increase in capability as well as it entering the supersonic age.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Cold War
In January 1968, a new crisis, the seizure of the American ship USS Pueblo by North Korean forces, and again the 113th was called to active duty. The wing was activated to federal service, and its personnel were assigned to Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina as a filler unit while the base's permanent unit, the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing was deployed to Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. At Myrtle Beach AFB, the federalized NJ ANG 119th Tactical Fighter Squadron joined the 121st TFS on active duty. However, not all wing personnel were sent to Myrtle Beach, as personnel were spread throughout the United States, Taiwan, Korea, and South Vietnam.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Cold War
The 113 TFW returned to Andrews AFB, in June 1969, and transitioned into the F-105D Thunderchief (AKA "Thud") in 1971, receiving Vietnam War veteran aircraft that were being withdrawn from combat. The 113th was one of four Air National Guard units to receive the F-105. A very large and complex aircraft, the 113th was fortunate to have many Vietnam Veteran airman in its ranks by 1970 which had F-105 experience. The Thud was the first USAF supersonic tactical fighter-bomber that was developed from scratch. All others before it were adaptations of aircraft that had originally been developed as pure fighters.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Cold War
In December 1974, the 113th Tactical Fighter Group was inactivated, with the 121st TFS being assigned directly to the 113th Tactical Fighter Wing.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Cold War
In 1981 at the end of its service life, the F-105s were retired, with the 113th TFW receiving F-4D Phantom IIs, again receiving Vietnam War veteran aircraft from active-duty units receiving F-15A and F-16A next-generation fighter aircraft. With the F-4, the 113th returned to the air defense mission, becoming part of Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC), a named unit at the Numbered Air Force echelon of TAC. ADTAC had taken over the mission of Aerospace Defense Command in 1979 when the command was inactivated; the D.C. Air National Guard using the Phantoms for Washington, D.C. air defense.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Cold War
The 113th operated the Phantoms throughout the 1980s, retiring the Phantoms at the end of their service life in 1989. In turn, the 121st FS started receiving F-16A Fighting Falcons in September 1989. These were block 5 and 10 models coming from various regular USAF units converting to more modern F-16C/D models. The Wing retained its air defense and attack mission, however the early block 5 and 10 models really designed to do. In the air defense role these models lacked any BVR capability, limiting them only to close range combat with their gun and Sidewinder missiles. In the attack role these aircraft were able to deploy bombs, but with their smaller stabs the center of gravity of these aircraft was far from ideal making it quite a challenge for the pilots to fly these missions.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Cold War
The 113th Tactical Fighter Wing was not mobilized during the 1991 Gulf Crisis, remaining in the United States with its air defense mission. D. C. Air National Guard volunteers, however were deployed to CENTAF during the crisis and subsequent combat operations as part of Operation Desert Storm.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 and Operation Desert Storm, Air Force planners reorganized the major command structure and the organization of its units to reflect the new reality of the 1990s and also a smaller force after the end of the Cold War. Tactical Air Command was replaced by Air Combat Command (ACC) as the gaining command for the 113th effective 1 June 1992. On 15 March 1992, the 113th adopted the new Air Force Objective Organization, which re-designated the wing as the 113th Fighter Wing. The 113th Tactical Fighter Group was reactivated as the 113th Operations Group, and the 121st Fighter Squadron was transferred to the 113th OG. Other support groups under the Objective Wing organization are the 179th Maintenance Group, 179th Mission Support Group and the 179th Medical Group.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
In 1994 the 121st traded its early F-16A aircraft for Block 30 F-16C/D Fighting Falcon which upgraded its capabilities considerably. In May 1996, the 121st Fighter Squadron deployed personnel and aircraft to Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait to support Operation Southern Watch (OSW). The 121st FS was the first Air National Guard unit to fly OSW. Operation Southern Watch was an operation which was responsible for enforcing the United Nations mandated no-fly zone below the 32nd parallel north in Iraq. This mission was initiated mainly to cover for attacks of Iraqi forces on the Iraqi Shi’ite Muslims. In July 1996, the squadron returned to Andrews AFB.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
In mid-1996, the Air Force, in response to budget cuts, and changing world situations, began experimenting with Air Expeditionary organizations. The Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) concept was developed that would mix Active-Duty, Reserve and Air National Guard elements into a combined force. Instead of entire permanent units deploying as "Provisional" as in the 1991 Gulf War, Expeditionary units are composed of "aviation packages" from several wings, including active-duty Air Force, the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard, would be married together to carry out the assigned deployment rotation.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Air Combat Command
In February 1997 the 121st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (121st EFS) was first formed from 113th personnel and aircraft and deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey in support of Operation Northern Watch (ONW). Operation Northern Watch was a US European Command Combined Task Force (CTF) who was responsible for enforcing the United Nations mandated no-fly zone above the 36th parallel north in Iraq. This mission was a successor to Operation Provide Comfort which also entailed support for the Iraqi Kurds. The 121st EFS returned to Andrews in April 1997. The 121st EFS was again formed in January 1998 when the Wing was tasked with a second Operation Northern Watch deployment to Incirlik Air Base. This time the deployment was only for a month with less than 100 personnel being deployed.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Modern era
On 11 September 2001, the wing was given authorization for its pilots to shoot down threatening aircraft over Washington DC.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Modern era
After the events of 11 September 2001 the squadron took on an Air Sovereignty Alert Detachment role, stationing a number of aircraft at air force bases around the country to fly alert missions as part of Operation Noble Eagle (ONE).


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Modern era
During one of those missions, on 11 May 2005 the squadron scrambled to intercept an aircraft that wandered into the no-fly zone around the White House. Customs officials had also scrambled a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and a UC-35B Cessna Citation jet at 11:47 a.m. to intercept the plane. The Customs aircraft gave way when the F-16s arrived flew on the wing tips of the little plane. They dipped their wings – a pilot's signal to 'follow me' – and tried to raise the pilot on the radio.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Modern era
But the Cessna didn't change course and it was flying too slow for the F-16s. The frustrated pilots had to take turns dropping flares, breaking away and returning to drop more flares. One senior Bush administration counter-terrorism official said it was 'a real finger-biting period' because they came very close to ordering a shot against a general aircraft. Finally, when the Cessna came within three miles of the White House – just a few minutes flying time – it altered course.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Modern era
In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, the DoD recommended that Cannon Air Force Base, NM be closed. As a result, it would distribute the 27th Fighter Wing’s F-16s to the 113th Wing, Andrews Air Force Base, MD (nine aircraft) and several other installations. The committee claimed that this move would sustain the active/Air National Guard/Air Force Reserve force mix by replacing aircraft that retire in the 2025 Force Structure Plan. However, the base was temporarily removed from closure 26 August 2005, pending review of new mission assignment.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Modern era
On 6 May 2008 the squadron flew its 2000th scramble since the events of 11 September 2001. Most scrambles do not lead to such stories as noted above.


121st Fighter Squadron, History, District of Columbia Air National Guard, Modern era
The 121st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron has been formed and deployed numerous times as part of the Global War on Terrorism. Supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the 121st EFS deployed to Balad Air Base, Iraq, in 2003, 2007 and 2010. A deployment to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was made between October 2011 and January 2012.


121st Fighter Squadron, References, Sources
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website .


121st Guards Rifle Division
The 121st Guards Rifle Division was formed on September 23, 1943, based on the first formation of the 342nd Rifle Division, in the 80th Rifle Corps of 3rd Army. During 1943 it shared a similar combat path to that of the 120th Guards Rifle Division, which was formed in the same Army about a week later. On November 26 it was given credit for its role in the liberation of Gomel and won that city's name as an honorific. It was soon reassigned to 13th Army and would serve under that command for the rest of the war.


121st Guards Rifle Division
In 1944 the division helped form the bridgehead over the Vistula at Sandomir, and in January, 1945, joined in the breakout from this bridgehead and the subsequent advance through Poland and into Germany, earning its final honor for the capture of Wittenberg. The 121st Guards ended the war in western Czechoslovakia with a very impressive combat record.


121st Guards Rifle Division, Formation
The 342nd Rifle Division was raised to Guards status as the 121st Guards on September 23, 1943, based on its successful actions and mass heroism during Operation Kutuzov, the offensive that eliminated the German-held salient around Oryol. Its order of battle was as follows:


121st Guards Rifle Division, Formation
The division was under the command of Maj. Gen. Logvin Davidovich Chervonii, and he would remain in command for the duration of the war.


121st Guards Rifle Division, Advance
As of October 1, the 121st Guards was in 80th Rifle Corps of 3rd Army, which had recently been reassigned to Central Front from Bryansk Front. During the Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive, which began on September 30, the division was tasked, along with 120th Guards and 269th Rifle Divisions, with seizing a bridgehead over the Sozh River to divert German attention and reserves from the fighting in the Gomel region. The attack began at dawn on October 12 and succeeded in capturing small bridgeheads 1–2 km deep at Kostiukovka, Salabuty and Studenets, all south of the city of Propoisk. Although German counterattacks over the next few days prevented the attackers from enlarging their bridgeheads, the attack also prevented German 9th Army from sending reinforcements to 2nd Army to the south.


121st Guards Rifle Division, Advance
The responsibility for the final liberation of Gomel was assigned to 11th and 48th Armies. The 11th struck on November 12 but encountered extremely stiff resistance. The fight for the city was long and bloody, but Soviet advances on the flanks made the German position untenable. Meanwhile, 121st Guards was en route from 3rd to 13th Army and was drawn in to the fighting for the city. Gomel was finally liberated on November 26, and the 121st Guards was one of several units recognized with the city's name as an honorific:


121st Guards Rifle Division, Advance
"GOMEL" - ...121st Guards Rifle Division (Major General Chervonii, Logvin Danilovich)... the troops who participated in the liberation of Gomel, by the order of the Supreme High Command of 26 November 1943, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 20 artillery salvos from 224 guns.


121st Guards Rifle Division, Advance
In December the division would part ways from its "sister" 120th Guards by being transferred to 13th Army, which was now in 1st Ukrainian Front. It would remain under those commands for the duration, to begin with in 76th Rifle Corps. In mid-1944 the division took part in the Lvov-Sandomir Operation, and in January, 1945, it helped make the breakthrough that unleashed the 3rd Guards and 4th Tank Armies to race across Poland and into Germany from the Sandomir bridgehead. Before the Berlin Operation began the 121st was moved to the 24th Rifle Corps.


121st Guards Rifle Division, Advance
At this time the strength of 13th Army's rifle divisions varied from 4,700 to 5,700 men each. The Army was deployed on the east bank of the Neisse River on a 10km front from Klein Bademeusel to just outside Gross Saerchen, with the 27th and 102nd Rifle Corps in first echelon and the 24th in second. The offensive on 1st Ukrainian Front's sector began at dawn on April 16 with attacks across the Neisse and from a bridgehead that had been forced across the river south of Forst in February and made immediate progress. By about April 20 the division was shifted to 27th Corps. After the fall of Berlin it struck southwards in the Prague operation, ending the war in western Czechoslovakia, north of Pilsen, still in the 27th Rifle Corps of 13th Army.


121st Guards Rifle Division, Postwar
The division was in the vicinity of Karlovy Vary when news of the German surrender arrived. The men and women of the division won their final honor, the Order of Lenin, on May 28, for the capture of Wittenberg. They now carried the final honorific title of 121st Guards Rifle, Gomel, Order of Lenin, Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Division (Russian: 121-я гвардейская стрелковая Гомельская ордена Ленина Краснознамённая ордена Суворова дивизия). In addition, 31 soldiers of the division had been named as Heroes of the Soviet Union. The division was relocated to Belokorovichi in western Ukraine as part of the 13th Army's 27th Rifle Corps, where it was disbanded in 1946.


121st IOC Session
The 121st International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session was held on October 1–9, 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, during which Rio de Janeiro was selected as the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The city of Copenhagen was chosen on February 8, 2006 by the 118th IOC Session held in Turin, Italy to stage the 13th Olympic Congress, together with the meetings of the Executive Board and the 121st IOC Session. The other candidates were Athens (Greece), Busan (South Korea), Cairo (Egypt), Riga (Latvia), Singapore (Singapore), Taipei (Chinese Taipei). Convened on the initiative of President Jacques Rogge, the 13th Olympic Congress brought together all the constituent parties of the Olympic Movement to study and discuss the current functioning of the Movement and define the main development axes for the future.


121st IOC Session, 2016 Olympic host city election
On October 2, 2009, the IOC voted to elect the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics. Rio de Janeiro was elected host city after three rounds of voting. This was Rio's fourth bid for the Olympic Games.


121st IOC Session, New sports
The Session decided to add Rugby Sevens and Golf to the Rio 2016 program. The tally for rugby was 81 in favor, with 8 against, and golf was approved 63–26. Neither sport is new to the Olympics — rugby was last featured at the Olympics in 1924, and golf in 1904.


121st Infantry Division (German Empire)
The 121st Infantry Division (121. Infanterie-Division) was a formation of the Imperial German Army in World War I. The division was formed on March 25, 1915, and organized over the next several weeks. It was part of a wave of new infantry divisions formed in the spring of 1915. The division was disbanded in 1919, during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I.


121st Infantry Division (German Empire)
The division was formed primarily from the excess infantry regiments of regular infantry divisions that were being triangularized. The 60th Infantry Regiment was formerly part of the 31st Infantry Division, the 7th Reserve Infantry Regiment came from the 9th Reserve Division, and the 56th Reserve Infantry Regiment came from the 13th Reserve Division. The division was mainly composed of Westphalians.


121st Infantry Division (German Empire), Combat chronicle
The 121st Infantry Division initially fought on the Western Front in World War I, entering the line in the Woëvre region at the beginning of May 1915. It remained in that area until March 1916, fighting in the Battle of Bois-le-Prêtre. It then fought in the Battle of Verdun. It briefly fought in the Battle of the Somme until July 18 when it was transferred to the Eastern Front, where it went into the line on the Styr River until the end of the year.


121st Infantry Division (German Empire), Combat chronicle
It then went into the line near Lake Narač until May 1917, when it returned to the Western Front. It fought in the Battle of Passchendaele in late 1917, and saw action in the Second Battle of the Marne and the Second Battle of the Somme, also known as the Third Battle of the Somme, in 1918. It remained in the line until the end of the war. Allied intelligence rated the division as third class.


121st Infantry Division (German Empire), Order of battle on formation
The 121st Infantry Division was formed as a triangular division. The order of battle of the division on March 25, 1915, was as follows:


121st Infantry Division (German Empire), Late-war order of battle
The division underwent relatively few organizational changes over the course of the war. Cavalry was reduced, artillery and signals commands were formed, and combat engineer support was expanded to a full pioneer battalion. The order of battle on April 1, 1918, was as follows:


121st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 121st Infantry Division (German: 121. Infanterie-Division) was a German Wehrmacht division in World War II. It was a part of the German XXVIII Army Corps. In September 1941 the formation, on arriving in Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg; engaged in the siege of Leningrad. By October 1941 it was down to 40% of its authorized strength and 3 infantry battalions had to be disbanded due to high casualties. In 1944 it was involved in the retreat from Leningrad through the Baltic states wherein it fought in the Battle of Pskov. It remained in the Courland pocket until the end of the war.


121st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht), Bibliography
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121st Infantry Regiment (France)
The 121st Infantry Regiment (121e régiment d'infanterie de ligne) was a military unit in the French Army. It was formed in 1794 as the 121e Demi-Brigade de Bataille, merging the 1st battalion of the 62nd Infantry Regiment, the 1st battalion of volontaires de l'Union and the 7th battalion of the volontaires du Var. The 39e Demi-Brigade d'Infanterie de Ligne was merged into it in 1796.


121st Infantry Regiment (France)
It was re-formed in 1809 as the 121st Line Infantry Regiment, using the survivors from the 1st and 2nd reserve legions raised in 1807. It was disbanded in 1814, but went on to fight in World War I. It was disbanded after the conflict only to be re-raised again in January 1945 with men from the FFI de l'Allier in the Montluçon region.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 121st Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Georgia National Guard that saw combat service in the First and Second World Wars. As a result of army-wide reorganization in the 1950s, the 121st Infantry ceased to exist as a single unit; today, various units of the Georgia National Guard trace their lineage to the 121st Infantry.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), History
The 121st Infantry Regiment was formed from the 2nd Georgia Infantry Regiment in 1916 and assigned to the 31st Division. During World War One, the 121st was assigned to the 61st Infantry Brigade of the 31st Division. The units of the 31st Division, including the 121st Infantry, were broken up upon arrival at Brest and used to provide replacements for other units at the front lines in France. The regiment was demobilized on 14 January 1919 at Fort Gordon, Georgia.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), History
After unit changes that saw the unit retitled 1st Infantry, Georgia National Guard and 122nd Infantry Regiment, the 121st Infantry Regiment was formed again as a Georgia National Guard unit in Macon, Georgia, and federally recognized on 9 June 1924. At this time, the regiment was also assigned to the 30th Division. The regiment was activated in 1925 because of hurricane damage at Tybee Island, and was activated again in 1934 to confront striking textile workers in the Georgia towns of Griffin, Jackson, and Rome.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), History
On 22 November 1941, the regiment was relieved of assignment to the 30th Division and assigned to the 8th Division (later retitled "8th Infantry Division"). The regiment was briefly organized as a motorized infantry regiment before reverting to traditional infantry organization prior to shipping overseas. The 121st Infantry subsequently saw combat with the 8th Infantry Division in the European Theater of Operations during 1944-45.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), History
The regiment returned from World War II at the Boston port of entry on 11 July 1945 and then moved to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where it was inactivated on 20 October 1945. In September 1946, the 121st Infantry Regiment was assigned to the 48th Infantry Division, a national guard division headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. In 1955, this division became the 48th Armored Division and moved its headquarters to Macon, Georgia. As a result of this reorganization, the 121st Infantry Regiment ceased to exist as a tactical organization.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), History
Some elements of the 121st Infantry were transferred to the 162nd Tank Battalion in May 1956. As the army adopted the Pentomic structure in the late 1950s, infantry regiments were broken up and the component battalions reassigned to brigade headquarters while still retaining the number of their former regiment in their titles. Thus, while the 121st Infantry has not existed as a separate tactical organization since the mid-1950s, some Georgia National Guard battalions, such as 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment are still affiliated with the regiment, but assigned to brigades such as the 48th Infantry Brigade for purposes of tactical organization.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), History
Battalions of the former 121st Infantry were assigned to the 48th Armored Division from 1959 until 1968, the 30th Infantry Division from 1968 through 1973, and 48th Infantry Brigade from 30 November 1973 to present.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), Distinctive unit insignia
The regimental nickname "The Gray Bonnets" is derived from the title of a song, "Put on Your Old Gray Bonnets" adopted in 1928 as the official air, or marching song, of the regiment. The distinctive unit insignia of the regiment is an "Old Gray Bonnet" proper, and is one of the few DUIs in the U.S. Army designed to be manufactured and worn in pairs (left and right).


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), Distinctive unit insignia
The insignia is a blue shield with a gray saltire cross and a prickly pear and fleur-de-lis, and a boar's Head with an oak branch in its mouth on top. The blue background represents the Infantry while the gray cross symbolizes the unit's Confederate service. The cactus represents duty on the Mexican border, and the fleur-de-lis service in France during World War I. The boar's head with oak branch is the crest of the Georgia Army National Guard.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), Distinctive unit insignia
The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 121st Regiment Infantry, Georgia National Guard on 27 June 1928. It was amended to permit manufacturing in pairs on 16 August 1928. It was redesignated for the 162d Tank Battalion, Georgia National Guard on 24 May 1956. The insignia was redesignated for the 121st Infantry, Georgia National Guard on 17 April 1961.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment
The 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment is a light infantry battalion of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), Georgia Army National Guard. The Battalion is one of the oldest units in the U.S. Army, tracing its lineage to Georgia state militia units formed between 1810 and 1825. The Battalion provides the 48th Brigade with mounted and dismounted maneuver assets to destroy enemy formations in close combat. Prior to 2007, the unit was designated as a heavy mechanized formation and equipped with M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, Pre-World War I
The earliest units associated with the 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry were the Albany Guards and Barnesville Blues of the Georgia State Militia. These units, formed in 1810 along with the Baldwin Blues and Floyd Rifles, were the first organized infantry militia units in the state. In 1825, the Macon Volunteers also organized. Detachments of these infantry units served in the Seminole War and the Mexican War. During the American Civil War, the regiment was organized as the 4th Regiment Georgia Volunteers, 3rd Georgia Battalion, and finally the 37th Georgia Regiment. Units fought in most major battles of the war, including Malvern Hill, Sharpsburg, Spottsylvania, the Battle of Gettysburg, Second Manassas, Richmond, Seven Pines, Mechanicsville, Cold Harbor, the Wilderness Campaign, and Appomattox.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, Pre-World War I
During the post-Reconstruction period several other regional units were added to the rolls, and by 1891 the regiment had organized into two battalions under the banner of the Second Georgia Infantry Regiment. In 1898, the Barnesville Blues fought as Company F, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Georgia Infantry Regiment during the Spanish–American War. During the Militia Act reorganization of the army in 1916, the 2nd Georgia became the 121st Infantry Regiment of the 31st "Dixie" Division.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, World War I and Inter-war Years
With war looming in Europe, 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry was federalized to patrol the border with Mexico. In 1916 and 1917, elements rotated between the southern border, Georgia and Florida. The prickly pear on the left of the Distinctive Unit Insignia alludes to this mission.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, World War I and Inter-war Years
In September 1918, the entire regiment was ordered to duty in World War I. They arrived in France in October, and before the regiment disembarked, tragedy struck. Longtime commander COL J. A. Thomas, the man responsible for the regimental title "The Old Gray Bonnets", died aboard ship. The news didn't get any better for the tight knit unit once ashore as most of the unit was broken up into small replacement groups and immediately sent to the front.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, World War I and Inter-war Years
However, F Company of 2nd Battalion, along with B and C Companies of the 1st Battalion had travelled to Europe separately and were assigned intact to the 151st Machine Gun Battalion of the 42nd (Rainbow) Division. Elements of the regiment were to participate in six separate campaigns during their brief service in the war, garnering several individual citations of valor. This service is represented by the fleur-de-leis in the left side of the unit's DUI.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, World War I and Inter-war Years
Upon return from France, the units were reorganized several times. In 1925, while at summer encampment at Tybee Island, GA, a hurricane struck. The National Guard camp was completely flooded and had to be rebuilt by men of the battalion. In 1934, labor unrest struck the textile mills of Georgia and 2nd Battalion was again called up, this time for state duty. Once state troops became involved in the labor troubles, they quickly died down with little violence.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, World War I and Inter-war Years
In 1938, with war threatening Europe again, the massive Mississippi Maneuvers were conducted by the U.S. Army at Camp Shelby, MS.  2nd Battalion was one of the units involved. In 1940, as war seemed more inevitable, the Army developed an even larger exercise, the Louisiana maneuvers. Upon completion of that assignment, the entire regiment was federalized on 16 September 1940 at Ft. Jackson, SC and assigned to the 30th Division.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, World War II
The 2–121 Infantry saw extensive activity leading up to World War II and extensive action during WWII. The regiment was assigned to the 8th Infantry Division and saw action in four campaigns in Northwestern Europe (1944–45). Among the many battles that the regiment participated in during its ten months of combat duty were the Battle for Brest and the Battle of Hürtgen Forest.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, From 1990
The Battalion was federalized for Desert Storm as part of the 48th Infantry Brigade on 30 November 1990. It arrived at Fort Stewart on or around 3 December 1990. After certifying at the National Training Center as combat-ready, the whole brigade was demobilised between 27 March and 10 April 1991.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, From 1990
The Battalion then deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina for Stabilization Force (SFOR) Rotation 9 to provide support operations for Task Force Eagle (United States contingent to United Nations Operations in support of Dayton Peace Accord). The SFOR9 rotation was scheduled from April to October 2001.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, Global War on Terror
The Battalion mobilized as a component of the 48th Brigade Combat Team in 2004 for War on Terror combat operations. In May 2005 the unit began deploying to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and experienced some of the fiercest combat actions in the campaign. During the first half of the brigade's deployment to Iraq (Spring 2005 through Spring 2006), the 2–121st spent much of its time of the  region of Baghdad while the sister units 1–108 Armor was in the Southwest region (triangle of death).


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, Global War on Terror
The unit's focus shifted during the second half of the deployment to a theater security mission primarily consisting of convoy escort and civilian military operations. 2–121 suffered eight fatalities while deployed to Iraq. On 20 April 2006, at Ft. Stewart, members of the 2–121st returned home after a year of combat operations in Iraq.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, Global War on Terror
As a part of the United States Army's ongoing transformation to a lighter, more modular force the 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry was re-designated as light infantry in 2007. The unit gave up its M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and became a dismounted force, with its anti-armor (Delta) company receiving up-armored HMMWVs.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, Global War on Terror
In December 2007, the Georgia National Guard's 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was alerted that it would be deployed to Afghanistan in the summer of 2009 for Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). In January 2009, the 2–121st began training for the expected year-long deployment. In the Spring of 2009, the unit returned to Camp Shelby, MS, the site of its World War II preparations nearly 70 years prior. The unit was subsequently deployed to Afghanistan in May.


121st Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, Global War on Terror
While deployed in Afghanistan, the 2–121st participated in training the Afghan National Security Forces while conducting counter insurgency operations in the North, East, and Kabul Regional Command areas of operation. In April 2010 the unit redeployed from Afghanistan and demobilized at Fort Stewart, GA. The battalion suffered 2 fatalities while deployed to Afghanistan.


121st Maine Senate
Below is the list of the 121st Maine Senate, which was sworn into office in December 2002 and left office in December 2004.


121st Maine Senate
On November 25, Richard A. Bennett (R-Oxford) and Beverly Daggett (D-Kennebec) were nominated for President of the Maine Senate. After a secret ballot, Daggett was elected Senate President.


121st Motor Rifle Division
The 121st Motor Rifle Division was a Russian Ground Forces motorized infantry division, based in Monastyrishche. It was formed in 1970 as a training motor rifle division and became a district training center in 1987. The training center became the 121st Motor Rifle Division in 1989. It appears to have disbanded in 2009, as it is not shown on orders of battle of the Eastern Military District.


121st Motor Rifle Division, History
The 121st Training Motor Rifle Division was activated in August 1970 in Monastyrische, Primorsky Krai. It was part of the Far Eastern Military District. During the Cold War, it was maintained at 20-25% strength. On 14 September 1987, it became the 291st District Training Center. The training center became the 121st Motor Rifle Division on 1 October 1989. The Separate Training Motor Transport Battalion became the 1141st Separate Material Supply Battalion. In 1992, the 1040th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment was replaced by the 1062nd Antiaircraft Missile Regiment.


121st Motor Rifle Division, Composition
The 121st Training Motor Rifle Division included the following units.


121st New York Infantry Regiment
The 121st New York Infantry Regiment, commonly known as the "Onesers" or "Upton's Regulars", was a volunteer regiment recruited during the American Civil War from Otsego County and Herkimer County, New York. The Hon. Richard Franchot was appointed colonel of the regiment and authorized to establish his headquarters at Richfield Springs, Otsego County. He proceeded without delay to organize the regiment, and on August 23, 1862, the regiment was mustered into the service of the Union Army. The command at that time consisted of 39 officers and 946 enlisted men. The 121st Regiment proceeded to Washington, arriving there on the morning of September 3, and was assigned provisionally to a brigade under Colonel Gibson with headquarters at Fort Lincoln.


121st New York Infantry Regiment
On the march to the South Mountain and Antietam battlefields the regiment was assigned to the Second Brigade, First Division, Sixth Corps and remained with the command during its entire term of service.


121st New York Infantry Regiment
Colonel Richard Franchot resigned on September 25, 1862, and selected Colonel Emory Upton, at the time a first lieutenant in the Regular army, under whose command the regiment made a record second to none in the Army of the Potomac.


121st New York Infantry Regiment
There is an interesting controversy concerning who captured Confederate Major General Custis Lee, son of Robert E. Lee, at the Battle of Sailor's Creek Virginia on April 6, 1865. Private Harris Hawthorn of the 121st New York claimed his capture and applied for and received the Medal of Honor for this act in the year 1894. The 37th Massachusetts Infantry disputed this award in the year 1897, claiming that Private David Dunnels White of their regiment was the actual captor of Major General Custis Lee. This entire matter is currently under review by the United States Army.


121st New York Infantry Regiment, Organization
The companies were recruited principally from these towns and organized by region:


121st New York State Legislature
The 121st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to July 16, 1898, during the second year of Frank S. Black's governorship, in Albany.


121st New York State Legislature, Background
Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1894, 50 Senators and 150 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts; senators for a two-year term, assemblymen for a one-year term. The senatorial districts were made up of entire counties, except New York County (twelve districts), Kings County (seven districts), Erie County (three districts) and Monroe County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of contiguous area, all within the same county.


121st New York State Legislature, Background
At the New York state election, 1895, the state officers and state senators were elected to an exceptional three-year term (for the sessions of 1896, 1897 and 1898), so that the election of these officers would be held, beginning in 1898, in even-numbered years, at the same time as the gubernatorial election.


121st New York State Legislature, Background
At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Socialist Labor Party and the Prohibition Party also nominated tickets.


121st New York State Legislature, Elections
The New York state election, 1897 was held on November 2. The only statewide elective office up for election was carried by Democrat Alton B. Parker. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, was: Democratic 555,000; Republican 494,000; Socialist Labor 21,000; and Prohibition 20,000.


121st New York State Legislature, Sessions
The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 5, 1898; and adjourned on March 31.


121st New York State Legislature, Sessions
James M. E. O'Grady (R) was re-elected Speaker, against Thomas F. Donnelly (D).


121st New York State Legislature, Sessions
On April 25, Congress declared that the Spanish–American War had begun four days previously. Many New Yorkers volunteered to fight for the independence of Cuba, among them Assistant U.S. Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt and Assemblyman William A. Chanler.


121st New York State Legislature, Sessions
The Legislature met for a special session on July 11; and adjourned on July 16. The Legislature enacted a Metropolitan District Elections law which took the organization of elections in New York City out of the hands of the metropolitan police force, then headed by Chief William Stephen Devery, and placed them instead in the hands of a State Superintendent of Elections, appointed by the Governor, and confirmed by the Senate. A few minutes after the law was passed, John McCullagh, Devery's predecessor as head of the metropolitan police, was appointed to the office. The Legislature also appropriated money to an additional war fund; and enacted a Soldiers Vote law, expecting it being necessary to take the vote of the New Yorkers engaged in the Spanish–American War in the field during the next state election.


121st New York State Legislature, State Senate, Districts
Note: In 1897, New York County (the boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx), Kings County (the borough of Brooklyn), Richmond County (the borough of Staten Island) and the Western part of Queens County (the borough of Queens) were consolidated into the present-day City of New York. The Eastern part of Queens County (the non-consolidated part) was separated in 1899 as Nassau County. Parts of the 1st and 2nd Assembly districts of Westchester County were annexed by New York City in 1895, and became part of the Borough of the Bronx in 1898.


121st New York State Legislature, State Senate, Members
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.


121st Ohio General Assembly
The One Hundred Twenty-first Ohio General Assembly was the legislative body of the state of Ohio in 1995 and 1996. In this General Assembly, both the Ohio Senate and the Ohio House of Representatives were controlled by the Republican Party. In the Senate, there were 20 Republicans and 13 Democrats. In the House, there were 56 Republicans and 43 Democrats.


121st Ohio Infantry Regiment
The 121st Ohio Infantry Regiment, sometimes 121st Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 121st OVI) was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.


121st Ohio Infantry Regiment, Service
The 121st Ohio Infantry was organized at Delaware, Ohio, and mustered in for three years service on September 11, 1862, under the command of Colonel William P. Reid. The regiment was recruited in Delaware, Knox, Logan, Union, Marion, and Morrow counties.


121st Ohio Infantry Regiment, Service
The regiment was attached to 34th Brigade, 10th Division, Army of the Ohio, September 1862. 34th Brigade, 10th Division, I Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November 1862. District of West Kentucky, Department of the Ohio, to February 1863. Reed's Brigade, Baird's Division, Army of Kentucky, Department of the Cumberland, to June 1863. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, Reserve Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October 1863. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to June 1865.


121st Ohio Infantry Regiment, Service
The 121st Ohio Infantry mustered out of service at Washington, D.C. on June 8, 1865.


121st Ohio Infantry Regiment, Detailed service
Ordered to Cincinnati, September 11; thence to Covington, Ky., September 15, and to Louisville, Ky., September 20. Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1–15, 1862. Battle of Perryville, Ky., October 8. Moved to Lebanon, Ky., and duty there until November, and at Columbia until December. Operations against Morgan December 22, 1862, to January 3, 1863. Ordered to Louisville, thence moved to Nashville, Tenn., February 9; thence to Franklin, Tenn., February 12, and duty there until June. Tullahoma Campaign June 23-July 7. Duty at Fayetteville August 25-September 5. Chickamauga Campaign. Battle of Chickamauga September 19–21. Siege of Chattanooga, September 24-November 23.


121st Ohio Infantry Regiment, Detailed service
Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23–27. Orchard Knob November 23. Tunnel Hill November 24–25. Missionary Ridge November 25. Chickamauga Station November 26. March to relief of Knoxville, November 28-December 17. Duty at Rossville, Ga., until May 1864. Atlanta Campaign May 1 to September 8. Tunnel Hill May 6–7. Demonstration on Rocky Faced Ridge May 8–11. Buzzard's Roost Gap May 8–9. Battle of Resaca May 14–15. Advance on Dallas May 18–25. Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5.


121st Ohio Infantry Regiment, Detailed service
Operations about Marietta and against Kennesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Pine Hill June 11–14. Lost Mountain June 15–17. Assault on Kennesaw June 27. Ruff's Station July 4. Chattahoochie River July 5–17. Peachtree Creek July 19–20. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Utoy Creek August 5–7. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25–30. Battle of Jonesboro August 31-September 1. Operations against Forrest and Hood in northern Georgia and northern Alabama September 29-November 3. March to the Sea November 15-December 10. Sandersville November 26. Siege of Savannah December 10–21. Campaign of the Carolinas January to April 1865.


121st Ohio Infantry Regiment, Detailed service
Taylor's Hole Creek, Aversyboro, N. C., March 16. Battle of Bentonville March 19–21. Occupation of Goldsboro March 24. Advance on Raleigh April 10–14. Occupation of Raleigh April 14. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Va., April 29-May 19. Grand Review of the Armies May 24.


121st Ohio Infantry Regiment, Casualties
The regiment lost a total of 349 men during service; 9 officers and 92 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 2 officers and 246 enlisted men died of disease.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment
The 121st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was a regiment of the Union Army during the United States Civil War.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History
This regiment, chiefly recruited in the city of Philadelphia, and in the county of Venango, was organized at camp of rendezvous, near Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, early in September 1862, with the following field officers:


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History
Soon after its organization, it was ordered to Washington, D.C., and upon its arrival, went into camp at Arlington Heights. Arms and equipment were not delivered until some weeks after its arrival, but drill and instruction were immediately commenced, and prosecuted with vigor, the regiment becoming noted for good discipline at the drills and reviews of General Silas Casey's Provisional Brigade, to which it was then attached.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History
On October 1, 1862, the regiment moved to Frederick, Maryland, and a week later joined General George Meade's Division of Pennsylvania troops, above Sharpsburg, and near the battle ground of Antietam. With the exception of slight skirmishing, as the army moved south through Virginia, it had no experience in fighting until it entered upon the Fredericksburg campaign. After reaching Warrenton, where McClellan was replaced by Major General Ambrose Burnside, it passed through Fayetteville, Stafford Court House, Brooks' Station, and White Oak Church, encamping a short time at each place.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Fredericksburg Campaign
On December 12, it crossed the Rappahannock at Franklin's Crossing, below Fredericksburg, and moved to a position near Deep Run, where it bivouacked for the night in line of battle.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Fredericksburg Campaign
On the morning of the 13th, moving forward over the broken ground near the Run, it crossed the Bowling Green Road, and took position opposite a wooded hill on which the enemy lay in well provided breast-works. This movement was made under a fire of artillery from the left flank, which was kept up for more than an hour, by which the line was twice struck, and ten men disabled. it was at the same time exposed to a direct fire from the front, which was answered by Ransom's guns in the immediate front of the regiment.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Fredericksburg Campaign
A rebel caisson that was at this juncture fortunately exploded, when, taking advantage of the favorable moment, the order was given to advance, and the division crossed the plain, four hundred yards wide, under fire from front and both flanks, drove the rebel skirmishers from a deep ditch which skirted the woods, ascended the slope of the hill, and broke the line of the enemy, which was distinctly marked by his dead.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Fredericksburg Campaign
The line of battle of the division having been somewhat disordered by the inequalities of the ground over which it had passed, and the obstructions met, it was here partially re-formed, and the position held without further orders, under a hot fire from all directions.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Fredericksburg Campaign
The impression prevailing that the troops were surrounded, the fire of the enemy coming from flanks and rear, in the absence of orders from either brigade or division chiefs, the troops retired to put themselves in communication with them; but finding that they were entirely unsupported, they took up a position facing the woods, still under fire, from which they were finally ordered to retire to the position occupied in the early morning.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Fredericksburg Campaign
During Sunday, the 14th, and Monday, the 15th, the position was retained, in the hope that the enemy might be tempted from his fastness on the wooded heights, to the open fields below; but finding no indications of a hostile movement on his part, the army was withdrawn, and the regiment retired to camping ground near White Oak Church.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Fredericksburg Campaign
A few weeks later it moved to Belle Plains, where it remained in huts and under canvas during the winter, performing the usual routine of picket duty and drill. The loss in the campaign was one hundred and eighty, chiefly sustained in the action at Fredericksburg, including two officers killed, Lieutenants George W. Brickley and M. W. C. Barclay, for lost to the service:one by wounds, and one from sickness.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Fredericksburg Campaign
Burnside's second campaign, which was entered upon on January 20, 1863, was cut short by impassable roads. The artillery could not be moved, and after four days of exposure to the chilling weather, the army returned to its encampments. In returning, the regiment was left behind to assist in extricating the artillery, and afterwards to explore its way through an unknown country back to camp. This and another fruitless expedition to Port Conway, which the rebels, from the southern shore of the Rappahannock, were suspected of visiting, were the only variations from the usual routine of camp duty experienced during the winter.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Chancellorsville Campaign
The spring campaign opened with the march of the army to Chancellorsville. The First and Fifth corps were at first moved to Franklin's Crossing, of the Rappahannock, where they remained in support of the Sixth Corps, which made the passage of the stream, while Hooker, with the remaining three corps, marched and crossed several miles above. After remaining here until the 30th, the Third Corps, and on the 2d of May the First Corps, also moved above, and crossing, re-joined the army at Chancellorsville.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Chancellorsville Campaign
After the reverse of the Eleventh Corps, on the evening of 2 May, the First Corps was hurried away from the extreme left, where it had halted on its way to the front, to the right, to meet a triumphant foe. The regiment, although much worn by fatiguing duty, suffered but slight loss. When the army withdrew to the neighborhood of Falmouth, after the battle, the regiment was stationed near the banks of the Rappahannock, three miles in advance of its former camping ground.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
On June 12, the regiment moved by steady, rapid marches to Centreville, reaching the town on the 16th. It moved then onto Broad Run, crossed the Potomac at Edwards' Ferry, passing through Middletown and arriving at Emmitsburg on the 29th. On the night of the 30th, the regiment formed the advance picket of the Third Division, Doubleday's, at a point about seven miles from Gettysburg, covering the ground from Marsh Creek to Middle Creek, the center of the line being near the Cross Roads at Ross White's house.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
On the morning of July 1, the regiment marched at the head of the brigade, which also included the 142nd and 151st Pennsylvania regiments, and the 20th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, as well as a battery of artillery, all under command of Colonel Biddle, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Biddle being in command of the regiment.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
As the brigade approached Gettysburg, the noise of artillery was heard, and shells were seen bursting over some distant woods. Crossing the hills to the west of the town, it came upon Buford's Cavalry, which was engaging the enemy, and formed in a field facing to the westward, with a wood in front held by the enemy. Soon afterwards it moved to the north, and united with the left of the First Division, under General Wadsworth, arriving in time to meet an advance of the enemy through the woods to the west of the Theological Seminary.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
The position thus occupied, was held during most of the day, though frequently changing front as the enemy manifested a disposition to advance from the north or from the west. With his numerous batteries, the enemy kept up a vigorous shelling of the position, until he made his final assault at half past two in the afternoon, advancing from the north and the west in overpowering force.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
To meet his attack from the west, a change of front was made, which brought the One Hundred and Twenty-first on the extreme left of the line, having upon its right the Twentieth New York, then a battery, and upon the extreme right, the One Hundred and Forty-second. The One Hundred and Fifty-first Pennsylvania having been previously detached to support the Second Brigade, commanded by General Roy Stone, was posted near the pike, farther to the right, and just in rear of the Seminary, but was subsequently brought up and formed on the right of the One Hundred and Forty-second. The enemy's line of battle extended far beyond the extreme left of the Union line, lapping around it, his fire completely enfilading the One Hundred and Twenty-first Regiment.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
When the direct assault on the front of the brigade came, it was at first successfully resisted. His line was received with an effective fire, and wounded men of the brigade, who were left upon the field, afterwards reported that none but scattered troops ever passed over the position; but his forces swarming in upon the left, and completely outflanking the brigade, gave no chance for successful resistance.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
The ground was, however, held until the brigade battery was withdrawn in safety, when the fragment of the command remaining, retired to a barricade in the woods, to the rear of the Seminary. Clinging to this until a large portion of the troops engaged, and the artillery and ambulances had passed on through the town, the brigade withdrew to Cemetery Hill, and re-formed in rear of its crest.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
Receiving a fresh supply of cartridges, the regiment was held in readiness to repel an anticipated assault from General Ewell, who had come in from the north; but no assault came, the rebel troops seeming content with their successes, and the men bivouacked at night, feeling that though beaten and driven back from their position of the morning, they had successfully checked the enemy, in vastly superior numbers, until a new position could be taken, immeasurably better than the first, and until the army could come up in sufficient strength to successfully cope with its adversary.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
A beautiful rainbow seen in the west seemed to promise better fortune for the morrow. Out of seven officers and two hundred and fifty-six men who entered the engagement in the morning, there " ere left at night but two officers and eighty-two men an aggregate of one hundred and seventy. nine, either killed, wounded, or missing, upwards of sixty-five per cent.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
On the following day, the brigade occupied a position on the Taneytown Road, to the left of the Cemetery, and during the cannonade in the afternoon, was much exposed, the enemy's shells, from opposite directions, frequently bursting in the same field. Early on the morning of the 3rd, it was moved into line of battle on the left center, the regiment occupying a position immediately in front of General Doubleday's headquarters.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
A barricade of rails was, thrown up for its protection, in case it should be pressed by infantry; but in the fierce cannonade by the enemy in the afternoon, which preceded his last grand charge, this barricade was shattered, and leveled with the dust. The men slept on their arms during the succeeding night, and on the two following days were employed in clearing the field, and in burying the dead.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
On the afternoon of the 5th, the enemy being in full retreat, it moved with the corps by the Emmitsburg Road, and crossing the mountains opposite Hagerstown, came up with the enemy, in position near Williamsport. His skirmishers were speedily driven in. Pausing before his entrenched line, until the forces could be brought into position, an advance was ordered; but the enemy had made good his escape across the Potomac, and his entrenchments were possessed with but the feeble opposition of a line of skirmishers.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
Returning over the South Mountains to Berlin, the regiment crossed the Potomac, followed substantially the route of the previous year to Warrenton and Rappahannock Station, and thence, after the lapse of some weeks, through Brandy Station, and Culpeper, to a point near Raccoon Ford on the Rapidan, where it remained until Lee attempted to turn the right of the Union army, causing a retrograde movement.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
The regiment, then moved via Paoli Mills to Kelly's Ford, where it was engaged in throwing up rifle-pits, and guarding the crossing, until it was ascertained that the rebel army had passed the stream above, when it marched at midnight, passing Warrenton Junction, Catlett's and Bristoe Stations, and arrived with the division up on the Centreville Heights, in time to prevent their occupation by Lee's advance, which had arrived in close proximity.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
As the rest of the army came up, the division moved out towards the Chantilly battle ground, and upon the abandonment of offensive operations by the enemy, and his consequent retirement, advanced again towards Haymarket and Thoroughfare Gap. At Haymarket, a force of the enemy, supposed to be Stuart's Cavalry, dismounted, attacked at night, and in the conflict the regiment received a volley in the darkness, but fortunately without loss. As the enemy continued to fall back, Meade advanced.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Gettysburg Campaign
At Catlett's Station, the One-Hundred and Twenty-first was detailed for special duty in defending the Cedar Run Bridge, and in guarding the depots of stock, provision, and hospital stores deposited there, which duty it continued to perform until the close of the Mine Run campaign, when the army retired to winter-quarters on the left bank of the Rapidan. The regiment was then ordered to Paoli Mills, and subsequently to Culpeper, where it went into camp, and finally to permanent quarters.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Winter 1863
During the winter, the First Corps, which, since its great sacrifices at Gettysburg, had been composed of little more than skeleton regiments, was broken up, and distributed to other corps. By this change, the One Hundred and Twenty-first became part of the Fifth Corps, and though increased in numbers by the addition of a full company, which had been on duty at headquarters, was never after able to bring more than two hundred men into the field, no facilities having been afforded for recruiting.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Winter 1863
Colonel Chapman Biddle was honorably discharged on December 10, 1863, and Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Biddle, on January 9, 1864. Thereupon, Thomas M. Hall, who had been promoted to major, in December 1863, was made lieutenant colonel. During the winter the regiment remained in camp a short distance from Culpeper, engaged in the usual routine of camp and picket duty.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Overland Campaign
At one o'clock on the morning of May 4, the regiment moved on the Wilderness campaign. On the following morning, having crossed the Rapidan at Germania Ford, it moved forward, and as it became evident that the enemy was in front, took position in a dense thicket, through which it was compelled to cut alleys before it could advance. At noon it came upon the foe, and became hotly engaged, holding its ground by hard fighting until four p.m., when it was obliged to retire, after having lost heavily in killed and wounded, and was moved to the left to the support of the Second Corps.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Overland Campaign
Early on the morning of the 6th, in conjunction with the Second Corps, which was formed in three lines of battle, it moved forward under a galling fire from the enemy in front, and a raking flank fire from his batteries. The ground was fiercely contested, and the command was finally checked and forced to fall back. But renewing the attack, it soon regained the lost ground. The enemy was here heavily reinforced, and succeeded in pushing the Union column back to the Gordonsville Road, where temporary works had been hastily thrown up. Artillery could not be used on account of the nature of the ground, and the three lines with which the advance was made had been gradually molded into one.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Overland Campaign
At the Gordonsville Road, the brigade to which the One Hundred and Twenty-first was attached, was posted in rear of, and supporting a portion of the Second Corps. Late in the afternoon the enemy, with a recklessness rarely witnessed, charged upon the works, and in face of the deadly volleys of the infantry, and the more terrible fire of the artillery, succeeded in carrying a part of the line on the left, and in planting two of his standards upon the defenses.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Overland Campaign
At this juncture the brigade, with the One Hundred and Twenty-first on the extreme right, which until this moment had been lying prostrate upon the ground a few yards in the rear, was ordered to advance, and springing forward, came down upon the victorious enemy with a steady and unflinching front, pouring upon him volley after volley, wrenching from him his dear bought advantage, and driving him in confusion to the woods beyond. With the exception of slight skirmishing, this ended the fighting for the day.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Overland Campaign
After refilling the cartridge boxes, the men rested during the night in the works, and on the morning of the 7th were led to the rear, where they remained until night-fall, and then commenced the march towards Spottsylvania Court House, the enemy in the Wilderness having taken to his works. All night long the march was continued, reaching Laurel Hill, on the morning of the 8th, relieving a portion of the First Division, of the Fifth Corps, which was engaging the enemy under a heavy cross-fire from batteries in position on an eminence to its left.