Château-Thierry, a town on the Marne, was the next place where the
Americans distinguished themselves. On May 31, when the capture of
the town by the Germans was imminent, American machine gunners began
to arrive on the river banks. Joining a battalion of French colonial
troops, they entered the town, and by their well-organized defense
positions and accurate fire, caused the advancing Germans to hesitate
and halt. The Americans not only repulsed the Germans at every point
at which they were engaged, but took prisoners without having any
prisoners in turn taken by the Germans. The Americans in this sector
were units drawn from the Marine Corps.
The successful resistance against the Germans at Château-Thierry was
followed by the marines beating off two determined German attacks on
the Marne. The Germans concentrated large forces before Veuilly Wood,
and began a mass attack. They were mowed down by the American machine
gunners, and the attack was broken up before reaching the American
line. The Germans fled in confusion and with heavy losses.
It was now the Americans' turn to attack. The marines, pushing forward
on the morning of June 6, penetrated to a depth of over two miles on
a front of two and a half miles, and occupied all the important high
ground northwest of Château-Thierry. The French co-operated to the left
of the Americans. The Germans were so hard pressed by the Americans
that in three days it was necessary to bring up three new divisions of
the best German troops.
The Americans continued to advance, pushing forward to a line which
lay through Les Mares Farm, just north of the village of Lucy le
Bocage, and on through the outskirts of the town of Triangle. This
line included strong positions in Bussiares Wood, the crossroads south
of Torcy, and the southern edge of Belleau Wood. During the night of
June 6 the fighting raged with great fierceness for five hours. The
Americans captured Bouresches and Torcy. Further fighting on June 7
extended the American line over a front of about six miles to a depth
of nearly two and a half miles. While the losses of the Americans were
necessarily heavy, the German dead were piled three deep in places.
The importance of the operations of the Americans on the Marne sector
was evident from the fact that the day before they arrived on the front
and began fighting, the Germans advanced about six miles. While the
Americans advanced their line, the French completed the capture of
Vilny, Veuilly-la-Poterie, and the heights southeast of Hautevesnes.