It was heavily involved in fighting during World War II against German forces in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany from June 1944 to May 1945.

Iowa had organized the 1st Cavalry Squadron in 1915,[2] a unit with four troops (companies) that saw service on the Mexican frontier during the pursuit of Pancho Villa.

The entire regiment performed riot control duties during the "Iowa Cow War" in Cedar County, Iowa, from 21 September–25 November 1931, while the regimental headquarters, Machine Gun Troop, and Troops B, E, and F performed martial law at Newton, Iowa, in connection with labor troubles at the Maytag washing machine plant from 6–15 August 1938.

The regiment conducted summer training at Camp Dodge, Iowa, from 1921–27 and 1929–40, and at Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1927–28.

[3] The 113th Cavalry Regiment, still nominally a horse-mechanized unit, sailed to England, arriving on 28 January 1944.

The battle participation credits earned by National Guard units in Le Mars (Company K, 133rd Infantry Regiment) and Waterloo (Companies B and D, 133rd Infantry Regiment) during World War II entitled their descendants in the new 113th Cavalry to display battle honors for the Tunisia, Anzio, Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, North Apennines, and Po Valley campaigns.