On October 25, 1918, the brigade moved to the Les Islettes area with brigade headquarters at Camp Cabaud. On the evening of October 26, 1918, it arrived in the area south of Exermont and bivouacked in the woods there that night with brigade headquarters at Exermont. The brigade remained in bivouac in this area until the night of October 30-31, 1918, when it moved forward into line to participate in the immense Meuse-Argonne offensive which had started on September 26, 1918, the Second Division being assigned as a unit of the Fifth Corps.
Relieving elements of the Forty-Second Division, just south of Landres-et-St. Georges, the Marine Brigade early on the morning of November 1, 1918, jumped-off, following a terrific barrage, for its final operation of the war, the conclusion of which at 11 o’clock on the morning of November 11, 1918, found the Marines firmly established on the heights of the far bank of the Meuse River, after an advance of 30 kilometers.
The splendid work of the Second Division, including the Marines, is described in official reports, and excerpts from some are given below.
In recommending that the Second Division be cited in General Headquarters Orders for its excellent work in the attack of November 1-11, 1918, the commanding general, First Army, wrote on January 16, 1919, in part, as follows:
4. In the First Army attack of November 1, 1918, the Second Division was selected and so placed in the battle line that its known ability might be used to overcome the critical part of the enemy’s defense. The salient feature of the plan of attack was to drive a wedge through Landres-et-St. Georges to the vicinity of Fosse. It was realized that if the foregoing could be accomplished the backbone of the hostile resistance west of the Meuse would be broken and the enemy would have to retreat to the east of the Meuse. Success in this plan would immediately loosen the flanks of the First Army. The Second Division was selected to carry out this main blow.
5. The Second Division accomplished the results desired in every particular on the first day of the attack, not only clearing the hostile defenses of Landres-et-St. Georges and the Bois de Hazios but continuing its advance to the vicinity of Fosse, i. e., about 9 kilometers. This decisive blow broke the enemy’s defense and opened the way for the rapid advance of the Army.
With reference to the first day’s attack, the commanding general, Fifth Army Corps, wrote officially on November 2, 1918, in part as follows:
The division’s brilliant advance of more than 9 kilometers, destroying the last stronghold on the Hindenburg Line, capturing the Freya Stellung, and going more than 9 kilometers against not only the permanent but the relieving forces in their front, may justly be regarded as one of the most remarkable achievements made by any troops in this war. For the first time, perhaps, in our experience the losses inflicted by your division upon the enemy in the offensive greatly exceeded the casualties of the division. The reports indicate moreover that in a single day the division has captured more artillery and machine guns than usually falls to the lot of a command during several days of hard fighting. These results must be attributed to the great dash and speed of the troops, and to the irresistible force with which they struck and overcame the enemy.
The following citation in Fifth Army Corps General Orders No. 26, dated November 20, 1918, gives a further description of these operations:
The Second Division, in line at the launching of the attack, broke through the strong enemy resistance, and, leading the advance, drove forward in a fast and determined pursuit of the enemy, who, despite new divisions hastily thrown in, was driven back everywhere on its front. This division drove the enemy across the Meuse, and under heavy fire and against stubborn resistance, built bridges and established itself on the heights. The cessation of hostilities found this division holding strong positions across the Meuse and ready for a continuation of the advance.
An order of the Second Division, dated November 5, 1918, reading in part as follows, tells what occurred subsequent to the first day’s attack:
During the night of November 2-3 the Second Division moved forward overcoming the resistance of the enemy’s advanced elements, and at 6 a. m., it attacked and seized the enemy’s line of defense on the ridge southeast of Vaux-en-Dieulet.
Late in the afternoon, the enemy, having reorganized his line on the border of Belval Forest, was again attacked and defeated. After nightfall and in a heavy rain, the advanced elements of the division pressed forward through the forest, and occupied a position on the heights south of Beaumont, 8 kilometers in advance of the divisions on our right and left.
During the night of November 4-5, the division again pressed forward, occupied Beaumont and Letanne and threw the enemy on its front across the Meuse.
An order of the Second Division, dated November 12, 1918, describing the historic crossing of the Meuse River on the night before the armistice became operative, reads as follows:
1. On the night of November 10, heroic deeds were done by heroic men. In the face of a heavy artillery and withering machine gun fire, the Second Engineers threw two foot bridges across the Meuse and the first and second battalions of the Fifth Marines crossed resolutely and unflinchingly to the east bank and carried out their mission.
2. In the last battle of the war, as in all others in which this division has participated, it enforced its will on the enemy.
The commanding general of the Fifth Army Corps has this to say about the crossing of the Meuse by the Marines, who were assisted by the Artillery, Engineers, and other troops of the Second Division:
Especially I desire to commend the division for the crowning feat of its advance in crossing the Meuse River in face of heavy concentrated enemy machine gun fire, and in driving the enemy’s troops before it, and in firmly establishing itself upon the heights covering the desired bridgehead. This feat will stand among the most memorable of the campaign.
With reference to the crossing of the Meuse River the American commander in chief reported as follows:
On the night of November 10, the Fifth Corps forced a crossing of the Meuse against heavy enemy resistance between Mouzon and Pouilly, and advanced to the Inor-Mouzon road with two battalions holding the high ground northwest of Inor.
The general success achieved by the Second Division in the Argonne-Meuse offensive is well described by the words of the order citing Maj. Gen. John A. Lejeune, of the Marines, for an Army distinguished service medal, reading in part as follows:
In the Meuse-Argonne offensive his division was directed with such sound military judgment and ability that it broke and held, by the vigor and rapidity of execution of its attack, enemy lines which had hitherto been considered impregnable.
During this fighting the headquarters of the Fourth Brigade was successively established at Exermont, one-half kilometer north of Exermont, Sommerance, Bayonville-et-Chennery, Fosse, Belval-Bois-des-Dames, and Beaumont.
The following self-explanatory memorandum was sent out by the Commanding General of the Fourth Brigade:
Headquarters 4th Brigade,
Marines, American E. F.,
11th November ’18—8.40 a. m.
Peace Memorandum No. 1.
The following telephone message received from Surprise 1 at 8.35 a. m. this morning forwarded for compliance.
8.40 a. m. message from 5th Corps; Armistice signed and takes effect at 11 this morning. Accurate map showing locations of front line elements, including patrols and detachments, will be sent to these Headquarters without delay.
On “the eleventh hour, the eleventh day of the eleventh month, of the year 1918,” Brig. Gen. Wendell C. Neville, commanding general of the Fourth Brigade of Marines, published the following tribute to the officers and men of the Fourth Brigade:
Upon this, the most momentous hour in the history of the World War, the undersigned wishes to express to his command his sincere appreciation of their unfailing devotion to duty and their heroic and courageous action during the recent operations.
The time, when the results of our efforts during the past year are shown, is here. The hour has arrived when the convulsion which has shaken the foundations of the civilized world has ceased. The enemy is defeated and the principles of freedom and democracy have triumphed over barbarism and autocracy. We may all feel justly proud of the extent of our participation which has forced the enemy to a cessation of hostilities. It is fitting, at this time, to think of those of our comrades who have fallen on the field of honor and rejoice in the fact that they did not give their lives in vain.
Your display of fortitude, determination, courage, and your ability to fight has upon more than one occasion been a determining factor in making history, and your work has had a direct bearing upon the remarkable chain of events which have this day culminated in such a satisfactory manner. Along the fronts of Verdun, the Marne, the Aisne, Lorraine, Champagne, and the Argonne, the units of the Fourth Brigade Marines have fought valiantly, bravely, and decisively. They have nobly sustained the sacred traditions and have added glorious pages to the already illustrious history of the United States Marine Corps. It is a record of which you may all be proud.