Morning dawned clear and breezy. Shortly after reveille, a messenger arrived from the American headquarters and another from the French Field Staff. Half an hour later the two regiments of marines, moving like one man, were marching straight across country a little to the northwest of Château-Thierry. It was the intention to drive the Huns out of their threatening positions in the hills where they were concentrating troops and artillery, mostly machine-gun units. A brigade also of the Third Division U. S. Regulars, moved forward at nearly the same time in support of the marines, if needed. No prettier sight could be imagined than those long lines of soldiers, over two thousand in number, sweeping forward. They had been called “the Matchless Marines” and by another equally expressive, though homelier name, “the Leathernecks.” Picked men, every one of them chosen with regard to his athletic and probable fighting ability, they could but live up to the standards set for them by their predecessors in the same force, adhering always to the maxims that “the marines never retreat” and that “they hold what they’ve got.” The peeping sun shone upon their brown uniforms and glistened on their bayoneted guns, as they moved through waving grass and over fields of yellowing grain. There was no sound of drum or fife. No band played martial music--that is not the custom when a modern army goes against the enemy--but here and there along those steady, triple lines could be heard laughter, snatches of song, the voice of some wag bantering his fellows. The orders to the commanding general of the division ran something like this: Rout the enemy from the village of Bouresches. Break up the machine-gun and artillery positions in Belleau Woods and if possible capture Hill No. 165. Consolidate positions at these points and south of the village of Torcy and hold them. It was evident that the commander-in-chief depended fully on “the Leathernecks” and felt confident that they would do as ordered, although they had before them a large undertaking. It was known that the Germans had two divisions of picked troops at this point, with still another division in reserve.