The Second and Third Battalions were sent in to relieve the first on October 3, but the regiment had suffered so many casualties in both officers and men that it was relieved with the 161st Division and carried in troop trains to Vitry-le-François. A little later it was transferred from Gouraud’s Fourth Army, where it had served during its offensives, to become a part of the 7th French Army. The 369th entrained at Vitry-le-François for Belfort on October 12, reaching its destination on the 14th. Two days later it moved by trucks and forced marches to Thann in the Vosges Mountains, where the entire regiment was put in front line trenches in the Thur sector. This was comparatively quiet, and from October 16 to November 11 only six casualties occurred, including one officer. The 369th Regiment played an important part in all the campaigns in which it participated, its efficiency increasing with every engagement. During the time that it was brigaded with the French the relations were most cordial; and during the last days of the September offensive the commanding general of the 161st Division attached it to his own two crack regiments because of its fighting qualities under fire. While there were difficulties of language, these were usually overcome by the assignment of efficient interpreters and the French officers were enthusiastic in their praise of the manner in which the regiment fought in all its battles. After the Armistice the 161st Division became a part of the Second French Army of Occupation. The 369th was given the post of honor as advance guard in the Triumphal March of November 17, 1918, and led the Army of Occupation out of the mountains to the plains lying on the west bank of the Rhine River. Reaching Blodelsheim on the Rhine on the morning of November 18, it was the first unit of all the Allied armies to reach the goal toward which so many million men had struggled through four bloody years. The regiment occupied the towns of Blodelsheim, Fessenheim, and Balgan, which also included a pontoon bridge head and a ferry head. Meanwhile the municipal affairs of these towns were administered by the regimental commander and his troops, who also guarded the surrounding territory. Of this duty the 369th was relieved on December 4, and it moved to division headquarters near Ensisheim. On the 13th it took part in the division review, at which time its colors were decorated with the Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action in the Champagne offensive. The recommendation for this citation was made by General LeBouc, with the approval of General Gouraud, Marshal Petain, and General Pershing. The translation of the citation reads as follows: Citation for Croix de Guerre 161st Division of Infantry, 8th Army Corps, Fourth Army (Aux Armées Françaises)