370th Infantry Regiment (United States)

The 370th Infantry Regiment was the designation for one of the infantry regiments of the 93rd (Provisional) Infantry Division.

8th Infantry Regiment, Illinois National Guard

This was an all-black militia regiment founded in the 1870s.

World War 1

Soldier of the 370th Infantry Regiment during WWI

The 8th Illinois Infantry arrived in France on

World War 2

The 370th Infantry Regiment arrived in Naples, Italy on August 1, 1944. It was attached 1st Armored Division. The 370th entered combat on August 24, 1944. 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 the 12th, 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 did not succeed. Patrol activities continued until 26 December when the enemy attacked (Winter Line), forcing units of the 92nd to withdraw. The attack ended on 28 December. The attacking forces were mainly from the Alpine Division "Monte Rosa" a division of the army of the Italian Social Republic(4 battalions) with the support of 3 German battalions. Aside from patrols and reconnaissance, units of the 92d attacked in the Serchio sector, 5–8 February 1945, against the Italian Bersaglieri Division "Italia", another unit of the army of the Italian Social Republic, but enemy counterattacks nullified Division advances. On 1 April, the 370th RCT and the attached 442nd RCT (Nisei) attacked in the Ligurian coastal sector and drove rapidly north against light opposition of German 148th Infantry Division supported by Italian coastal units. The 370th took over the Serchio sector and pursued a retreating enemy from 18 April until the collapse of enemy forces, 29 April 1945. Elements of the 92nd Division entered La Spezia and Genoa on the 27th and took over selected towns along the Ligurian coast until the enemy surrendered, 2 May 1945. Between August 1944 and May 1945 the 92nd Division suffered 3,200 casualties, factoring losses from units attached to the Division brings the totals up to 5,000 casualties. On Italian Front the Buffalo soldiers had opportunity to made contact with men of many nationalities: beyond other segregated Americans like the Japaneses descendants, They had contact with the also segregated troops of British and French colonial empires( Black Africans, Moroccans, Algerians, Indians, Gurkhas, Jews and Palestinians )as well as with exiled Poles, Greeks and Czechs; anti-fascist Italians and the Non-segregated troops of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force.

Notable Members

World War 1

• 1st Lieutenant William J. Powell Engineer and aviation pioneer was wounded in a gas attack as an infantry officer.
• Sergeant Matthew Jenkins won the Distinguished Service Cross and the Croix de Guerre for leading his platoon in combat, taking a German position, and holding it until relieved 36 hours later.
• Lieutenant-Colonel Otis B. Duncan commanded the 3rd Battalion of the 370th in combat.