Champagne Campaign
Following the tough battle through the Vosges Mountains, the 442nd was sent to the Maritime Alps and the French Riviera. It was a walk in the park compared to what they had experienced in October. Little to no action occurred in the next four months as they rested. The 442nd guarded and patrolled a twelve to fourteen-mile front line segment of French-Italian border. This part of the 442nd’s journey gained the name "Champagne Campaign" because of the available wine, women, and merry times. The 442nd experienced additional losses as patrols sometimes ran into enemy patrols, or sometimes soldiers stepped on enemy and allied land mines. Occasionally, soldiers of the 442nd captured spies and saboteurs.
The 442nd is also known for accomplishing what no other U.S. Army unit had done before: the capture of an enemy submarine. A Nisei soldier noticed what looked like an animal in the water but upon closer look it was actually a one-man German submarine. The German and the submarine were captured and handed over to the U.S. Navy. On March 23, 1945, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team sailed back to Italy and returned to the Gothic Line.
Read more about this topic: 442nd Infantry Regiment (United States)
Famous quotes containing the words champagne and/or campaign:
“The food of thy soul is light and space; feed it then on light and space. But the food of thy body is champagne and oysters; feed it then on champagne and oysters; and so shall it merit a joyful resurrection, if there is any to be.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“The fact that a man is to vote forces him to think. You may preach to a congregation by the year and not affect its thought because it is not called upon for definite action. But throw your subject into a campaign and it becomes a challenge.”
—John Jay Chapman (1862–1933)