Second Battle of The MarneJuly 15-August 6, 1918Amy Lesnever & Vinnie Raponi

Well Known Divisions of The Second Battle of the Marne

The 3rd Infantry Division, is a United States Army infantry division that during the Second Battle of the Marne, At midnight on July 14, 1918, the Division earned lasting distinction. Engaged in the Marne Offensive the Division was protecting Paris with a position on the banks of the Marne River. While surrounding units were retreating, the 3rd Infantry remained solid and protected the capital, earning its reputation as the “Rock of the Marne.”

The Pennsylvania National Guard received its baptism of fire on July 15, 1918, during the German Army's Champagne-Marne Offensive. Wave after wave of Germans attacked the Pennsylvanians. Despite the overwhelming odds, the 109th infantry stubbornly held their position and inflicted heavy casualties. For its defense the 109th was nicknamed "Men of Iron" and even today the 109 Infantry (Thirteenth Pennsylvania) continue the proud heritage of the "Men of Iron."

Welcome, Sons of Pennsylvania,Proud we are to grasp each hand,

Bid you wassail by our hearthfires,You who ruled in No Man's Land!

Victors of Fismettes and Sergy,Apremont,Varennnes and Aisne,

Men of Iron, Sons of Pennsylvania,Welcome, welcome home again!

Proud, yet fearful we have watched you,Read your deeds with anxious eyes,

Wept for them who fell in glory,Underneath the shell swept skies.

Trembled for you, bravely smiling,In the maw of hurt and hate,

Grimly trekking ever onward,Glad to break a lance with fate!

You were fearless in the battle,You were masters of the Huns!

Not a field in France but glories,In the deeds of Pensy's Sons!

Not an act but bears fair witness,Not a move but proved you true,To the mother state that bore you,To the Red, the White, the Blue!

By the rude graves on the hillsides;By the light of angry guns,

By the roads that led to Paris,Barring pathway to the huns;

By the Marne, the Oureq, the Argonne;By the fields you won so well;

All the world learned to respect you,Sons of Pennsy gave them Hell!

Where the fighting raged the fiercest;Where the hurt fields writhed in pain,

Where the deep woods hid their terrors;Where the death seythe cleft the grain,

Where the red-voiced night took umbrage;Where the seared Hun quit his lair;Where Old Glory waved the tallest,

Men of Iron conquered there!

Fought and conquered-Now comeing home,Pennsylvania gives her hand,

Pledges jobs and love a'plenty,Men who ruled in no mans land.Victors of Fismettes and Sergy,Apremont, Varennes and Aisne,

Men of Iron, Sons of Pennsy,Welcome, welcome home again.

Welcome Men of

Iron

Written by: 1st Lt.

C. L. JORDAN, U. S. A.

The 369th Infantry is known for being the first African-American regiment to serve with the American Expeditionary Force during World War I. The regiment was nicknamed the Harlem Hellfighters. The US Army decided on April 8, 1918 to assign the unit to the French Army for the duration of the United States' participation in the war. The regiment saw plenty of combat in the Second Battle of the Marne especially in the Allied counterattack.

-The Battles of the Marne Memorial was built between 1921 and 1931

-Located in Dormans, France. 80% of the town was completely destroyed during the fierce fighting that went on here during the second Battle of the Marne.

-The tower of the monument with a height of over 170 feet offers an amazing view of the plain where the battles in 1914 and 1918 had taken place.

Chambrecy British Cemetery Marne, France

There are over 400 Graves of British soldiers killed in the region. Largely of the 19th (Western) and 51st (Highland)

divisions.

Of these 400, nearly half are unidentified and a special memorial is erected to their memory.

Loupeigne French/German Cemetery

480 graves of French soldiers, killed in this area during the summer of 1918.

This chapel is dedicated to the French officers of

Artillery and Infantry, who

fell in the region 1917-

1918.

Below the chapel is a ossuary for 118 unknown French soldiers.

“In This Graveyard Rest 478 German Soldiers 1914-1918”

Within this cemetery are the remains of many officers, French and German.

At the center of the

German cemetery stands a

small chapel.

Oise-Aisne American Cemetery

There are 6,012 American Soldiers Buried in the Cemetery

The sandstone Memorial at the end of the cemetery has the shape of a curving

amphitheatre.

Inscribed on the side of the altar is, “In Sacred Sleep They Rest.”

In the left side of the memorial wall is a

small chapel

Inside of the Chapel

Joyce Kilmer • Kilmer, known before the war for writing poetry about nature was famous for his title, Trees, written in 1913.

• To honor twenty-one fallen soldiers in the Rouge Bouquet Chausailles sector , Kilmer wrote the poem, Rouge Bouquet, which was read over their graves in March of 1918.

• Joyce Kilmer was shot down by a sniper’s bullet on July 30, 1918 at the age of 31.

• The poem was then recited over his own grave five months later.

In a wood they call Rouge BouquetThere is a new-made grave today,

Built by never a spade nor pickYet covered with earth 10 meters thick.

There lie many fighting men,     Dead in their youthful prime,

Never to laugh nor love again     Nor taste the Summertime.

For Death came flying through the airAnd stopped his flight at the dugout stair,

Touched his prey and left them there,     Clay to clay.

He hid their bodies stealthilyIn the soil of the land they fought to free

     And fled away.Now over the grave abrupt and clear

     Three volleys ring;And perhaps their brave young spirits hear

     The bugles sing:"Go to sleep! Go to sleep!

Slumber well where the shell screamed and fell.

Let your rifles rest on the muddy floor, You will not need them any more.

Danger's past; Now at last, Go to sleep!"

There is on earth no worthier graveTo hold the bodies of the brave

Than this place of pain and prideWhere they nobly fought and nobly died.

Never fear but in the skiesSaints and angels stand

Smiling with their holy eyes     On this new-come band.

St. Michael's sword darts through the airand touches the aureole on his hair

As he sees them stand saluting there,     His stalwart sons:

And Patrick, Brigid, ColumkillRejoice that in veins of warriors still

     The Gael's blood runs.And up to Heaven's doorway floats,

     From the wood called Rouge Bouquet,A delicate cloud of bugle notes

     That softly say:"Farewell!Farewell!

Comrades true, born anew, peace to you!Your souls shall be where the heroes are

And your memory shine like the morning-star.

Brave and dear,Shield us here.

Farewell!"

Rouge Bouquet Written By Joyce Kilmer