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366th Infantry Regiment | |
---|---|
Active | August 1917–25 March 1919 10 February 1941-28 March 1945 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Regiment |
Garrison/HQ | Fort Devens, Massachusetts |
Motto(s) | "Labor Conquers All Things." |
Engagements | World War I, World War II |
Battle honours | Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Rome-Arno Campaign |
U.S. Infantry Regiments | ||||
|
World War I
[edit]The 366th Infantry was officially established 16 August 1917 as part of the 92nd Infantry Division They were stationed at Camp Dodge, Iowa, in November 1917.[1][2]
The regiments of the 92nd began dispatching to Europ in May of 1918. In France, they initially trained with the rest of the 92nd at Bourbonne-les-Bains, and on 21 August arrived at Saint-Die[1] in the Vosges mountains. There, they were instructed in trench warfare and mountain patrols, although the mountainous terrain made training regimens difficult to complete. However, the challenging terrain also prevented extensive military operations, limiting the armies to "minor forays on one another's tranches" and "brief skirmishes between patrols out in no man's land."[2]
The 92nd left Saint-Die on 19 September for Meuse-Argonne,[1] where they worked building roads and transporting supplies, and occupied the Marbache sector[1] until 24 October. In Centre de Resistance Seille, two men were killed and nine wounded over the course of the month of October.[2]
On November 10th and 11th, 365th and 366th took and held the Bois Voivrotte until November 14 when they were relieved by the French army.[2]
Overall from August to November of 1018, the 366th saw approximately 29 men killed, 176 wounded and 135 gassed. The 92nd returned to the United States in March 1919.[2]
The 366th Infantry was demobilized on 25 March 1919 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and reconstituted on 16 December 1940 in the Regular Army.[1]
World War II
[edit]The 366th Infantry Regiment was activated on 10 February 1941 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts and assigned to the Eastern Defense Command on 30 April 1942.[1]
Arrived at night, townspeople didn't know, woke up to 4k armed soldiers outside the city, successfully got them moved out.[3]
Drove to Camp Atteriberry (sp?) just south of Indianapolis[3]
Trained at Atterbury until March /44, sent back to Camp Hemry VA to prepare to deploy[3]
Fort Devens
[edit]From February 1941 until November of 1943, the 366th was based at Fort Devens in Massachusetts. Many soldiers who came from more southern parts of the United States struggled to adjust to the cold and snow. Several men died during this period, and at least one was buried in the cemetary at Fort Devens. Lieutenant Elmer Best, another enlisted member of the 366th from New York City, was killed in a gun accident during this time.[3]
The approximately 3200 enlisted men of the 366th Infantry Regiment were accompanied at all times by between 126 and 180 officers. While the brigade was comprised exclusively of soldiers of color, they were not all African-American: Several soldiers of East Asian descent were also enlisted in the 366th.[3][4] The regiment was one of very few World War II units comprised both of African-American soldiers and African-American officers at both the junior and senior levels.[5]
Also unique was the regiment's embedded services and its lack of attachment to a combat division. The 366th contained embedded anti-tank, cannon artillery, and medical detachment services. Most other regiments needed to call on other battalions to provide these services, but the 366th could move around more smoothly as they were self-sufficient in these areas. The regiment was also designated as "separate" in that they were not attached directly to a combat regiment, and were instead attached to commands above the division level. In order to enter combat, the 366th would need to attach itself to a combat division.[3]
Africa
[edit]Sailed from Hampton Roads to Casablanca, train to Oran, Algeria; ship to Naples[3]
March 1944, sent to Oran, North Africa where white officers mistreated and demoralized them. Commanding Officer Queen forbidden from entering officers' club.[6]
6 April 1944, arrived North Africa[5][1]
Italy
[edit]Sent to Italy in April 1944, split up across southern part of the country[6]
Guarded Air Force installations throughout Italy at first--Sardinia to the Adriatic Coast--for the Fifteenth Air Force Service Command.[7]
“Our mission was to provide air base security and to guard ammunition dumps, bomb dumps, etc."[6]
Went to base in Foggia, got split/spread out again; security at 20+ airfields.[3]
Offered to Fifth Army on 30 May 1944, but offer was rescinded due to preparations needed/requested by commanding officer.[7]
Used softball to maintain good relationships with other Allied units[7]
Brass began to worry that guard duty w/ limited training was eroding combat readiness[7]
Northern Italy/combat
[edit]28 October 1944, instructed to move to Leghorn, Italy to become the fourth regiment of the 92nd Division[7]
First and only combat regiment commanded by a "colored" colonel to enter into combat in US military history. Howard Donovan Queen was the commander.[3][1]
"The 366th arrived in Leghorn on 26 November and, upon arrival, was attached to the 92d Division. The division issued training orders and inspected and quizzed the men and officers of the regiment. It determined, for training purposes, to attach units of the regiment to its own elements, despite the concern of the 366th's commander that the regiment be given additional training and that it retain its integrity. On 30 November, the fourth day after arrival, the first of the 366th's units, Company E, entered the line attached to the 3d Battalion, 371st Infantry, then on the coast. The 366th Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon was attached to the division's reconnaissance troop on the following day. Its B Company was attached to the 3d Battalion, 371st; its 2d Battalion, less Company E, moved into the 370th's forward positions in the Serchio valley on 2 December; its I Company went to the 371st Infantry on 5 December, its cannon company to the 370th Infantry and its antitank company to the 371st Infantry on 9 December; and its K Company to the 370th on II December. Its 1st Battalion, operating directly under the division and not under regimental control, relieved the 3d Battalion, 371st Infantry, in the coastal sector on 12-13 December."[7]
Queen had kept the regiment united despite calls to split them up, send them to be stevedores, etc. Asked for thirty days to get them re-trained as infantry since they had been split up and doing security for so long. 92nd commander (General Edweard Molloy Almond) promised 15 days. Arrived 27 November, three days later started being sent to the front lines. In Italy 90 days.[3]
November 27, sent to Tuscany to Livorno to attach to the 92nd division opposing the Germans at a series of fortifications across Tuscany called "Gothic line" or "green line" where Germans had built caves and high fortifications to stop Allies from going north. 92nd was having trouble breaking through; 366 sent to assist[3]
Joined 92nd "Buffalo Soldiers" in Livorno 1944[5]
Almond told soldiers in the 366th: "I did not send for you. Your Negro newspapers, Negro politicians, and white friends have insisted on your seeing combat and I shall see that you get combat and your share of the casualties." Cites Howard Queen's The Invisible Soldier, page has three digits[3]
"Major General Edward Almond, commanding general of the 92nd, said that he had not asked for them"[6]
"Split between the Serchio River Valley and Cinquale Canal near the coast"[5]
92nd picked out smaller units, left officers behind (didn't want the 366th's officers. Soldiers orphaned without trusted commanders[3]
366th Infantry closed into Barga for attachment to the 370th Infantry on 3 December[7]
"50 soldiers died that day from that regiment" (probably talking about Sommocolonia?)[3] Battle of Sommocolonia, engaged fire with Germans daily[6] 366th lost 2/3 of its troops at Sommocolonia[5]
Sinquale (sp?) canal; tried to cross the canal in the face of overwhelming German artillery, suffered lots of casualties in two days[3]
Italy: 1300 casualties[5]
"Overall" 2997 battle casualties and 56 prisoners of war[6]
Lt. Col. Alonzo Ferguson made commander 15 December 1944 after Queen (?) asked for relief and was "evacuated for physical disability"[7]
After the war
[edit]Disbanded March 1945, transferred to "engineering service regiments".[5][1]
Only unit of the 92nd that was stripped of its infantry status[5]
When they arrived back in the US, they were made to sit in the rear of the transport buses. German POWs rode in front.[5]
Very difficult to put the list of names, photos, information about the soldiers together. Much more difficult than for the Buffalo Soldiers. No list for this regiment. Many names not even on the WWII site of names of soldiers killed[3]
The Black Guards of Maine
[edit]The 366th was one of the few battalions armed, trained and ready to defend sensitive facilities and infrastructure throughout New England.[4] Remembering the 1915 Vanceboro international bridge bombing and fearful of further attempts by the Germans to sabotage infrastructure in the United States, the Army sent platoons from the 366th to guard airfields, railroad bridges, water systems, and other key spots in Maine beginning in 1941.[3] Based out of Camp Keyes in Augusta,[8] many soldiers slept in boxcars near their assigned posts, which included places in North Yarmouth, Old Town, Morkill, and Monson[9][4][10]
The "Black Guards of Maine," as the soldiers became known, were met with widely varied reactions as they were introduced to communities around the state.[9][3] In Falmouth, where they guarded the Presumpscot River Bridge, the soldiers joined a local baseball team and led them to the league championship.[3][4] From their boxcar barracks in Yarmouth, soldiers made friends with local families and participated in dances and bean suppers.[4] In Morkill, soldiers were stationed to guard the Onawa Trestle railroad bridge in 12-hour shifts around the clock, at one point discovering dynamite left below it, possibly by local loggers. While in Morkill, the soldiers held a performance for the local community.[10] In Old Town, however, the owner of the Penobscot Times used both the newspaper and his relationship with Klu Klux Klan-affiliated former governor and current United States senator Ralph Brewster to attempt to have the soldiers removed from the town.[9][10]
The soldiers of the 166th left Maine between 1942[4] and 1945[10] and the Army National Guard and other Army units were sent to replace them. The 366th returned to Fort Devins to continue their training.[3]
Notable veterans
[edit]- West A. Hamilton[11]
- Edward W. Brooke III[1]
- Frederic E. Davison[12]
- William L. Dawson[1]
- Aaron R. Fisher
- John R. Fox[6]
- James F. Hamlet[3]
- William Phelps, career Army, financial officer for Morgan State Universityand then Johns Hopkins University[3]
- Wade H. McCree[3][13]
- Fredrick Ellis, Army general[3]
- John Letts, Michigan judge[3][13]
- Samuel Wilbert Tucker[3][13]
- Ralph Boyd, civil rights activist[3][13][14]
- Harold Russell, postal administrator and Director of Disaster Services for Nassau County, New York Red Cross[3][13]
- Rothacker Smith, prisoner of war[3][13]
- Edward Peaks, journalist and civil rights activist[3]
- Hyman Chase, zoologist and professor[3][13]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k "The 366th Infantry Regiment is formed". Archived from the original on 23 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Cochrane, Rexmond (1959), The 92nd Division in the Marbache Sector, October 1918 (PDF), Army Chemical Center, Maryland: U.S. Army Chemical Corps Historical Office
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae Pratt, James (9 November 2013). 366th Infantry Regiment (Colored) (Separate) (video). Fort Devens Museum: Fort Devens Historical Society. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Lear, Alex (15 May 2014). "Soldier's son to share, seek Maine history of 'colored' battalion". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i "WWII's fallen Black soldiers of 366th Infantry Regiment include one from Bryn Mawr". Maineline Media News. 5 February 2024. Archived from the original on 23 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "WWII Buffalo Soldier Rothacker Smith, 366th Infantry Regiment". The National WWII Museum. 28 July 2020. Archived from the original on 23 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Ulysses Lee (2000) [1966]. "XIX - Mountain and Plain". The Employment of Negro Troops. United States Army Center of Military History. LCCN 66-60003. CMH Pub 11-4. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
- ^ "Camp Keyes Historical Photos". Maine National Guard. Archived from the original on 23 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Keyes, Bob (15 November 2020). "Exploring the men and motivations behind the Black Guards of Maine". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "A Convenient Soldier: The Black Guards of Maine". Maine Memory Network. Archived from the original on 24 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
- ^ "366 lack of officers". The Pittsburgh Courier. Associated Negro Press (ANP). 15 March 1941. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Walton, Ben (2017). Great Black War Fighters: Profiles in Service Revised Edition-2017. Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency. p. 54. ISBN 9781946539458.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Prominent Veterans of the 366th Infantry Regiment". Braided In Fire. Archived from the original on 23 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ Nelson, Paul (24 September 2018). "Civil rights activist Ralph F. Boyd Sr. dies at 99". Times Union. Archived from the original on 23 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
Further reading
[edit]- E. Brooke, Bridging The Divide: My Life, Rutgers University Press, 2006. Archive link. ISBN 0-8135-3905-6. Pages 26-29.
- E. V. Converse III, The Exclusion of Black Soldiers from the Medal of Honor in World War II, McFarland & Company, 1997. Archive link. ISBN 0-7864-0277-6
- H.B. Hargrove, Buffalo Soldiers in Italy: Black Americans in World War II, McFarland & Company, 1985. ISBN 0-89950-116-8
- J.A. Sawicki, Infantry Regiments of the U.S. Army, Wyvern, 1981. ISBN 0-9602404-3-8. Page 522.
- S.L. Stanton, Order of Battle, U.S. Army, World War II, California Presidio Press, 1984. ISBN 0-88365-775-9. Page 252.
- H.E. Russell, Company I 366th Infantry, RoseDog Books, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8059-8992-2. Page 34.
- S. Wales, Braided in Fire, Knox Press, 2020. ISBN 9781948496032.
External links
[edit]366 CategoryMilitary units and formations in Massachusetts CategoryMilitary units and formations established in 1917 CategoryAfrican Americans in World War I CategoryAfrican Americans in World War II CategoryAfrican-American United States Army personnel