The great June-July troop movement from the States was well under way, and, although these troops were to be given some preliminary training before being put into action, their very presence warranted the use of all the older divisions in the confidence that we did not lack reserves.  Elements of the Forty-second Division were in the line east of Rheims against the German offensive of July 15, and held their ground unflinchingly.  On the right flank of this offensive four companies of the Twenty-eighth Division were in position in face of the advancing waves of the German infantry.  The Third Division was holding the bank of the Marne from the bend east of the mouth of the Surmelin to the west of Mezy, opposite Chateau-Thierry, where a large force of German infantry sought to force a passage under support of powerful artillery concentrations and under cover of smoke screens.  A single regiment of the Third wrote one of the most brilliant pages in our military annals on this occasion.  It prevented the crossing at certain points on its front while, on either flank, the Germans, who had gained a footing, pressed forward.  Our men, firing in three directions, met the German attacks with counterattacks at critical points and succeeded in throwing two German divisions into complete confusion, capturing 600 prisoners.

[Sidenote:  First and Second in the thrust toward Soissons.]

The great force of the German Chateau-Thierry offensive established the deep Marne salient, but the enemy was taking chances, and the vulnerability of this pocket to attack might be turned to his disadvantage.  Seizing this opportunity to support my conviction, every division with any sort of training was made available for use in a counter-offensive.  The place of honor in the thrust toward Soissons on July 18 was given to our First and Second Divisions in company with chosen French divisions.  Without the usual brief warning of a preliminary bombardment, the massed French and American artillery, firing by the map, laid down its rolling barrage at dawn while the infantry began its charge.  The tactical handling of our troops under these trying conditions was excellent throughout the action.  The enemy brought up large numbers of reserves and made a stubborn defense both with machine guns and artillery, but through five days’ fighting the First Division continued to advance until it had gained the heights above Soissons and captured the village of Berzy-le-Sec.  The Second Division took Beau Repaire farm and Vierzy in a very rapid advance and reached a position in front of Tigny at the end of its second day.  These two divisions captured 7,000 prisoners and over 100 pieces of artillery.

[Sidenote:  The Twenty-sixth and the Third.]

The Twenty-sixth Division, which, with a French division, was under command of our First Corps, acted as a pivot of the movement toward Soissons.  On the 18th it took the village of Torcy while the Third Division was crossing the Marne in pursuit of the retiring enemy.  The Twenty-sixth attacked again on the 21st, and the enemy withdrew past the Chateau-Thierry-Soissons road.  The Third Division, continuing its progress, took the heights of Mont St. Pere and the villages of Charteves and Jaulgonne in the face of both machine-gun and artillery fire.