and one of the first to enter the trenches of the Western Front. After arriving in France, Marshall served with the 1st Division on the St. Mihiel, Picardy, and Cantigny fronts. In late 1917, General John J. Pershing, the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the AEF, inspected the 1st Division. Unimpressed by what he observed, Pershing began to berate the division commander, Major General William L. Sibert, in front of his staff. Sibert took Pershing's criticism in silence, but when Pershing turned his attention to the division chief of staff, Marshall angrily interceded to inform Pershing of logistical and administrative difficulties of which Pershing was unaware. Marshall also informed Pershing that the AEF staff had not been very helpful in dealing with the problems. Sibert and his staff were concerned that Marshall's willingness to confront Pershing had probably cost him his career. Instead, Pershing began to seek out Marshall and ask for his advice whenever he visited the 1st Division. Marshall won recognition and acclaim for his planning of the Battle of Cantigny, which took place from May 28 to 31, 1918; Marshall's success resulted in the first notable American victory of the war. As he conducted pre-attack planning, Marshall traveled alone under cover of darkness to personally view the terrain and mentally map it. Marshall ventured beyond the front lines and far into no-man's land, often under friendly artillery fire and routinely risking discovery and capture by Imperial German Army troops. On May 26, he was injured while traveling to several subordinate units to conduct pre-attack coordination. As he departed the division headquarters area, his horse stumbled, fell, and rolled over; Marshall's left foot was caught in the stirrup, and he sustained a severe sprain and bruise. A physician bound Marshall's injured ankle and foot with adhesive tape so he could avoid medical evacuation and remain with the division to oversee the attack. In 1920, Marshall was awarded the Citation Star for his heroism during this battle. When the Silver Star medal was created in 1932, Citation Stars were converted to the new award. In mid-1918, Pershing brought Marshall on to the AEF operations staff, G-3, where he worked closely with Pershing and was a key planner of American operations. He was instrumental in the planning and coordination of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which contributed to the defeat of the German Empire on the Western Front in 1918. Marshall held the permanent