BATTLE OF THE MARNE

Second Battle of the Marne counteroffensive

By mid-1918, German armies in France had driven a dangerous salient across the Marne River, threatening Paris and hoping to win the war before American troops could arrive in strength. In the early hours of July 18th, French and American forces launched a coordinated counteroffensive, striking the exposed flanks of the German position near Soissons and along the Marne. American divisions, including units such as the 1st and 2nd Divisions, advanced through woods and wheat fields under heavy fire, learning modern combined-arms warfare in some of the toughest conditions of the Great War. Their attacks helped blunt the German offensive and began the steady push that would drive the enemy back toward the Rhine over the months ahead. For the United States, this was one of the first operations where its forces played a central role in turning the tide on the Western Front, demonstrating that the American Expeditionary Forces could fight alongside seasoned Allied armies as equals.