France: Following in the Footsteps of the 442nd "Go for Broke" Regiment

While we were in France last year with H's brother touring the wine country of Alsace and the battlefields of Verdun and the Meuse-Argonne, we also took the time to visit the site of a famous episode in US Army World War Two history and an important event to Americans of Japanese descent, the rescue of the "Lost Battalion" by the Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT).  Our time was limited and none of us were experts on the fighting in the area, but it was a meaningful and moving day following the tracks of those young men who, as H puts it, carry all Japanese Americans who come after them on their shoulders by the acts of courage and sacrifice they endured.

First, a little background on the 442nd to give you a greater understanding on why its members and this particular battle are so honored.  The 442nd rose from the ashes of a shameful episode of racism and paranoia in our history following Imperial Japan's 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.  Under the authority of Executive Order 9066, more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans on the US mainland were forcefully interned in concentration camps scattered about the western US.  More than 1,000 were also interred in Hawaii and more probably would have been put in camps if some of the authorities had had their way.  Marshal law was declared in Hawaii to clamp down on the threat of espionage or sabotage from the territory's majority population of residents with Japanese ancestry and an atmosphere of fear, hatred, and suspicion prevailed.  Japanese-Americans of the Hawaiian National Guard units at one point had their weapons taken from them and were nearly discharged because of their heritage.

Eventually, Japanese-Americans born in the US (Nisei) would be allowed to serve in the US Army and from their ranks would come two units that served with great distinction during the war even though many of them had suffered humiliation, accusations of disloyalty, and had families living in internment camps.  Both would be shipped off to fight in Europe rather than the Pacific campaign.  The first, created in mid-1942 from the Hawaiian National Guard, would become the 100th Infantry Battalion and enter combat in Italy in late September of 1943.  It would take heavy casualties and earn the nickname the "Purple Heart Battalion."  The second unit, comprised of Nisei from both Hawaii and the mainland US, was formed in February of 1943 and would become the 442nd RCT, nicknamed "Go For Broke."  Before entering combat in Italy in May of 1944, it would absorb the 100th Battalion.  By the end of the war, the 442nd would become the most highly decorated US Army unit for its size and length of service on record, earning seven Presidential Unit Citations, the highest award a unit can receive.  Individuals in the unit would earn 21 Medals of Honor, 33 Distinguished Service Crosses, and 588 Silver Stars, the three highest individual Army awards, as well as a host of lesser honors, including 5,200 Bronze Stars and almost 9,500 Purple Hearts (for wounds in combat).

The 442nd spent most of its combat tour in Italy, but would also fight in southern France from October of 1944 to March of 1945.  In October, the 442nd found itself in the Vosges Mountains and attached to the  36th "Texas" Division, so-named because it was originally comprised of National Guardsmen from Texas.  In nine days of heavy fighting, the 442nd and elements of the 36th Division took two French towns, Bruyeres and Biffontaine.  After seizing Biffontaine, the 442nd was moved into reserve for a rest, but almost immediately was ordered out on another mission, the rescue of the "Lost Battalion."  On 26 October, some 275 men of the 36th Division's 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment (1st/141st) were cut off and surrounded on a ridge approximately two kilometers behind German lines, not far from the recently captured town of Biffontaine.    For the next five days, the 442nd would attack through the German defenses in a desperate attempt to relieve the trapped battalion.  It was a slug fest.  The terrain was rugged and hilly, the weather cold and wet, and German resistance fanatical.  The 442nd's progress was slow until the third day of the attack when elements of its 3rd and 100th battalions spontaneously launched a "banzai" charge up a steep slope about 800 meters from the trapped battalion.  Two members of the 442nd would earn the Medal of Honor that day, and the hill would afterwards be known as "Banzai Hill."  The attack itself broke the back of the German defenses, and although the 442nd would continue to meet resistance, it would make contact with the surviving 211 members of the "Lost Battalion" the next day.  After five days of relentless attacks to relieve the men of the 141st, and some 800 casualties, the 442nd was exhausted, but it was not done and would remain in action another 18 days before being pulled off the front lines for a well-deserved rest.  In three weeks of combat, the approximately 3,000-strong unit had suffered over 1,400 casualties, plus several hundred more hospitalized largely for frostbite and exhaustion.

Bruyeres

Simple map from the Texas Military Museum site showing the 36th Division's attacks on Bruyeres and the hills surrounding the town.  The 442nd, 141, 142, and 143 boxes represent the regiments of the division.  "36RCN" is the reconnaissance unit (troop) of the 36th Division.

A more detailed map showing the locations of the key hills attacked around Bruyeres by the 442nd, particularly hills A, B, and 555.

German trenches on Hill A.  The 442nd's 100th Battalion took this hill from a German SS Police unit.

H's offering at the small monument to the men of the 442nd located on Hill A.  It sits just off a narrow forest road not too far from the trenches in the previous photo.

Close up of the inscription.

Just across the road is a small park and picnic area, plus this monument with the knot of friendship.  We had a nice French-style lunch here complete with local bread, cheese, and wine.

The inscription.

Street in Bruyeres named in honor of the 442nd.

 The Lost Battalion

Simple map showing the surrounded 1st Battalion of the 141st Regiment above La Houssiere and the general route of the 442nd's relief attack.    Ironically, just days before the 442nd launched the assault, its own 100th Battalion had seized Biffontaine only to be cut off and surrounded briefly by a German counterattack.  Relief forces from the 442nd's 3rd Battalion soon arrived to drive off the Germans.

A detailed, hand-drawn topographic map showing the route of the 442nd's attack.  Note the narrowness of the ridge occupied by the 1st/141st.  This feature severely limited the 442nd's ability to maneuver, forcing the men of the unit to launch  costly frontal assaults in order to break the German defenses around the Lost Battalion.

The ridge today.   The Lost Battalion's perimeter was on the right end of the ridge.  The road generally follows the route of the 442nd's attack.  It bends off to the left of the photograph, then swings back up the ridge from left to right. 

Alongside the road is this monument honoring Hawaii's 100th Battalion and its role in the relief of the 1st/141st.

Close up.

Monument from the village of Biffontaine to the men of the 442nd.  The 100th Battalion suffered about 160 casualties in the fight for Biffontaine on 22-23 October.   

Old shell holes and foxholes still mark the area along the route of the 442nd's attacks.   We discovered a 60mm mortar shell in the bottom of one such hole.  Unclear if it was a dud or was just never fired.  That was the last such hole we explored, however.  By our calculations, this area-- about 800-1,000 meters from the Lost Battalion's perimeter--was probably about where the men of the 3rd and 100th battalions launched their "banzai" attack that broke the back of the German resistance.

Signs like these mark the way to the perimeter of 1st/141st.

275 men of the "Lost Battalion" held out here for 6 days until rescued by the 442nd.  Afterwards, the 141st would be known as the "Alamo" Regiment.

More shell holes and foxholes mark the area.

If you are interested in a book-length study of this story, we recommend Franz Steidl's Lost Battalions:  Going for Broke in the Vosges, Autumn 1944.  Steidl's account also tells the story of some of the German units facing the men of the 442nd and the 141st, including, oddly enough, the story of yet another battalion--this one a German unit--also "lost" during the battle and requiring a relief force.  In addition, there are a number of quality websites devoted to the remarkable story of the 442nd "Go For Broke" Regiment.