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: