"It fills me with pride to record in general orders a tribute to the service achievements of the First and Third Corps, comprising the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Twenty-sixth, Twenty-eighth, Thirty-second and Forty-second Divisions of the American Expeditionary Forces. "You came to the battlefield at a crucial hour for the Allied cause. For almost four years the most formidable army the world has yet seen had pressed its invasion of France and stood threatening its capital. At no time has that army been more powerful and menacing than when, on July 15th, it struck again to destroy in one great battle the brave men opposed to it and to enforce its brutal will upon the world and civilisation. "Three days later in conjunction with our Allies you counter-attacked. The Allied armies gained a brilliant victory that marks the turning point of the war. You did more than to give the Allies the support to which, as a nation, our faith was pledged. You proved that our altruism, our pacific spirit, and our sense of justice have not blunted our virility or our courage. "You have shown that American initiative and energy are as fit for the tasks of war as for the pursuits of peace. You have justly won unstinted praise from our Allies and the eternal gratitude of our countrymen. "We have paid for our successes with the lives of many of our brave comrades. We shall cherish their memory always and claim for our history and literature their bravery, achievement and sacrifice. "This order will be read to all organisations at the first assembly formations following its receipt. "PERSHING." * * * * * August 10th marked a milestone in the military effort of the United States. On that day the organisation was completed of the First American Field Army. I have tried to show in this record how we began the organisation of our forces overseas. Our first troops to reach France were associated in small units with the French. Soon our regiments began to reach the front under French Division Commanders. Then with the formation of American divisions, we went into the line under French corps commanders. Later still, American corps operated under French Army Commanders. Finally, our forces augmented by additional divisions and corps were organised into the First American Field Army. Through these various stages of development, our forces had grown until on August 10th they had reached the stage where they became practically as independent an organisation as the British armies under Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig and the French armies under General Petain. From now on the American Army was to be on a par with the French Army and the British Army, all three of them under the sole direction of the Allied Generalissimo, Marshal Ferdinand Foch.