Which World War I regiment spent 191 days in frontline trenches in France, more than any other American unit?

Constituted on June 2, 1913 in the New York Army National Guard as the 15th New York Infantry Regiment, these African-American men subsequently became the 369th Infantry, organized in June 1916 at New York City. They would go on to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces during WWI in France

While the men were a branch of the United States Army, when they deployed to France, they were attached to the French Army because many white American soldiers refused to perform combat duty with African-Americans. They were issued French weapons, helmets, belts, and pouches, but they continued to wear their U.S. uniforms and saw action in a number of engagements in France, including at both Champagne-Marne and Meuse-Argonne.

During the war, they spent 191 days in frontline trenches, more than any other American unit, suffering the most losses of any American regiment, with 1,500 casualties.

Their regiment’s motto was “Don’t Tread On Me, God Damn,- Let’s Go”. Another nickname for the regiment was the ‘Black Rattlers’. The nickname given to the men by the French however was ‘Men of Bronze’ (French: ‘Hommes de Bronze’) while the Germans called them ‘Hellfighters’ (German: ‘Hollenkampfer’). The French government awarded the ‘Croix de Guerre’ (Cross of War) to 170 individual members of the 369th for gallantry in action, and a unit citation was awarded to the entire regiment.

On Feb. 18, 1919, 3,000 surviving veterans of the 369th Infantry paraded in New York City.