The 372nd Infantry Regiment was a segregated African American regiment, nominally a part of the 93rd Division, that served in World War I under French Army command, and also in World War II. In World War II the regiment was not attached to a division, and served in the continental United States (CONUS) and Hawaii. In both wars the unit had primarily African American enlisted men and white officers.
World War I
Lineage
During World War I, the 372nd Infantry Regiment was composed of the following segregated National Guard units as well as draftees:
1st Separate Battalion, Infantry, of the District of Columbia (originally organized by Charles Remond Douglass circa 1880) 9th Separate Battalion, Infantry, of Ohio Separate Company, Infantry, of Maryland Separate Company, Infantry, of Tennessee Separate Company, Infantry, of Massachusetts Separate Company, Infantry, of Connecticut 250 drafted men from Camp Custer, Michigan, recruited mainly from Michigan and Wisconsin.
History
The 372nd Infantry Regiment was organized in January 1918 at Camp Stewart, Virginia and initially assigned to the 93rd Division (Provisional).
Moved to France in March 1918. The 93rd Division was never fully organized, and the 372nd Infantry was seconded, along with the 371st Infantry Regiment, to the 157th Infantry Division of the French Army, called the "Red Hand Division". Under the command of General Mariano Goybet, the division was in need of reinforcements. During the fighting on the Western Front in the Champagne region, this division was in the French IX Corps of the French 4th Army. After fighting in the Champagne–Marne region (28 September-7 October 1918) and the Meuse–Argonne offensive, the regiment moved to the Vosges Mountains area of the front. The regiment returned to the United States in February 1919, and was demobilized 28 February 1919 at Camp Jackson, South Carolina.
A monument to the 372nd Infantry Regiment was erected after the war south of Monthois to commemorate the unit's fighting in the Champagne region, in which the regiment took 579 casualties (total killed, wounded, prisoners, and missing).
"Over the Top" Emmet J. Scott's Official History of the American Negro in the World War provides a chronological record of when the men were fighting with gallantry in the Champagne region of France for victory:
"Over the Top September 28, 1918, the 3rd Battalion started after the Boche. The first blow being delivered by the 2nd Moroccan Division of shock troops. The retreating Boches are still bombarding our position. Machine gun fire is thick and the 88s are falling like hail.
"On the morning of September 29, 1918, we are trying hard to keep up with the retreating enemy, which is retreating fast, unable to stand our assault. This afternoon it is raining which is unfortunate for our wounded, as there are many.
"Today is September 30, 1918, and we find that the 1st Battalion is on our right, and advancing fast in the rain and mud. Machine gun opposition is still stiff. Our casualties are small and we have captured a large number of prisoners.
"October 1, 1918, we are meeting with a stiff resistance from the enemy who has fortified himself in a hill during the past night. Owing to the bad condition of the ground we are not getting any support from the French artillery.
"October 2, 1918, we have driven the enemy out of Fontaine-en-Dormois and are now in the village. Still we are giving the enemy no rest, they are retreating across the valley to one of their supply bases which has a railroad running into the same. The enemy is now burning the supplies which cannot be moved.
"October 3, 1918, we have advanced and captured the little village of Ardeuil and a considerable amount of war material. Our losses have been rather heavy during the past 24 hours, but we have inflicted a much heavier loss on the enemy. On our right the 1st Battalion has taken the village of Séchault after some hard fighting by Company A.
"October 4, 1918, the 2nd Battalion is going in this morning, and we are resting at Vieox, which is about four kilometers from Monthois and is one of the enemy's railroad centers and hospital bases. The enemy is busy destroying supplies and moving wounded. We can see trains moving out of Monthois. Our artillery is bombarding all roads and railroads in the vicinity. The enemies' fire is fierce and we are expecting a counter-attack.