World War I s of the 366th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Division, inspecting their gas masks behind the front line,
Ainvelle, Vosges, France, August 1918. • Activated: October 1917 • Overseas: 18 July 1918 • Major operations:
Meuse-Argonne less field artillery • Casualties: total: 1,647 (KIA: 120; WIA: 1,527). • Commanders: Maj. Gen.
Charles C. Ballou (29 October 1917), Maj. Gen.
Charles H. Martin (19 November 1918), Brig. Gen.
James B. Erwin (16 December 1918). • Returned to United States and inactivated: February 1919. The 92nd Division was first constituted on paper on 24 October 1917 in the
National Army, over six months after the
American entry into World War I. The division was commanded throughout most of its relatively brief existence by
Major General Charles C. Ballou and was composed of the
183rd Infantry Brigade with the
365th and
366th Infantry Regiments, and the
184th Infantry Brigade with the
367th and
368th Infantry Regiments, together with supporting artillery, engineer, medical and signal units attached. The division was organized on 27 October 1917 from
draftees (Selective Service men) from the United States at large at eight camps. The
War Department did not set up a single cantonment for this unit, and distributed the sub-units of men widely throughout the Midwest and East Coast: at
Camp Funston on the grounds of
Fort Riley,
Kansas;
Camp Dodge,
Iowa;
Camp Grant,
Illinois;
Camp Sherman, Ohio;
Camp Meade,
Maryland;
Camp Dix,
New Jersey;
Camp Upton,
New York. All of the enlisted personnel and about four-fifths of the officers were African American, but the great majority of the staff and field grade, supply, artillery, engineer, and quartermaster officers were white. For this division, 104 Black captains, 397 first lieutenants, and 125 second lieutenants were trained at a "negro officers' camp" in
Des Moines, Iowa. A special "Negro zone" was to be built at the east end of Camp Funston, with "separate amusement places and exchanges." A.D. Jellison, a banker of
Junction City, Kansas, gave a plot of land for a "community house," to be erected by the Black trainees who had been drafted from seven states. As was the case with the
93rd Division, parts of the 92nd served under and alongside the
French Army. The main body of the
American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), adhering to the racial policies of Southern
President Woodrow Wilson,
Secretary of War Newton D. Baker, and southern Democrats, who promoted the "
separate but equal" doctrine, refused to allow African American soldiers to serve in combat with white American soldiers. Arriving on the
Western Front, the 92nd was a green and untried unit that was not even given time to maneuver as a division before being committed to the line. After arrival the 92nd, like all AEF units, trained in
trench warfare. They began to be introduced by company into the French sector of the front lines in mid-August 1918. The 92nd Artillery Brigade did not come online until October 1918.
Ralph Waldo Tyler was assigned to report on the 92nd Division by Secretary Baker. He was the first and, at the time, only accredited African American reporting on the Great War. The 92nd Division saw combat in the
Meuse–Argonne offensive, the largest battle fought by the AEF in the war (and the largest in
U.S. military history), during November 1918 and was engaged in fighting right up until the
Armistice with Germany on November 11.
Units 92nd Division (1917–19) • Headquarters, 92nd Division • 183rd Infantry Brigade • 365th Infantry Regiment •
366th Infantry Regiment • 350th Machine Gun Battalion • 184th Infantry Brigade • 367th Infantry Regiment • 368th Infantry Regiment • 351st Machine Gun Battalion • 167th Field Artillery Brigade • 349th Field Artillery Regiment • 350th Field Artillery Regiment • 351st Field Artillery Regiment • 317th Trench Mortar Battery • 349th Machine Gun Battalion • 317th Engineer Regiment • 317th Field Signal Battalion • 325th Field Signal Battalion • Headquarters Troop, 92nd Division • 317th Train Headquarters and Military Police • 317th Ammunition Train • 317th Supply Train • 317th Engineer Train • 317th Sanitary Train • 365th, 366th, 367th, and 368th Ambulance Companies and Field Hospitals
World War II • Activated: 15 October 1942. • Overseas: 22 September 1944. • Campaigns: North
Apennines,
Po Valley. • Awards:
Medal of Honor: 2 (1 Posthumously in 1997);
Distinguished Service Cross (United States): 2;
Army Distinguished Service Medal: 1;
Silver Star: 208;
Legion of Merit: 16;
Soldier's Medal: 6;
Bronze Star: 1,166;
Purple Heart: 1,891;
Order of the Crown of Italy: 8;
Military Cross for Military Valor (Italian): 17;
Military Cross for Merit in War (Italian): 22;
War Medal (Brazil): 1 • Commanders: Maj. Gen.
Edward Almond (October 1942 – August 1945), Brig. Gen.
John E. Wood (August 1945 to inactivation). • Returned to the United States: 26 November 1945. • Inactivated: 28 November 1945. (MS), Italy after having freed it from German troops, 8 April 1945. The division was reactivated as an infantry division with the "colored" designation, under the command of
Major General Edward Almond, on 15 October 1942, ten months after the
American entry into World War II. They were assigned to
Fort Huachuca,
Arizona and trained in the United States for nearly two years. In late July 1944, the
370th Infantry Regiment was sent to Italy and temporarily attached to the
1st Armored Division. The rest of the division was sent overseas in September of that year, and the division as a whole participated in heavy combat during the remainder of the
Italian Campaign. During the 92nd Division's participation in the Italian Front, the Buffalo Soldiers made contact with units of many nationalities: beyond the attached
442nd Regimental Combat Team (442nd RCT), they also had contact with the
colonial troops of the
British and
French colonial empires (Moroccans, Algerians, Senegalese, Indians, Gurkhas, and both Arab and Jewish Palestinians) as well as with exiled Poles, Greeks and Czechs,
anti-fascist Italians and the troops of the
Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB). The division's magazine was
The Buffalo. Its art director,
Ted Shearer, later created the early African American comic strip
Quincy.
Commanders The division's commander, Major General
Edward Almond, a native Virginian, was for a time highly regarded by
General George C. Marshall, the
U.S. Army Chief of Staff. They were both graduates of
Virginia Military Institute (VMI). This was a major factor in Almond's promotion to major general and subsequent command of the 92nd Division, which was composed of African American draftees in the segregated Army. Almond held this position from the division's formation in October 1942 until August 1945. He led the division in combat throughout the Italian campaign of 1944–1945. Marshall selected Almond because he believed the latter would excel at what was seen as a difficult assignment. But Almond performed poorly and blamed this on his largely African American troops. Blaming them for his failure in combat, he advised the army against using African American soldiers as combat troops.
Combat chronicle The 370th Regimental Combat Team, attached to the
1st Armored Division, arrived in
Naples, Italy, on 1 August 1944, and entered combat on 24 August. It participated in the crossing of the
Arno River, the occupation of
Lucca, and the penetration of the
Gothic Line. Enemy resistance was negligible in its area. As Task Force 92, elements of the 92nd attacked on the
Ligurian coastal flank toward
Massa, 5 October. By 12 October, the slight gains achieved were lost to counterattacks. On 13 October, the remainder of the division concentrated for patrol activities. Elements of the 92nd moved to the
Serchio sector, 3 November 1944, and advanced in the Serchio River Valley against light resistance, but the attempt to capture
Castelnuovo di Garfagnana did not succeed. Patrol activities continued until 26 December when the
enemy attacked, forcing units of the 92nd to withdraw. The attack ended on 28 December. The attacking forces were mainly from the
Republic of Salò's Fascist Army, the
4th Italian "Monte Rosa" Alpine Division (four battalions), with the support of three German battalions. Aside from patrols and reconnaissance, units of the 92nd attacked enemy forces in the Serchio sector from 8 to 11 February 1945.
Operation Fourth Term met German minefields and counterattacks and was called off on 11 February due to disappointing results. After continuing poor combat performance, including many instances of unauthorized withdrawals upon meeting the enemy, low morale and malingering, the U.S. command concluded that the 92nd Infantry Division was of inferior quality and fit for only defensive roles; according to a 1966 study by historian
Ulysses G. Lee, captured German documents revealed their command also had a low opinion of the division. Some contemporary historians believe that reports of the poor combat performance of the 92nd Infantry Division were motivated by the racism of senior officers and used to discredit the ability of black soldiers to perform in combat to the black public, instead of examining and remedying institutional deficiencies within the Army itself when it came to recruiting, training, and leading black soldiers. On 1 April, the 370th RCT and the attached
442nd Regimental Combat Team (
Nisei) attacked the Ligurian coastal sector and drove rapidly north against light opposition from the
German 148th Infantry Division. It was supported only by Italian coastal units. The 370th took over the Serchio sector and pursued the retreating enemy from 18 April until the collapse of all enemy forces on 29 April 1945. Elements of the 92nd Division entered
La Spezia and
Genoa on 27 April and took over selected towns along the Ligurian coast until the enemy surrendered on 2 May 1945. The division was inactivated on 28 November 1945 at
Fort McClellan,
Alabama.
Casualties •
Total battle casualties: 2,997 •
Killed in action: 548 •
Wounded in action: 2,187 •
Missing in action: 206 •
Prisoner of war: 56
Medal of Honor recipients •
John R. Fox, 1st Lt., Cannon Company,
366th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division, near
Sommocolonia,
Serchio Valley, Italy, 26 December 1944. •
Vernon J. Baker, 1st Lt., Company C, 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division, near
Viareggio, Italy, 5–6 April 1945. Note: The Medal of Honor was not awarded to these two men until 1997.
Order of battle 92nd Infantry Division (1942–45) • Headquarters, 92nd Infantry Division • 365th Infantry Regiment •
370th Infantry Regiment •
371st Infantry Regiment • Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 92nd Infantry Division Artillery • 597th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) • 598th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) • 599th Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) • 600th Field Artillery Battalion (155 mm) • 317th Engineer Combat Battalion • 317th Medical Battalion • 92nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized) • Headquarters, Special Troops, 92nd Infantry Division • Headquarters Company, 92nd Infantry Division • 792nd Ordnance (Light Maintenance) Company • 92nd Quartermaster Company • 92nd Signal Company • Military Police Platoon • Band • 92nd Counterintelligence Corps Detachment Attached units: •
366th Infantry Regiment (November 1944 – February 1945) •
442nd Infantry Regiment (Nisei) (April 1945 – ) •
473rd Regimental Combat Team (formed from anti-aircraft units) (February 1945 – May 1945?). •
758th Tank Battalion (Colored) •
679th Tank Destroyer Battalion (Colored) • 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion • 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion
Task Force 1 (February 1945):] • 3rd Battalion / 366th Infantry Regiment • Company B, 317th Engineer Battalion • 760th Tank Battalion • 84th Chemical Mortar Battalion • 27th Armored Field Artillery Battalion ==See also==