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644 General History of Europe effort to extend to the south the territory gained in the first drive. Here they were opposed for the first time by the American troops, who fought with great bravery and ardor. And here the German successes came to an end. 1163. United States Troops in Action. The first contingent of United States troops had arrived in France in June, 1917, AMERICAN TROOPS MARCHING TO TAKE THEIR PLACES AT THE FRONT IN THE MARNE VALLEY under the command of General Pershing, who had a long and honorable record as a military commander. He had in his younger days fought Indians in the West ; he served in the Spanish War and later subdued the fierce Moros in the Philippine Islands. By the first of July, 1918, about a million American troops had reached France and were either participating actively in the fierce fighting or being rapidly and efficiently trained. They had taken their first town by the end of May, 1918, and gained great dis- tinction for themselves by cooperating with the French in frustrat- ing the German attempt to break through at Chateau-Thierry.