Dan Snow's History Hit - The Harlem Hellfighters of World War One

Episode Date: September 19, 2021

During World War One the 369th Infantry Regiment of the US Army gained a fearsome reputation. One of the most effective fighting units they spent more time in the frontline and suffered more casualties than any other American regiment. Given the nickname Men of Bronze by the French and the Hell-fighters by the Germans they were feared and respected in equal measure. The men of the 369th preferred, at the time, to be called the Black Rattlers and what set them apart from other units was that they were one of the first African-American regiments to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces. As African-Americans, these brave men were often denied the respect they deserved at home as America went through a period of intense racism and racial upheaval. In fact, it was only in August 2021 that the regiment was recognised for its extraordinary service when it was finally awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Dan is joined by James Taub Public Program Specialist at The National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas to explore the history of the Harlem Hellfighters. They discuss the racism black soldiers experience in the US Army at the time, the experiences of the Hellfighters in Europe, their reputation as fearsome soldiers and the cultural impact they had in France.

This is History's Heroes. People with purpose, brave ideas, and the courage to stand alone. Including a pioneering surgeon who rebuilt the shattered faces of soldiers in the First World War. You know, he would look at these men and he would say, don't worry, Sonny, you'll have as good a face as any of us when I'm done with you. Join me, Alex von Tunzelman, for History's Heroes. Subscribe to History's Heroes wherever you get your podcasts. Hey everyone, welcome to Dan Snow's History. In September 2021, it was announced that the Harlem Hellfighters

would be given a Congressional Gold Medal by the US Congress. Who were the Harlem Hellfighters? They were an extraordinary group of men, an all-black infantry unit who fought some of the toughest engagements of the US in the First World War. They served on the Western Front, taking part in the bloodiest ever American battle. It's almost universally forgotten today, the Battle of the Meuse-Argonne at the end of 1918. And they were greatly celebrated when they came home to their native New York at the end of the war. Joining me on this podcast to talk about this

extraordinary piece of history is James Towle. He's a sort of specialist in the public program at one of my favourite museums in the world, the World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. I cannot wait to get back out there when I'm allowed to travel, see the gang, and eat some barbecue, which is, my Texan friends will never forgive me for saying this, I think the best barbecue in the world. Anyway, I digress. James Taub came on to talk to me all about it. If you wish to see programs about the First World War, we got some. We got some, let me tell you. Historyhit.tv. It's my new digital history channel, nominated for Best Specialist Channel here in the UK, available all over the world. If you go to historyhit.tv, you get 30 days free if you sign up now. It's like a Netflix for history. Tons of documentaries, all the

episodes of this podcast and our sibling podcasts without the ads. It's amazing, all for a very small subscription, less than the cost of a posh cappuccino in your local coffee shop. What is there not to like about that? So after you've listened to this podcast, head over to historyhit.tv. But in the meantime, here's the brilliant James Taub telling me all about the 369th Infantry Regiment. Enjoy. James, thanks for coming on the podcast. Anytime. Very happy to be here. So, you know, it's so interesting, this unit, the 369th, they've just recently been decorated by Congress. It was a pretty long time in coming, but an extraordinary unit. How many of these

African-American units were raised during the First World War? Well, there were quite a number. In fact, there are about 350,000 African-Americans who serve in the United States military during World War I. Now, only one out of 10 of those are actually in combat units like the 369th Infantry. The vast majority are going to be in rear area units, what at the time they would have called labor units, to be in rear area units, what at the time they would have called labor units, particularly a large number of African Americans in the stevedore units, where the men loading and unloading ships, both in Europe as well as at the United States ports. And that comes from the racism at the time that comes from a very strong distrust of African Americans as combat troops, which existed in the United States during the time. Obviously, it's just racism, I guess, right? Like, where does that come from? Because, you know, there are obviously countless units throughout the US

history, individuals who have fought very bravely, like, was it just straight up, they were thought to be unreliable? Yeah, so there's a lot of different theories that go around at the time. Obviously, unfortunately, World War One, while we study and can be very interested in the folks who were participating at the time was also at the height of the new Ku Klux Klan. Famously, the pro-KKK film Birth of a Nation is shown in the Wilson White House. Wilson himself is a Southerner who, when he first takes office in 1914, bars African Americans from working in civilian jobs in the federal government. So there is a strong cultural form of racism that exists, especially if you look at the American officer corps, if we're talking on the military side of things, as many of these men are the sons

or grandsons of those who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. So there is racism is not particularly limited to the American South, it is across the United States. And I should also mention that it's not just towards African Americans, there's racism towards various immigrant groups and it is something that the United States is struggling with at the time as the demographics of the country are changing. And do African Americans sign up because of financial urgency, because of patriotism, or because they think actually

this might be an opportunity to advance their cause within the US? I think it's very much the latter for those who volunteer, especially the 369th, the famous Harlem Hellfighters, is a great example of that because they are formed out of the New York National Guard. The 15th New York Infantry is what becomes federalized as the 369th United States Infantry. And they form very much the similar model

to, say, the 54th Massachusetts, famously portrayed in the movie Glory during the American Civil War, because while they're from the state of New York, a lot of men from across the United States end up volunteering to join the regiment because it is this body of progressive ideals where many leading members of the Black American community say, if we join in the war effort, we're patriotic, and our young men go off to fight in France and Flanders, when they come back, hopefully we will be treated in the way we deserve to be and that all Americans deserve to be. So there's a strong aspect of that. But I would also point out that the vast majority of American servicemen, no matter where they are from in their background during the First World

War, are draftees. So there's also that aspect. And when these ones that were volunteers, when they signed up, did they know that they would be largely excluded from fighting or was there a debate around that? There was a lot of debate around that. One of our local soldiers here at the National World War I Museum and Memorial here in Kansas City is General Pershing. He was a Missourian. Famously, his nickname was Black Jack. And that comes from the fact that as a young officer, he had commanded African American soldiers during the Spanish American War, as well as in the Philippines, the famous Buffalo soldiers, the cavalry of black soldiers. And so there were some ideas that

because that's where his background was, that he would be much more open to the idea of African Americans participating in combat in the same way other American troops were. However, Pershing is going to follow the Wilson administration's ideas towards not only race, but also how he's going to conduct the war in France. I know when you study, say, Field Marshal Haig and the British Expeditionary Enforce in France and Flanders, he's very much at odds with the London government quite often. But Pershing is kind of the opposite. He takes words from Washington and says, that's the order, I'm going to follow them. Even when it comes down to how the soldiers should be acting in the field, let alone how he's running the American expeditionary forces in 1917, 1918.

And so these young men, it sounds so weird for us, because of course, many of us now would be like, geez, I'd definitely have taken the job unloading equipment rather than fighting on the front line. But on the whole, is it possible to characterize the ambition, the desire of some of these units heading over to France? Yeah, there is a strong desire within the overall African American community. If you look at W.E.B. Du Bois, the famous writer, at the time civil rights activist, he will talk about how important it is for Black Americans to participate in combat, to be able to come back at the peace table and say,

look at what we contributed. And that's not to say that those who weren't in frontline units didn't also suffer some of the same deprivations that those in frontline units did. Four million American men and women are going to serve in the military during World War I. Two million will go overseas. Now, just because you're not in the front lines of the Meuse-Argonne offensive doesn't mean you're not still in danger. The United States will still suffer more casualties from the great influenza, Spanish flu, than they will from combat deaths. So there's still a danger there as well. These men are going to be treated horribly. They might not be in combat, but a lot of their officers are going to come from the same sort of class that were the slave owners of the 1860s and earlier. And that embedded racism is going to

have a direct impact on how they are treated both in the United States as well as when they arrive in Europe. And in many cases, the Army particularly aims to have white Southern officers as officers overlooking African American units, because there's this racist idea that they will have experience with working with African Americans. And unfortunately, it creates absolutely horrible conditions for the black soldiers in the United States military. Wow. You mentioned Europe. What was the attitude of Europeans towards these units of African Americans? Yeah, so it was a polar opposite. I highly encourage folks that at the National World War I Museum and Memorial, we have some amazing oral interviews with African American veterans of the First World War, which you can listen to on our YouTube page or our website. And some of the things that these gentlemen say, as well as a lot of accounts from African American soldiers is, wow, look at what life could be. When African American units arrive in France, they arrive

to a place where people are used to seeing people of African descent in uniform. The French army, of course, had their famous trialier Senegalese and the troops from North Africa. And while there was cultural racism in France, there was very rarely the instance where African American soldiers wouldn't be welcome in a cafe. They were treated as soldiers of the allied nations. And it wouldn't be until the United States Army actually moved in that you start to see whites only over signs for restaurants or cafes in the rear areas. And a lot of the soldiers will come back to the United States after the war and say, look at what it could be. Look at what we could have. Very famous examples of this would

come from the 369th, the Harlem Hellfighters. James Reese Europe is the famous band leader. One of the things the 369th is famous for is they have an amazing jazz band that allegedly is what brought jazz to the French. And they very much see the same thing as the French people are so welcome and open to African American culture, in this case, music permeating into their society. There is starting to be a real appreciation for what life could be like in the United States as African Americans participate in the war effort. This particular unit are assigned to the French army. Why does that happen? Yeah, so as I mentioned, only one out of 10 of all African American soldiers

are going to serve in combat roles. Of those, the vast majority are going to serve under French command. Now, this is a theme throughout the American Expeditionary Forces. The Americans, for the most cases, are French and British trained, and therefore they're going to resemble the French and British divisions they fight alongside. However, for the African-American soldiers, they are going to be actually a part of these French divisions. One of the main reasons for this is, again, returning to that racism which exists in the United States, where they weren't necessarily going to be trusted to operate besides white units. weren't necessarily going to be trusted to operate besides white units. And also because the French, there was a feeling that the French had all these colonial troops, and therefore they knew how to utilize African soldiers. Again, that's a very racist point of view from the time, but this is what ends up happening. So the 369th is a great example. They operate alongside French

soldiers. Two other National Guard units from their 93rd Provisional Division are going to actually be inserted into the French 157th Infantry Division, the 157th Infantry Division, the Red Hands, and they will form two out of three infantry regiments of this French division. So when you, for example, come to the National World War I Museum and Memorial, you will see we have a beautiful display from an African-American soldier, but all of his uniform is American. His equipment is French. He's carrying a three-shot French Berthier rifle. He's got a French Adrian helmet. He has French leather equipment versus American webbing. And this denotes that these combat troops primarily served

under French command in French divisions during the war. So most photographs you'll see of the 369 are very much the same way. They're wearing French helmets and they divisions during the war. So most photographs you'll see of the 369 are very much the same way. They're wearing French helmets and they're carrying French rifles. So it is a different war experience for them than from the rest of the American Expeditionary Force. We listened to Dan Snow's history. We're talking about the Harlem Hellfighters. More after this. about the Harlem Hellfighters. More after this. we've got the big topics from ancient Vietnam to the fall of Rome. Subscribe to The Ancients on History Hit wherever you get your podcasts. This is history's heroes, people with purpose, brave ideas and the courage to stand alone,

including a pioneering surgeon who rebuilt the shattered faces of soldiers in the First World War. You know, he would look at these men and he would say, don't worry, Sonny, you'll have as good a face as any of us when I'm done with you. Join me, Alex von Tunzelman, for History's Heroes. Subscribe to History's Heroes wherever you get your podcasts. How do these men respond when they get the chance to go into battle? So it is the 369th suffers more casualties than any other American regiment in World War I. About 1400 members of the regiment will become casualties, and they spend more time in frontline trenches than any other American unit. So they become known as one of the elite regiments of the American army. And that's not coming from American commanders, that's coming from French

commanders, who's saying these guys are really, really good at what they do. They learn, they train. Famously, we talk about them not receiving a Congressional Gold Medal only this year. But some of the medals of honor that their soldiers would have been recipients of were actually denied because of their race. And so a great example of that would be Henry Johnson, who was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama in 2014 for actions in 1918. It had been proven that he was overlooked because of his race to be considered for the Medal of Honor.

He fended off about 16 Germans coming at him and another member of the Harlem Hellfighters in a shellhole with a bolo knife, and the rest of the Germans retreated. So these are known as very, very aggressive fighters. In the biggest American battle, not only of the war, but in all American history, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. African-American soldiers are going to be present. The 369th is under French command farther to the left of the main American drive. But within the main American drive, still under French command, is the 92nd Division, which are primarily African-American draftees. And they are going to operate under absolutely horrible conditions. And they kind of become scapegoats for why the advance is so slow in the Argonne Forest itself. They're saying, well, the division to our left couldn't keep up with us, so we couldn't go very quickly.

And so there's also this fear among African-Americans that they might become scapegoats for the failures the AEF suffers on the battlefield. I mean, the Muzakon itself, we should pause and just, something like over 100,000 US casualties. It's the bloodiest battle in American history. And yet, would you argue it's one of the least known? I mean casualties it's the bloodiest battle in american history and yet would you argue it's one of the least known i mean it's extraordinary isn't it yeah it's amazing to me as a historian of world war one that the muse argon is not better understood or just better known there's just about 27 000 americans killed in the offensive over a million americans participate making it the largest and bloodiest battle in American

military history, because there's also about 100,000 wounded during the battle. The only thing that comes close is during the Second World War, the Battle of the Bulge, but the Meuse-Argonne is still larger in terms of Americans engaged in those casualties. And that's not including the casualties the Germans suffer or the casualties the French suffer, because the French are also part of the offensive. General Giraud's Fourth Army is also there as well. From the 26th of September 1918 to the 11th of November, Americans are going to be thrown into the meat grinder of the Western Front and it is going to be the pivotal war experience on the battlefield for the United States. Unfortunately, it's not very

well remembered. And within that, the role of African American units is obviously not remembered at all either. They sustained such losses that, how did they maintain the identity of that unit through these months of First World War? They presumably had huge turnover, new men coming in, drafts from home. And that's the theme that extends to the entire American Expeditionary Force. But the 369th and these African-American units, yes, absolutely massive turnover. You see some ways in which they retain their identity. Again, returning to the band, the band of the 369th would be playing all the time for these men. There was allegedly a really jazzy twist they had on the Marseillaise, the French national anthem that the French loved.

And the regiment kind of circled around that. Interestingly, if you look at photographs or watch videos of the regiment, they continue to carry their New York state colors throughout the campaign, while most other regiments have changed to federal, the Eagle. So there's also this identity around New York, that even though not all the men are from the city itself or from the neighborhood of Harlem, there is a very strong New York identity which continues. So when they return home in the winter of 1919, they are thrown a ticker tape parade on Fifth Avenue, which ends at the famous New York Public Library. So there's a very strong connection there. Some of that comes from their experience back in the United States where they had been posted to South Carolina for training and South Carolinians were refusing them service

and some of the Southern soldiers were refusing them service, and some of the Southern soldiers were trying to fight them, and other New York guardsmen, white New York guardsmen, came to help them fight it off because they were fellow New Yorkers. So there is a very strong connection there as well. You mentioned Harlem. They had so many nicknames, it's hard to know which have been given subsequently and which were at the time the Harlem Hellfighters, and it said the Germans gave them that name. I mean, there's a lot of Germans gave names myths in World War I. We Brits love to say the Germans always used to call the Brits the toughest. Anyway, so what do you think? Can you get to the bottom of that at all? Yeah. So very interestingly, Harlem Hellfighters, much like I

think Devil Dogs for the Marines or Ladies from Hell for the Scottish Highlanders, first appears, interestingly, in the New York Times, which isn't that reliable of a German source. So the regiment themselves at the time called themselves the Harlem Rattlers. And again, come to the Museum Memorial, we have one of the regimental uniforms on display. Their patch, their insignia on their sleeves was a rattlesnake. So that's where that comes from. The Hellfighters becomes something, again, picked up in the news, much like devil dogs for the Marines. And it really develops as a post-war idea of these

men. And they start referring to themselves as the Hellfighters because newspapers back home are referring to them as such. At the time, they really liked to use the term the Rattlers, the Harlem Rattlers, or just the 369th. Again, being National Guardsmen with that strong regional identity, the National Guard is very equivalent to, say, the British Territorial Army, and they're recruited in communities. So again, that strong New York City identity is also there. So you also see them quite often referred to still as the 15th New York, even though officially by the Army, they're called the 369th Infantry. Now, you say they had a ticker tape parade down Fifth Avenue in New York when they got home, which makes it sound like they came home to a

hero's welcome. But how were they treated? And were they treated differently to veterans who were white? One thing to keep in mind with the 369th is that their experience, because of their fame at the time, does not necessarily reflect the experience of all African American veterans returning home after the war. So in New York, they were welcomed, much like other famous New York regiments were welcomed back. The 77th Division, which contained the famous Lost Battalion, also had a big parade down Fifth Avenue, as did the 27th Division, who were National Guardsmen fighting with the British at the Hindenburg Line in 1918.

But they're going to return home, and in many cases, they're going to return home to the same racist society that they left, hoping that it would change for the better. Black American soldiers going back to various other parts of the country were going to run into horrible racism. The worst race riots in United States history happened in the summer of 1919 after the end of the war. As well, you're going to have specific targeting of returning Black American soldiers by racist groups. Most famously, the Tulsa massacre, two years after the end of the First World War, where African American veterans were being specifically targeted by white American veterans. And there's a fear among the white American populace that these African Americans were exposed to more progressive ideas of how their lives could be while they were in Europe.

Americans were exposed to more progressive ideas of how their lives could be while they were in Europe. So there is a very strong check being placed by the community there, make sure that they don't want to push for more rights, especially in the Jim Crow era South. It's different regionally, but racism exists everywhere in the United States at the time. It is not a Northern thing, it's not a Southern thing, it's an American problem. Just to come on to your work now, as someone who talks and researches on the First War in the US, I've been to your wonderful museum, talked to many of your colleagues. It is that extraordinary thing that you have, the way that the Second War seems to eclipse the First in the US popular imagination or popular understanding. Trying to answer why that is, is very similar to trying to say, how did the First

World War start? There are so many different reasons. There's so many different arguments to look at. The First World War in American history falls at a weird point in our timeline. These men and women's grandfathers and fathers had fought in the American Civil War, and their children would be the greatest generation, right? Air quotes, the generation that fights in the Second World War. So they are sandwiched between two time periods that we really drill home to young Americans as being pivotal moments, because they are pivotal moments. But World War I is a pivotal moment as well. The issue in it lies is that we love a good black and white story, and World War I is not a black and white story. It's not clear-cut good guys, not clear-cut bad guys. And there's no ending, right? End of the Civil War, slavery is abolished, the rebellion is crushed, And World War Two, fascism is defeated. And unfortunately, the Cold War starts.

But World War One is kind of okay, the soldiers come back home, they go right into prohibition. My great great uncle, who served in the third division in most of the American battles of the war, complained that he got home as a veteran and he couldn't buy a beer. So you go into that, and then 10 years later, you go into the Great Depression. So it is kind of this in-between period between the American Civil War and World War II, where it's hard to really comprehend for Americans. I think it's also really hard to comprehend that it is still our third bloodiest war, just after the American Civil War and the Second World War. However, we're only really in combat operations from May to November 1918. So if you imagine the United States being involved as

long as France or the British Empire, where it would be our bloodiest war, the casualties are just insane to even contemplate looking at the Meuse-Argonne or the Second Battle of the Marne. the muse are gone or the second battle of the marn and so it is very hard to wrap our heads around those casualty numbers while trying to put what did this accomplish it doesn't fit into that american narrative very well and so there's a really wide range of different reasons the americans as i mentioned earlier are not really operating under their own command for the most part the americans are under french or british command So we don't have an Eisenhower to say, hey, here's our guy who helped lead all the allies to victory. It's Ferdinand Fauche in 1918. So there is also a strong sort of view of, well, this isn't really an American-led coalition. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be important for us

to study because coalition warfare is important and the war was won by allies working together so there is a really really strong message there if you come to the national world war one museum and memorial you'll see that we don't just focus on the united states in war it's a world war and we focus on the world and so it's important to note as well is this world story it's hard to tell the story as a uniquely American experience. Most Americans as well, I'll add, have some connection to one of the other countries that were fighting in the war. So many Americans who say why the relative who fought in the First World War, their relative was very likely in the British Expeditionary Force or served in the German army or in the French army. I had relatives who served in the Tsarist army. So there is very much a

overwhelming and hard to grasp story for a lot of Americans. Well, thank you so much for coming on this podcast and talking to us about this one unit. Why did it take so long for them to be recognized? How unusual is this congressional decoration they've just been given? I think it is very unusual. It has taken them quite a long time. One of the great collections which we have at the National World War Museum Memorial is the collections of the United States Army Signal Corps female branch, commonly referred to as the Hello Girls, though they weren't appreciative of

that at the time. They did not receive their pensions until President Carter in the 1970s, because there was a view that the females were not actually veterans of the war, even though they had served in France under shellfire. So this is something that will continue to develop as we look at American history. And hopefully this opens the door to recognize more minorities, indigenous people, and women who have served in all of America's wars, not only the First World War, and get a better understanding of the wide array of Americans who have served our country in one way or another. Tell people how to get in touch with your wonderful museum.

Well, absolutely. Well, the National World War I Museum and Memorial is located here in Kansas City, Missouri. We are more than happy to welcome everybody into our doors. You can go to our website at www.theworldwar.org. We've got some amazing exhibits rotating. Everything is changing around all the time. So always some great, cool new stuff. And make sure to come give us a visit. It's one of my favorite museums. I can't wait to get back there after.

You got to come. Oh, yeah, I know. I do. I do. Cannot wait. Well, see you soon, brother. And thank you very much for coming on the podcast and talking about this. Anytime.

I feel the hand of history upon our shoulders. All this tradition of ours, our school history, our songs, this part of the history of our country, all were gone and finished. Thanks, folks. You've reached the end of another episode.

Hope you're still awake. Appreciate your loyalty. Sticking through to the end. If you fancied doing us a favor here at history hit i would be incredibly grateful if you would go and wherever you get these pods give it a rating five stars or its equivalent a review would be great please head over there and do that it really does make a huge difference it's one of the funny things the algorithm loves to take into account so please head over there, do that. Really, really appreciate it.

This is History's Heroes. People with purpose, brave ideas, and the courage to stand alone, including a pioneering surgeon who rebuilt the shattered faces of soldiers in the First World War. You know, he would look at these men and he would say, don't worry, Sonny, you'll have as good a face as any of us when I'm done with you. Join me, Alex von Tunzelman, for History's Heroes. Subscribe to History's Heroes wherever you get your podcasts.