altogether invincible.

The Germans' Aisne offensive, which began on May 27th, had advanced
rapidly toward the River Marne and Paris, and the Allies faced a crisis
equally as grave as that of the Picardy offensive in March. Again every
available man was placed at Marshal Foch's disposal, and the Third
Division, which had just come from its preliminary training in the
trenches, was hurried to the Marne. Its motorized machine-gun battalion
preceded the other units and successfully held the bridge-head at the
Marne, opposite Chateau-Thierry. The Second Division, in reserve near
Montdidier, was sent by motor trucks and other available transport to
check the progress of the enemy toward Paris. The division attacked and
retook the town and railroad station at Bouresches and sturdily held its
ground against the enemy's best guard divisions. In the battle of
Belleau Wood, which followed, our men proved their superiority and
gained a strong tactical position, with far greater loss to the enemy
than to ourselves. On July 1st, before the Second was relieved, it
captured the village of Vaux with most splendid precision.

Meanwhile our Second Corps, under Maj.-Gen. George W. Read, had been
organized for the command of our divisions with the British, which were
held back in training areas or assigned to second-line defenses. Five of
the ten divisions were withdrawn from the British area in June, three to
relieve divisions in Lorraine and the Vosges and two to the Paris area
to join the group of American divisions which stood between the city and
any farther advance of the enemy in that direction.

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 15th, 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
concentrati