Camp Greene near Charlotte, North Carolina. Two days later, however, he received new orders to become the commander of a reserve officer training camp in Leon Springs, Texas. Here, he reported as ordered, and stayed until the mission was complete in April 1918. As he was technically on loan from the 4th Division, his request to rejoin that unit was granted, and Middleton was soon on his way to France. Believing that the 4th Division was still at Camp Greene, Middleton wired there to find out that the unit was already on its way overseas. He caught a train for New York, and when he arrived on 28 April 1918, he found his division at Camp Mills on Long Island, living in tents and awaiting transport. Middleton was given command of the First Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, and departed New York with his regiment aboard the Princess Matokia on 11 May in a convoy of fourteen ships. Three days out of France, a fleet of destroyers met the convoy and escorted it to the port city of Brest where they arrived on 23 May. There the division unloaded and organized for several days, subsequently loading onto a troop train to arrive at Calais on 30 May. Calais, Chateau Thierry and Saint-Mihiel The first assignment of the 4th Division was to become a reserve unit for the British, just south of Calais. The Americans gave up their Springfield Rifles for some British Enfields for which there was available ammunition. When the Germans began an offensive north of Paris, the 4th was put onto trains and sent to the Marne River, about twenty-five miles west of Chateau Thierry. Here the 4th became a reserve unit for the badly battered 42nd Division. In late July 1918, Middleton, promoted to major on 7 June, moved his First Battalion in to support the 167th Regiment of the 42nd Division. In the ensuing operation, called the Second Battle of the Marne, four days of heavy fighting took place against the Prussian Fourth Guard Division fresh from a month's rest. While the veteran Germans fought with determination, the Americans were able to push them back about twelve miles, though at a considerable cost—more than one in four of the Americans became casualties. When the 4th Division was relieved, they were sent to the Saint-Mihiel area, where they would undertake a small support role. Major Middleton was given