Writing the AEF, 3rd Division

So we've been writing about the 3rd Division along the Marne during July of 1918. This includes the Rock of the Marne battle of course. But far more interesting we think is the Marne crossing operation mounted the next week. Basically the engineers got a couple of makeshift pontoon bridges across the Marne. Then each regiment made its away across and began a week long campaign sweeping the Germans off the north bank of the river.

As we said this is interesting but the only source we had was commanding general Joseph Dickman's memoir which gave us only enough detail for about 500 words.

Thanks to digitization we found the official history of the 3rd Division online and this contains individual accounts of each of the 3rd Division's sub units. This allows us to up the description to perhaps 2000 words.

Also we should also be able to expand the tail of the 7th MG company. Their action is also very interesting. As things were falling apart for the French on 31 May, the 3rd MG Battalion arrived at Chateau Thierry, at the tip of the Marne River and the salient the Germans had driven into French lines. Here the battalion deployed and spent most of the day fighting off German infantry.

The heroic action of the 7th MG Battalion was the first time American troops went into line in against a German attack.