333rd Battalion

(noun)

A racially segregated United States Army unit of African-American troops during World War II. The unit was organized during World War I but never saw combat. In World War II, they landed at Normandy in early July 1944 and saw continuous combat as corps artillery throughout the summer.

Related Terms

Examples of 333rd Battalion in the following topics:

  • African Americans in WWII

    • Army, most African American soldiers still served only as truck drivers and as stevedores (except for some separate tank battalions and Army Air Forces escort fighters). 
    • At the start of the Battle of the Bulge, the 333rd Battalion, a combat unit composed entirely of African American soldiers led by white officers, was attached to the 106th Infantry Division.
    • The 333rd was badly affected, losing nearly 50% of its soldiers, including its commanding officer.
    • The remnants of the battalion retreated to Bastogne where they linked up the 101st. 
    • The vestiges of the 333rd were attached to its sister unit the 969th Battalion.  

  • Mobilization and the Development of the West

    • In 1945 the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion (the only all African-American, all-female battalion during World War II) worked in England and France, making them the first black female battalion to travel overseas.
    • The battalion was commanded by MAJ Charity Adams Earley, and was composed of 30 officers and 800 enlisted women.

  • Hispanics in WWII

    • On December 13, 1944, the 65th Infantry, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Juan César Cordero Dávila, relieved the 2nd Battalion of the 442nd Infantry Regiment, a regiment which was made up of Japanese Americans under the command of Col.
    • The 3rd Battalion fought against and defeated Germany's 34th Infantry Division's 107th Infantry Regiment.
    • Two National Guard units: the 200th and the 515th Battalions, were activated in New Mexico in 1940.
    • Made up mostly of Spanish-speaking Hispanics from New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, the two battalions were sent to Clark Field in the Philippine Islands.
    • Officers ordered the starving and outnumbered troops of the 200th and 515th Battalions to lay down their arms and surrender to the Japanese.

  • Changing Roles for Women

    • In 1945, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion - the only all African-American, all-female battalion during World War II - worked in England and France, making them the first black female battalion to travel overseas.

  • Effects of Group Size on Stability and Intimacy

    • The contrast between the two types is illustrated by comparing hamlet with town, military company with battalion, parish church with diocese, or a country school with a huge urban one.

  • Mining on the Comstock Lode

    • Gold was discovered in this region—the Gold Canyon—in the spring of 1850 by a company of Mormon emigrants who were part of the Mormon Battalion.

  • The American Military Forces

    • In 1776, Congress passed the "Eighty-eight Battalion Resolve", ordering each state to contribute regiments in proportion to their population.

  • Gradual Withdrawal

    • By June only six infantry battalions remained.

  • The End of the War

    • On April 27, 1945, as Allied forces closed in on Milan, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was captured by Italian partisans while attempting to flee from Italy to Switzerland with a German anti-aircraft battalion.

  • The Mormon Exodus

    • Also shown are a portion of the route followed by the Mormon Battalion and the path followed by the handcart companies to the Mormon Trail.