Also known to historians as the Second Battle of the Marne, the Aisne-Marne Offensive began on July 18, 1918 with a combined French and American attack on the German forces (7th Army) inside the St. Mihiel Salient. The 52nd Infantry Brigade attacked along the 26th Division’s line from Bouresches to the left of the Division sector. The 52nd Brigade’s initial objective was to take the Torcy-Belleau-Givry Railroad from Givry to Bouresches.
"In the month of July" by C. LeRoy Baldridge, 1918
103rd Jumping Off For Torcy, Aisne-Marne Offensive 1918
Ruins of Torcy
During the day of July 18, battalions of the 103rd Infantry took Torcy and the Bouresches railway station before encountering serious German resistance (Points A & B) from Hill #193 and Bouresches Wood. For singular heroism during this action, Private First Class George Dilboy of 103rd H Co. was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The citation by Maj. Gen. Harry C. Hale reads as follows:
“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity, above and beyond the call of duty, in action with the enemy on July 18, 1918, near Belleau, France. After his platoon had gained its objective along a railroad embankment, Private Dilboy, accompanying his platoon leader to reconnoiter the ground beyond, was suddenly fired upon by an enemy machine gun from one hundred yards. From a standing position on the railroad track, fully exposed to view, he opened fire at once, but failing to silence the gun, rushed forward, with his bayonet fixed, through a wheat field towards the gun emplacement, falling within twenty-five yards of the gun, with his right leg nearly severed above the knee, and with several bullet-holes in his body. With undaunted courage he continued to fire into the emplacement from a prone position, killing two of the enemy and dispersing the rest of the crew.” {2nd Section, General Staff, 26th Div., AEF}
That night, the 103rd was forced to fall back to Belleau Wood by heavy enemy artillery fire and infantry counter-attack. The regiment remained in position the next day under heavy German artillery and machine gun fire before resuming the attack on July 20 and reaching its objective of Hill #190 on the Entrepilly Height (Point C), capturing many of the 200 prisoners taken by the 26th Division.
Picardie Farm at Etrepilly, Aisne-Marne Offensive 1918
Sacerie Farm, 1918
The advance continued on July 21 as the German Army fell back across a broad front in a general retreat. The 103rd Infantry moved through Sacerie Wood and Sacerie Farm towards Trugny where it again encountered stiff German resistance in the area of Epieds (Point D) which included orders for enemy artillery to contaminate the front line with mixed gas of all types. On July 22 the entire 52nd Brigade attacked Epieds twice only to be pushed back both times with heavy casualties from German machine gun fire. Overnight more than 1,000 artillery shells fell on the 52nd Brigade’s Command Post and the next day the 52nd was again repulsed in a third attack against Epieds, the vigorous defense of which proved to be merely a rear-guard holding action by the enemy while the main German forces withdrew.
Captured German machine gun, 1918
By July 24, 1918 the German withdrawal from Epieds was complete and the town was finally taken. The battered 52nd Brigade was relieved and withdrew to the vicinity of Etrepilly west of the Chateau Thierry-Soissons highway, greatly reduced in its effective strength. After a 3-day march the 52nd Brigade was billeted in the vicinity of La Ferte-sous-Jouarre with Division HQ established at Mery-sur-Marne.
26th Div. Troops Bathing in the Marne, 1918
In a week of fighting the 26th Division had captured 17 kilometers of ground in the first real advance made by an American division as a unit, but at a cost of 20% casualties (the greatest number of battle casualties it would experience in a single operation). Counted among the Division’s casualties were 1,930 gas cases, one of whom was Sam Avery: Suffering from exhaustion and symptoms of gas poisoning, Sam had unsuccessfully attempted to “march it off” after the capture of Epieds until he finally collapsed and was rushed to the field hospital. Sam would remain hospitalized for more than 2 months while the 26th Division continued the fight in the Saint Mihiel Offensive…
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