I would like to know about the Buffalo Soldiers and the Battle of the Bulge..
to be more precise it was called the "Little Battle of the Bulge" in the hills
of Tuscany, Italy

Hi snow0906:

Thank you for your most interesting question. 

There is a wealth of information on the "Buffalo Soldiers" of World
War II and their famous battle in the Tuscan hills.

I'll give you a synopsis of the history of the Buffalo Soldiers and
then more detail about the particular battle you refer to.


THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS

The term "Buffalo Soldier" is a old name that refers to
African-American volunteer soldiers (and units comprised of them). The
following quote explains the exact origin:

"The nickname "Buffalo Soldier" dates back to the late 1860s, when
black soldiers volunteered for duty in the American West. The American
Indians, who regarded the new threat as "black white men," coined the
term "Buffalo Soldier" out of respect for a worthy enemy. According to
one story, the Indians thought that the black soldiers, with their
dark skin and curly hair, resembled buffaloes. Another story
attributes the name to the buffalo hides that many black soldiers wore
during the harsh winters out West, as a supplement to their inadequate
government uniforms."
From: http://afroamhistory.about.com/library/prm/blbuffalo_soldiers1.htm

As long as the U.S. had segregated units, this nickname endured.
"Buffalo Soldiers" fought bravely in the American Civil War, the
Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II.

However, during the first years of World War II, the U.S. government
had a policy of not allowing African-Americans in combat roles - but
this changed.

"In the spring of 1944, after years of pressure from the black
community, the government grudgingly rescinded its policy excluding
African-American soldiers from combat. On July 30, 1944, the first
wave of Buffalo Soldiers--the 370th Regimental Combat
Team--disembarked at Naples, Italy, where they were greeted by a
jubilant crowd of black American soldiers from other service units.
The rest of the division would arrive a few months later."
From: http://afroamhistory.about.com/library/prm/blbuffalo_soldiers1.htm

Apart from the 370th, history also shows that the 92nd Infantry
Division was also an all-black unit that fought in the Italian
campaign.

"Some 500,000 Blacks were stationed overseas, amounting to 4% of the
11 million Americans who served on foreign shores. About 10% of blacks
were in combat units. The all-black 92nd Infantry was in Italy, and
had 616 killed in action and 2,187 wounded."
From: http://www.buffalosoldiermuseum.com/History.html

For more information on the "Buffalo Soldiers", I recommend visiting
the website (and actual site) of the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum
in Houston, Texas.

http://www.buffalosoldiermuseum.com/


LITTLE BATTLE OF THE BULGE

The "Little Battle of the Bulge" typically refers to the German
counterattack launched in the Serchio Valley (in Tuscany) on Christmas
Day, 1944.

"Before sunrise on the day after Christmas, the Germans attacked the
villages just north and east of Gallicano. Although the primary German
assault seemed to come from west of the river, toward Gallicano,
partisans were also battling enemy soldiers north of Sommocolonia
later in the morning. Within two hours, Sommocolonia and the two
American platoons there were surrounded. A third platoon moved up to
reinforce the embattled Sommocolonia troops. Lieutenant John Fox, an
artillery forward observer for the 366th, exemplified the impressive
fighting spirit of the black soldiers. When enemy troops surrounded
the lieutenant's position inside a house and were about to overrun
him, he ordered artillery fire directly on his own position,
sacrificing his life. Fox's heroic action bought valuable time that
helped save other troops, and he was posthumously awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross.

The two platoons of the 370th, along with a group of partisans,
engaged in house-to-house fighting with the enemy during that battle.
Many of the Germans were dressed as partisans, making the situation
even more confusing and dangerous. Just before noon, the platoons were
ordered to evacuate the village, but they were trapped. They managed
to hold out until nightfall, but of the 70 Americans involved, only
one officer and 17 men managed to fight their way out of the village
that night as ordered."
From: http://afroamhistory.about.com/library/prm/blbuffalo_soldiers3.htm


OTHER INFORMATION

I strongly suggest visiting the following sites for further
information.

Buffalo Soldiers' Assault on the Gothic Line, by Robert Hodges, Jr. (6
pages)
http://afroamhistory.about.com/library/prm/blbuffalo_soldiers1.htm

Miracle at St. Anna, by James McBride (a fictional account)
Review at: http://www.bookpeople.net/BookofDay.htm
Purchase it at: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1573222127/qid=1031850722/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-7141274-6431032?v=glance&s=books

Sommocolonia, Barga, Italy, by Frank Viviano
http://www.barganews.com/fox/

Operation Winter Storm (the German View of the Battle)
http://www.geocities.com/kumbayaaa/itrepwarfarewinterstorm1944.html


I hope that this information is of help to you. If you require
clarification of anything I've provided, please ask using the
Clarification feature - before you rate this answer.

Thanks. 

websearcher-ga

[I'd also like to thank leli-ga, a fellow researcher, for providing
the initial links for my research!]

Search Strategy on Google:

"battle of the bulge" "buffalo soldiers"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22battle+of+the+bulge%22+%22buffalo+soldiers%22

"little battle of the bulge" "buffalo soldiers"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22little+battle+of+the+bulge%22+%22buffalo+soldiers%22

Serchio Christmas day 1944
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Serchio+Christmas+day+1944

I want to thank the researcher for their help.....they have provided me with
information that I could not or would not know how to obtain....I am very
pleased and will be using Google again and again