Had reached the marne river and was less than 40 miles from paris. Pershing moved the second and third u. S. Divisions in the are into the area around chateauthierry to help stem this onslaught. Both divisions responded with spectacular spirit and success. The Third Division, in its battle for the marne crossing, wrote one of the most brilliant pages of our military annals, said general pershing. One of its legends, the 38th infantry, earned the proud designation rock of the marne. The Second Division, holding the road between chateauthierry and paris, began pushing the germans back. U. S. Marines, fighting with the Second Division, reclaimed important ground in a fierce contest known as the battle of belleau woods. American history tv visited key monuments, battlefields, and cemeteries in northeastern france with historian mitchell yockelson. To begin the story, we visit the chateauthierry monument, about 60 miles from paris, to learn why u. S. Forces were in the region and how they h