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"HTML Redesignation: <h1>The Rainbow Division in World War I</h1>
<p>In the year 1914, the flames of World War I ignited in Europe. While the United States initially remained neutral, that all changed on April 6th, 1917. President Woodrow Wilson signed a joint resolution, officially declaring a state of war between the United States and Imperial Germany. It was then that the United States entered the fray.</p>
<p>Just three months later, in August 1917, the 42nd Division of the United States Army was formed. This division brought together U.S. National Guard units from twenty-six states, as well as the District of Columbia. General Douglas MacArthur, then serving as Chief of Staff for the Division, compared its reach to that of a rainbow, stretching over the entire country. Thus, the 42nd Division earned the nickname of the “Rainbow Division.”</p>
<p>The division included infantry regiments from New York, Ohio, Alabama, and Iowa. However, men from several other states also joined the ranks, assuming various roles such as machine gunners, ambulance drivers, field hospital workers, and military police officers. These states included New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Indiana, Michigan, Rhode Island, Maryland, California, South Carolina, Missouri, Connecticut, Tennessee, New Jersey, Colorado, Maine, North Carolina, Kansas, Texas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>The request to assign the 4th Alabama Infantry to the 42nd Division came from the Southeastern Department commander. The 4th Infantry, under the command of Colonel William P. Screws, had an impressive reputation within the Alabama National Guard, having served as inspector-instructor from 1910 to 1915. As a result, the 4th Alabama Infantry was chosen to join the Rainbow Division. To supplement its ranks, enlisted men were transferred from other Alabama Guard units, including the 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiments and the 1st Alabama Cavalry.</p>
<p>On August 15th, 1918, the 4th Alabama Infantry was officially redesignated as the 167th Infantry Regiment of the 84th Brigade within the 42nd Division. With a total of 3,677 men, including 3,622 enlisted troops and 55 enlisted medical staff, the 167th Infantry was ready for war. The 1st Alabama Infantry contributed 880 enlisted men to the new regiment. The 2nd Alabama Infantry and the 1st Alabama Cavalry also provided enlisted men, supplying the additional numbers needed to reach the division’s nominal strength of 3,700 officers and men.</p>
<p>The Rainbow Division wasted no time and became one of the first divisions sent to Europe in 1917. It provided support to French troops in various battles, including those at Chateau-Thierry, St. Mihiel, the Verdun front, and Argonne.</p>
<p>Now let us delve into the matter of alleged American battlefield atrocities on the part of the Rainbow Division. On July 15th, 1918, the Germans launched a massive attack in the Champagne country of France, aiming to end the war in their favor. While most of the defending troops were French, there were some units from the U.S. 42nd Division involved in the defense and subsequent counter-attacks.</p>
<p>Regarding the U.S. 42nd Division’s role in the Champagne-Marne Defensive battle on July 15th, 1918, Colonel William J. Donovan provides us with the following details in his book “America’s Master Spy,” as referenced by Richard Dunlop:</p>
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<p>”The regimental commanders of the U.S. 42nd Division were instructed to position only a few men in the first trench line, as it was expected to fall easily. The majority were to be stationed in the second line, withdrawing when the Germans advanced.”</p>
<p>”At 12:04 a.m. on July 15th, the German artillery initiated a tremendous barrage. The abrupt cessation of the shelling at 4:30 a.m. left a dreadful silence over no-man’s-land. Wraithlike German soldiers appeared, running towards the American lines through the morning mist. German mortars, known as Minenwerfers, rained down on the defending Americans, and machine guns sprayed death. The survivors of the initial charge scrambled back to the second line.”</p>
<p>”The Germans triumphantly found themselves in full possession of the American first trenches. They believed they had won, and their cheers and songs filled the air. Suddenly, the American barrage was unleashed upon the trenches. Each artillery piece had been meticulously aimed at the trenches while they were still under American control, resulting in uncannily accurate gunfire. Some elite Prussian Guards managed to reach the second line of trenches, only to be repulsed in bloody hand-to-hand combat. The Germans were forced to abandon their attack.”</p>
<p>”To Colonel Donovan’s dismay, the Germans resorted to trickery. Four Germans, each sporting a Red Cross emblem, approached the lines held by the 165th Infantry Regiment with a stretcher. When they reached close proximity, they unveiled a machine gun hidden beneath the blanket and opened fire. The Americans swiftly shot them dead. Another group attempted to infiltrate the American lines one night disguised in French uniforms, but they too were executed. Although some breakthroughs occurred, the Germans had been halted by the Americans. The French battle plans had not anticipated the resilience of the Americans. After three days of battle, the Germans began to retreat.”</p>
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<p>On August 18th, 1918, a cablegram arrived at American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) headquarters in Chaumont, France. The cablegram conveyed a message received from Washington, regarding an Associated Press dispatch from London. The dispatch, which accused soldiers from the 42nd American line Division of killing 150 German prisoners on the evening of July 15th near Rheims, was reportedly based on “Creditable authority” cited by the Wolff Telegraph Agency in Berlin. The authenticity of this claim was questioned, leading to the call for an investigation.</p>
<p>General Dennis E. Nolan, the G-2 (Intelligence Officer) of AEF Headquarters, took immediate action to investigate these allegations of American battlefield atrocities. Nolan directed Major General Charles T. Menoher, the commander of the 42nd Division, to conduct a thorough investigation of the reported incident. This investigation was carried out on August 20th, 1918, at the division’s station in Bourmont, France.</p>
<p>The units within the 42nd Division that had contact with the German Army during the Champagne battle on July 15th, 1918, were the 2nd Battalion of the 165th Infantry Regiment (from New York), the 3rd Battalion of the 166th Infantry Regiment (from Ohio), the 2nd Battalion of the 167th Infantry Regiment (previously the 4th Alabama Infantry), and Companies E and F of the 168th Infantry Regiment (from Iowa). These units formed the core of the investigation.</p>
<p>According to the official “Report of investigation of reported killing of German prisoners of war,” sworn testimony was obtained from thirty-eight officers of the 42nd Division, specifically those whose troops were involved in the Champagne battle. The investigation aimed to determine the veracity of the alleged murders of German prisoners of war.</p>
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