The Explorers' Club, № DCXXXI

Operation AXIOM: The World War—The Second Battle of the Marne, Part V
4 August 1918: Gefreiter Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class, for actions during the defense of Soissons, a rare honor for a soldier of his humble rank (lance corporal); though born in Austria-Hungary, Hitler was permitted to join the Bavarian Army in 1914; he was wounded by shrapnel at the Somme in 1916 & temporarily blinded in a British mustard gas attack later in 1918.

Lest we forget.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Second Battle of the Marne
№ DCXXV: Requiescat in pace Quentin Roosevelt (Part I)
№< DCXXVI: The Battles of Fourth Champagne & the Mountain of Reims (Part II)
№ DCXXIX: The Battles of Château-Thierry, Soissons, & Tardenois (Part III)
№ DCXXX: Requiescat in pace Joyce Kilmer (Part IV)

The Explorers' Club, № DCXXX

Operation AXIOM: The World War—The Second Battle of the Marne, Part IV
Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918), the American writer, lecturer, & poet, most famous for the seminal poem "Trees;" he joined New York's "Fighting Sixty-ninth" Infantry Regiment as a sergeant, refusing officer's commissions in different regiments; assigned to safe rear-echelon duties, he volunteered for perilous intelligence missions to the front; he was killed by a German sniper's bullet on 30 July 1918.

Lest we forget.

Commentary: Before being shipped over there, Kilmer accepted a commission to author a book about the war, to be titled Here & There with the Fighting Sixty-ninth, which he did not live to complete. Kilmer's poem "Rouge Bouquet," about the death of his comrades ("Explorers' Club" № DCV), was first published in Stars & Stripes a fortnight after his own death, & was read at his graveside.

The Explorers' Club, № DCXXIX

Operation AXIOM: The World War—The Second Battle of the Marne, Part III
18-22 July 1918: The Battles of Château-Thierry (18 July), Soissons (18-22 July), & Tardenois (19 July)—The Entente struck back, the French, British, Italian, & American troops being coordinated by new Supreme Allied Commander Généralissime Ferdinand Foch; combined arms, including almost five hundred tanks, were committed to the elimination of the German salient west of Reims.

Lest we forget.

The Explorers' Club, № DCXXVI

Operation AXIOM: The World War—The Second Battle of the Marne, Part II
15-20 July 1918: The Fourth Battle of Champagne & the Battle of the Mountain of Reims—The Germans attacked both to the east & to the west of Reims, the Friedensturm (loosely translated, "Peace Offensive"), ultimately a diversion meant to draw Entente troops away from Flanders; the American 38th Infantry Regiment earned the nickname it holds to this day, the "Rock of the Marne."

Lest we forget.

The Explorers' Club, № DCXXV

Operation AXIOM: The World War—The Second Battle of the Marne, Part I
Quentin Roosevelt (1897-1918), the youngest son & favorite of Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), twenty-sixth president of the United States; he grew up in the White House, graduated from the Groton School, & attended Harvard University; a Nieuport 28 pilot in the 95th Aero Squadron, he was shot twice in the head in an aerial dogfight & crashed behind the German lines on 14 July 1918.

Lest we forget.