| “Tricky Nazi captured. German prisoner wearing civilian clothes, sits in jeep at south gate of walled city of Lucca, Italy, awaiting removal to a rear area.” The 5th Army began its Gothic Line assault on August 31. A mere week after its arrival, the 370th Regimental Combat Team, 92nd Infantry Division, received its 1st major mission, an assault on Monte Pisano, a hill roughly 10 miles long by 7 miles wide. The IV Corps would cross the Arno River and protect the 5th Army’s left flank while supporting II Corps in the main effort, attacking on Monte Pisano and Monte Albano. Joining Colonel Hamilton Howze’s (December 21, 1908 – December 8, 1998) Combat Command A (CCA) near Pisa, the 370th Regimental Combat Team quickly saw action. Its introduction to combat began with patrolling, the basic small unit activity. Its early experiences included company-sized attacks, limited artillery firing, and reconnaissance missions across the Arno River. To take Monte Pisano, Colonel Howze gave Colonel Raymond G. Sherman (August 8, 1893 – November 11, 1976), the 370th Infantry’s Commanding Officer, the 1st Tank Battalion. Sherman detached 1 rifle company to Combat Command B (CCB). The 370th Regimental Combat Team attacked Monte Pisano from 3 directions: 3rd Battalion from the west, 2nd Battalion from the south or center, and 1st Battalion from the east. CCB struck northeast toward Altopascio. Success in this operation, with few casualties, gave the soldiers confidence and helped the unit build cohesion. The 370th Regimental Combat Team enjoyed excellent artillery support from both its own 598th Field Artillery Battalion and the 1st Armored Division’s 91st Field Artillery Battalion, and quickly took the objective. The 370th then consolidated and moved toward a new objective, Bagni di Lucca. By September 4, CCA had arrived outside the city of Lucca, and German resistance stiffened. The 3rd Battalion, 370th Regimental Combat Team, relieved the 14th Armored Infantry Battalion and assumed a 3-mile sector. Corporal Ivan J. Houston (June 15, 1925 – March 1, 2020) recalled that the “courteous, efficient, battle-wise veterans of the all-white First Armored Division soon put us at ease and began teaching us the rudiments of war.” Houston worked in the Battalion Intelligence (S-2) section and appreciated the maps and overlays he received. The 370th garnered attention at the highest levels, as Lieutenant General Willis Dale Crittenberger (December 2, 1890 – August 4, 1980), IV Corps Commander, sent a couple of officers to observe 3rd Battalion’s arrival, to see how it functioned as a unit. General Mark W. Clark (May 1, 1896 – April 17, 1984), 5th Army commander, also visited them soon after they arrived. “I tried in particular to welcome the Ninety-Second Division,” Clark recalled. “General George C. Marshall Junior (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959), United States Army Chief of Staff, was eager to give an opportunity to prove the ability of Negro troops in battle.” Clark’s recollection some 6 years after the event gives Marshall more credit than is due, given the latter’s reluctance to send black soldiers to combat. Clark questioned a Colonel about any major problem he might have, and the officer – unnamed, but probably 2nd Battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel George O. Weber (January 29, 1912 – May 22, 2000) — replied that 1 of his lieutenants was overdue for promotion. Clark borrowed his aide’s captain’s bars and promoted Lieutenant Charles F. Gandy (January 2, 1908 – October 12, 1944) on the spot, giving Gandy the distinction of being the 1st 92nd officer to be promoted in combat. The incident garnered favorable comment in the black press, and Gandy became a celebrity at home. That same press sorrowfully reported him as a casualty just a few weeks later. The attack of IV Corps had succeeded better than anticipated, and on September 4 Clark slowed its advance to prevent it from exceeding the II Corps’s attack pace. He ordered aggressive patrols to ensure the enemy did not move east to oppose II Corps. The 370th crossed the Serchio River on September 10 and commenced a series of missions with the 1st Armored Division operating in flexible task forces. These small operations with rapidly changing task forces prepared the 370th Regimental Combat Team well for its combat role in the fluid atmosphere of 5th Army. Many alterations reflected shifting mission requirements, but some may have reflected the United States Army’s institutional reluctance to entrust black troops with important operations alone. The 5th Army intended to keep the 1st Armored Division available as a mobile task force for the Po Valley and began consolidating its units. CCA pulled off the line to move in support of the United States II Corps assault on September 18, and the 370th Regimental Combat Team took over that portion of the line. The rest of the 1st Armored Division gradually turned over its entire sector to the 370th by September 25. For the 1st time, 370th Regimental Combat Team units would operate independently under Task Force 92 control. General John Elliott “Joe” Wood (February 23, 1891 – October 1, 1963) took charge of the 1st Armored Division’s CCB and of Troop D, 81st Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, in addition to the 370th Regimental Combat Team. After a few days of joint patrolling, CCB rejoined the 1st Armored Division in II Corps, and the 370th Regimental Combat Team remained to hold a 16-mile sector. The 370th had earned respect during its 1st exposure to combat, having advanced nearly 21 miles. While it had not yet met strong resistance, the Regimental Combat Team had nonetheless worked well with its white counterparts. The officers and men had become somewhat accustomed to combat conditions. The unit made mistakes and discipline lapsed, but this was typical for most green units. Both Colonel Sherman and General Wood saw promise and a developing esprit de corps. Wood sounded 1 cautionary note, however. “They are not aggressive,” he wrote, “but will go willingly anywhere their officers take them, they will stay where they are led.” Later events would prove Wood wrong. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0643.jpg |
| Image Size | 776.45 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2912 x 2192 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Office of War Information |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | September 1, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Lucca |
| State or Province | Tuscany |
| Country | Italy |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-208-AA-305A-2 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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