The 92nd Infantry Division (known as the 92nd Division during World War I) was an African American, later mixed, infantrydivision of the United States Army that served in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. The military was racially segregated during the World Wars. The division was organized in October 1917, after the U.S. entry into World War I, at Camp Funston, Kansas, with African American soldiers from all states. In 1918, before leaving for France, the American buffalo was selected as the divisional insignia due to the "Buffalo Soldiers" nickname, given to African American cavalrymen in the 19th century. The divisional nickname, "Buffalo Soldiers Division", was inherited from the 366th Infantry, one of the first units organized in the division.
The 92nd Infantry Division was the only African American infantry division that participated in combat in Europe during World War II. Other units were used as support. It was part of the U.S. Fifth Army, fighting in the Italian Campaign[1] from 1944 to the war's end.
History
World War I
Square Division example: 1918 US Infantry Division. On the far left can be seen two Brigades of two Regiments each
African American doughboys of the 366th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Division, inspecting their gas masks behind the front line, Ainvelle, Vosges, France, August 1918.
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.[5] For this division, 104 Black captains, 397 first lieutenants, and 125 second lieutenants were trained at a "negro officers' camp" in Des Moines, Iowa.[6]
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.[7]
Officers of the 367th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Division, on the Western Front, pictured here in September 1918.
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 for deployment in the trenches. They began to be introduced by company into the French sector front lines in mid-August 1918. The 92nd Artillery Brigade did not come online until October 1918.[citation needed]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.
365th, 366th, 367th, and 368th Ambulance Companies and Field Hospitals
World War II
Triangular Division example: 1942 U.S. infantry division. The brigades of the Square division have been removed, and there are three regiments directly under divisional control.
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.
The soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Division enter the city of Montignoso (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 GeneralEdward 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.
The division's magazine was The Buffalo.[12] Its art director, Ted Shearer, later created the early African American comic strip Quincy.[13]
Commanders
Major General Edward Almond, Commanding General of the 92nd Infantry Division, inspects his troops during a decoration ceremony, March 1945.
The division's commander, Major General Edward Almond, a native Virginian, was for a time highly regarded by GeneralGeorge 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. General 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.[14]
Combat chronicle
Soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Division operate a mortar, Massa, Italy in November 1944.
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'sFascist 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. This Operation Fourth Term meets German minefields and counterattacks and is called off on 11 February due to disappointing successes.[15]
After continuing poor combat performance, including many instances of unauthorized withdrawals upon meeting the enemy, low morale and malingering, the US 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, German documents showed their command also had low opinions of these troops.[16]) Because there were very few African American infantry replacements, this precluded use of the full division in sustained offensive action. In addition, the U.S. Fifth Army leadership was wary of the perception of poor performance; they decided to withdraw the division from the front lines and rebuilt it in early 1945.
The 365th Infantry Regiment became a training and replacement regiment for the division. The 366th Infantry Regiment was relieved from attachment to the division and was organized into two engineer general service regiments. The 370th Infantry Regiment remained assigned to the division and was rebuilt by transferring outstanding enlisted men and officers from the other two African American regiments assigned to the division. They also received replacements of African American soldier all the way from the US or African American soldiers who stationed in Britain but assigned in the reserve units and never saw combat since they set foot in the United Kingdom. The 371st Infantry Regiment was relieved from assignment to the division and used under Fifth Army control. The 473rd Infantry Regiment, formed from unneeded anti-aircraft white troops, and the Nisei442nd Infantry Regiment, made up of Japanese Americans and becoming noted for its high performance, was assigned to bolster the division's combat effectiveness.[16]
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.[17]
Soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Division with a captured German soldier. Lucca, September 1944
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.
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.
Capt. Ezekia Smith, of the 370th Infantry Regiment, receives treatment at the 317th Medical Battalion Collecting Station, for shell fragments in face and shoulders suffered near Querceta, Italy.
^Ricks, Thomaz E. The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today, Penguin Press, 2012 ISBN9781594204043 pages 152-53
^Battistelli, Pier Paolo (2023). Assault on the Gothic Line 1944: The Allied Attempted Breakthrough into Northern Italy. Osprey Publishing. p. 87. ISBN9781472850140.
^ abLee, Ulysses G. (1966). United States Army in World War II, Special Studies: The Employment of Negro Troops. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army. p. 572-575.
^Kesting, Robert W. (1987). "Conspiracy to Discredit the Black Buffaloes: The 92nd Infantry in World War II". The Journal of Negro History. 72 (1/2): 1–19. doi:10.1086/JNHv72n1-2p1. JSTOR3031477. S2CID149684398.
^ abcdeArmy Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths, Final Report (Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953)
Hargrove, Hondon B. (1985). Buffalo Soldiers in Italy: Black Americans in World War II. McFarland & Company. ISBN0-89950-116-8.
McGrath, John J. (2004). The Brigade: A History: Its Organization and Employment in the US Army. Combat Studies Institute Press. ISBN978-1-4404-4915-4.
Ready, J. Lee (1985). Forgotten Allies: The Military Contribution of the Colonies, Exiled Governments and Lesser Powers to the Allied Victory in World War II. Volume I: The European Theatre. McFarland & Company. ISBN978-0-89950-117-8.
Rinaldi, Richard A. (2004). The U. S. Army in World War I: Orders of Battle. General Data LLC. p. 54. ISBN0-9720296-4-8.
Stanton, Shelby L. (1991). World War II Order of Battle. Galahad Books. pp. 166–167. ISBN0-88365-775-9.
A Path to Lunch Liberation Day and the Liberation of America, The 92nd in Lunigiana and Versilia.
Wilson, Dale E. (1992). "Recipe for Failure: Major General Edward M. Almond and Preparation of the U.S. 92d Infantry Division for Combat in World War II". The Journal of Military History. 56 (3): 473–488. doi:10.2307/1985973. JSTOR1985973.
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