The story of the Harlem Hellfighters, an all-black regiment who
fought against the Germans in World War I and against racism at
home.Even though racism was still widespread in American politics
in 1916, there was a dire need for soldiers at the front. Despite
protests from Southern politicians who feared that allowing blacks
to serve would subvert Jim Crow laws, the 369th Infantry Regiment
was formed, led by white officers William Hayward, Hamilton Fish
and Arthur Little. Training had not yet begun when violence
erupted, as white supremacists sought every opportunity to form
lynch mobs. Upon arriving in Europe, the 369th fought with the
French Army under Gen. Henri Gouraud, who welcomed them with open
arms. The 369th proved their mettle in battle, with men like Henry
Johnson becoming war heroes, earning the regiment their
Hellfighters name. Nelson (Left for Dead: A Young Man's Search for
Justice for the USS <\i>Indianapolis, 2002, etc.) seamlessly
interweaves the military narrative with vivid firsthand accounts.
The Hellfighters were a true brotherhood whose influence extended
beyond the trenches. Jim Europe, a noted musician, stunned the
French with jazz interpretations of popular French songs,
instigating a French obsession with jazz in the postwar era. Noble
Sissle became a hit songwriter and fought for the recognition of
black artists. Little, Haywood and Fish all became active
proponents of civil rights. The Hellfighters fought a war on two
fronts and displayed incredible fortitude in the face of prejudice,
racial violence and the ever-present gas and machine-gun fire.
Nelson offers a nuanced, in-depth portrait of this group of
ordinary men who fought with inspiring courage and dignity.A
valuable addition to World War I and civil-rights scholarship on a
subject too frequently overlooked. (Kirkus Reviews)
The night broke open in a storm of explosions and fire. The sound
of shells whizzing overhead, screeching through the night like
wounded pheasants, was terrifying. When the shells exploded
prematurely overhead, a rain of shrapnel fell on the men
below--better than when the shells exploded in the trenches...In A
More Unbending Battle, journalist and author Pete Nelson chronicles
the little-known story of the 369th Infantry Regiment--the first
African-American regiment mustered to fight in WWI. Recruited from
all walks of Harlem life, the regiment had to fight alongside the
French because America's segregation policy prohibited them from
fighting with white U.S. soldiers. Despite extraordinary odds and
racism, the 369th became one of the most successful--and
infamous--regiments of the war. The Harlem Hellfighters, as their
enemies named them, spent longer than any other American unit in
combat, were the first Allied unit to reach the Rhine, and showed
extraordinary valor on the battlefield, with many soldiers winning
the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor. Replete with vivid
accounts of battlefield heroics, A More Unbending Battle is the
thrilling story of the dauntless Harlem Hellfighters.
General
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