Formation and history prior to the Ardennes Offensive

Organized as the 333rd Field Artillery (FA) Regiment on 5 August 1917 and subordinated to the 161st Field Artillery Brigade, 86th Infantry Division. The regiment subsequently served in France during World War I, but did not see combat.

On 5 August 1942, the 333rd FA Regiment was activated at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma. As part of an army-wide artillery reorganization, the 1st Battalion was retitled the 333rd FA Battalion and the 2nd Battalion became the 969th FA Battalion. Regimental Headquarters became Headquarters and Headquarters Battery of the 333rd FA Group^[1] on 12 February 1943. The group subsequently served in Normandy and Northern France before arriving in the Ardennes sector as part of the corps artillery of the U.S. VIII Corps.

Ardennes Offensive

Honor guard for the Wereth 11 in 2007

The 333rd FA Group (333rd and 969th FA Battalions) initially supported the 2nd Division and its replacement, the 106th Division. At the onset of the Battle of the Bulge they were eleven miles behind the front lines. With the rapid advance of the Germans, the 333rd FA Battalion was ordered to withdraw further west, but C and Service Batteries were ordered to stay behind to give covering fire to the 106th Division. On December 17th they were overrun with most killed or captured.

Eleven of its soldiers became separated from the unit after it was overrun early on the second day of the battle. In an effort to reach American lines they made their way to the hamlet of Wereth, Belgium, where a farmer, Mathias Langer, sheltered them. However, later that day, a Nazi sympathizer revealed their presence to members of the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. They surrendered, but were taken to a field, where they were tortured, maimed, and shot on December 17th, 1944.

A memorial now stands on the site of their murders, dedicated to the 11 (Wereth 11) and all African-American soldiers who fought in the European theatre. It is believed to be the only memorial to African-American soldiers of World War II in Europe.

The remnants of the 333rd FAB were ordered to Bastogne and incorporated into its sister unit the 969th Field Artillery Battalion. Both units provided fire support for the 101st Airborne Division in the Siege of Bastogne, subsequently being awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.

The 333rd Field Artillery Battalion suffered more casualties during the Battle of the Bulge than any other artillery unit in the VIII Corps. Six officers (including the commanding officer) and 222 enlisted men became either casualties or prisoners of war.

The 333rd FA Group subsequently served in the Central Europe campaign until the end of the war, while the 333rd FA Battalion subsequently served in the Rhineland Campaign.

Post World War II

The 333rd FA Battalion was inactivated 10 June 1945 in Germany, while the 333rd FA Group was inactivated at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia on 30 December 1945.^[2] Both the 333rd and 969th FA Battalions were later reactivated, although further reorganizations ensued, with the 333rd FA Battalion renumbered as the 446th FA Battalion. On 1 July 1959 the 333rd FA Group was reactivated as the 333rd Artillery Regiment with the 446th and 969th FA Battalions subordinated to it. On 1 September 1971, the regiment was retitled the 333rd Field Artillery Regiment. Four target acquisition batteries of the 333rd Field Artillery served in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.^[3] Today, there are two target acquisition batteries in the Army which still bear the number of the 333rd Field Artillery.

Names of the Wereth 11

The victims were:

Technical Sergeant William Edward Pritchett of Alabama

Technical Sergeant James A. Stewart of West Virginia

Staff Sergeant Thomas J. Forte, Mississippi

Corporal Mager Bradley of Mississippi

Private First Class George Davis of Alabama

Private First Class James Leatherwood, Mississippi

Private First Class George W. Moten, Texas

Private First Class Due W. Turner of Arkansas

Private Curtis Adams of South Carolina

Private Robert Green, Cleveland, Ohio

Private Nathanial Moss, Texas

Curtis Adams was a medic. Thomas J. Forte was a mess sergeant.