Why was the 369th Infantry Regiment assigned to serve under French command?

The 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters, was assigned to serve under French command primarily because of the strategic needs of the Allies and the policies of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF).

Following the heavy losses suffered by Allied forces during the 1917 campaigns, the French military implored AEF commander Gen. John J. Pershing for reinforcements. While Pershing was committed to maintaining a single body of American troops under U.S. command as a point of national pride, he had pledged support to the French. Consequently, he attached the 369th to the French army to fulfill this commitment.1

Furthermore, the unit had initially been relegated to labor and engineering projects in France rather than combat duty. After the regiment’s commander, William Hayward, successfully appealed for reassignment to the front, the unit was attached to the French 16th Division in April 1918. The men of the 369th found greater acceptance within the French military, which had integrated African colonial troops for decades, compared to the segregation and discrimination they faced within the U.S. military at the time.1