On this day 70 years ago, the 1st Battalion of the 141st Infantry Regiment (ALAMO), 36th Infantry Division, US Army was sent to clear a ridge above the town of Biffontaine, in the Vosges Mountains of Eastern France. Against the recommendations of his Staff officers, Maj. Gen. John Dahlquist committed the 1st Bn. to the task; they were quickly surrounded and cut off by superior Wehrmacht forces.
Two attempts by the 141st to rescue 1st Bn. were thwarted by the Germans; with 1st Bn.'s supplies dwindling and their numbers cut to about 230 men, they became known as the "Lost Battalion".
On October 26th, Dahlquist sent another force in an attempt to break the German defenses and rescue 1st Bn.; the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. This unit was composed of mostly Japanese American soldiers, some of whom volunteered from Internment camps in the US, where their families were being detained.
In five continuous days of combat, the 442nd eventually broke the German defenses and rescued the Lost Batallion. The price was heavy; the 442nd suffered about 800 casualties, including 200 KIA. I Company went into the battle with 185 men; eight were left. K Company went in with 185 men; 17 walked out.
Military Historians cite this battle as one of the most important battles in the history of the US Army.
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