Memories of two battles mark Guard unit’s centennial

102nd Infantry first made its mark in World War I

More than 90 years after the 102nd Infantry fought in the Battle of Seicheprey in France, the regiment deployed to Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom.

Hartford — The regiment of Connecticut soldiers was first tested in battle thousands of miles away, in the small French village of Seicheprey.

On the morning of April 20, 1918, German storm troopers attacked the village, surprising the Connecticut soldiers and other American troops who were part of a division made up of units from New England. Most of the Americans were young and inexperienced and had yet to be tested in battle.

The storm troopers swarmed Seicheprey, leading the Americans, who were in disarray, to sustain heavy casualties. The 102nd regiment, known as the Connecticut regiment, saw the worst of the attack. Almost everyone got involved, including cooks and members of the marching band. The battle raged for 24 hours. The Americans were able to counter-attack and regained control of the village. For this reason, it was lauded as a victory in American newspapers.

In the 102nd, 71 were killed and 134 were wounded, according to Christine Pittsley, World War I project manager for the Connecticut State Library, who is compiling a list of the Connecticut soldiers lost that day.

The Connecticut National Guard’s 102nd Infantry Regiment is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, having formed in August 1917 when the 1st and 2nd Connecticut Infantry Regiments were combined. For much of its 100 years, the regiment has been headquartered in New Haven.

During a small ceremony Wednesday marking the regiment’s history in the ornate Old Judiciary Room in the state Capitol, officials spoke about two of its most significant engagements. About 15 current and former soldiers of the 102nd attended the ceremony.

More than 90 years after Seicheprey, the 102nd deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Maj. Alyssa Kelleher, who deployed twice to Afghanistan, both times with logistics units in support of the 102nd, described the regiment’s role in working with and training the Afghan army.

Kelleher told of a mission gone wrong after an Afghan unit was attacked by the Taliban. Prior to this, she explained there was a big push for the Afghan army to take on missions on its own, without the partnership of U.S. soldiers. The mission in question was mainly planned by the Afghans, but they received a lot of equipment and weapons from the 102nd.

“It was a drastic failure,” said Kelleher, explaining that she’s of the opinion that the mission was compromised before it had even started.

Very quickly after the operation began, the 102nd received reports that the Afghan soldiers were being heavily attacked by the Taliban, and that part of the unit was staying to engage but many were running away and attempting to hide.

“The next day it became apparent that we had more things to take care of in our AO,” Kelleher said, referring to the 102nd’s area of responsibility.

That started a two-month period of offensive and defensive operations in the area, Kelleher explained. In those two months, three high-value targets were neutralized, two tons of enemy materiel were destroyed, five Afghan soldiers were rescued and repatriated, and freedom of movement was secured to an area that hadn’t been accessible for many years.

“All in all, it was a great success and just one more in a long line of successful military operations,” she said.