Official History of the Fifth Division, U. S

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. In the St. Mihiel operation the Fifth Division successfully reached every objective on scheduled time, advancing seven and one half kilometers and capturing many prisoners and much material. It tarried long enough in the sector to stabilize its lines and to help clinch the drive that had to be a success. Then the Red Diamond entered the battle between the Argonne and the river Meuse, undertaking one of the most difficult tasks that ever faced an American division. In the fierce and continued fighting that finally won for us the Bois des Rappes many a man earned well the name of hero. Those eleven days of trial and exposure and advance under terrible concentration of enemy artillery, machine gun and rifle fire from three directions served as the furnace in which was tested and tempered the metal of the Fifth Division.