Editing Douglas MacArthur (section)

===Battle of Saint-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensive===
The 42nd Division earned a few weeks rest,{{sfn|James|1970|pp=196–197}} returning to the line for the [[Battle of Saint-Mihiel]] on 12 September 1918. The Allied advance proceeded rapidly, and MacArthur was awarded a fifth Silver Star for his leadership of the 84th Infantry Brigade.{{sfn|James|1970|pp=203–204}} In his later life he recalled:

{{Blockquote|In Essey I saw a sight I shall never quite forget. Our advance been so rapid the Germans had evacuated in a panic. There was a German officer's horse saddled and equipped standing in a barn, a battery of guns complete in every detail, and the entire administration and music of a regimental band.{{sfn|MacArthur|1964|p=63}}}}

He received a sixth Silver Star for his participation in a raid on the night of 25–26 September. The 42nd Division was relieved on the night of 30 September and moved to the [[Forest of Argonne|Argonne]] sector where it relieved the [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|1st Division]] on the night of 11 October. On a reconnaissance the next day, MacArthur was gassed again, earning a second [[Wound Chevron]].{{sfn|James|1970|pp=213–217}}

[[File:111-SC-23728 - NARA - 55207066 (cropped) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|General [[John J. Pershing|Pershing]] (second from left) decorates Brigadier General MacArthur (third from left) with the DSC, October 1918. Major General [[Charles T. Menoher]] (left) reads out the citation while Colonel [[George E. Leach]] (fourth from left) and Lieutenant Colonel [[William J. Donovan]] await their decorations.|alt=Three men in uniform are standing side by side. The one on the left is wearing a peaked "crush cap" and standing smartly at attention, while the two on the right wear garrison caps and are slouching. A man in a peaked cap and Sam Browne belt is pinning something on the chest of the first man. Behind him stands another man in a garrison cap who is reading a document in his hands.]]

The 42nd Division's participation in the [[Meuse–Argonne offensive]] began on 14 October when it attacked with both brigades. That evening, a conference was called to discuss the attack, during which Major General [[Charles Pelot Summerall|Charles P. Summerall]], commander of [[V Corps (United States)|V Corps]], telephoned and demanded that [[Châtillon-sous-les-Côtes|Châtillon]] be taken by 18:00 the next evening. An aerial photograph had been obtained that showed a gap in the German barbed wire to the northeast of Châtillon. Lieutenant Colonel Walter E. Bare—the commander of the [[167th Infantry Regiment (United States)|167th Infantry]]—proposed an attack from that direction, covered by a machine-gun barrage. MacArthur adopted this plan.{{sfn|Ferrell|2008|pp=47–50}} He was wounded, but not severely, while leading a reconnaissance patrol into no man's land at night to confirm the existence of the gap in the barbed wire.{{sfn|MacArthur|1964|p=66}} As he mentioned to William Addleman Ganoe a few years later, the Germans saw them and shot at MacArthur and the squad with artillery and machine guns. MacArthur was the sole survivor of the patrol, claiming it was a miracle that he survived. He confirmed that there was indeed an enormous, exposed gap in that area due to the lack of enemy gunfire coming from that area.{{sfn|Ganoe|1962|pp=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/People/Douglas_MacArthur/GANMAC/19*.html 143–144]}}

[[File:111-SC-39269 - NARA - 55237654 (cropped).png|thumb|left|Brigadier General Douglas MacArthur, commanding the 84th Brigade, 42nd Division, standing in front of his staff car, [[Saint-Juvin]], [[Ardennes (department)|Ardennes]], France, 3 November 1918]]

Summerall nominated MacArthur for the Medal of Honor and promotion to major general, but he received neither.{{sfn|James|1970|p=223}} Instead, he was awarded a second Distinguished Service Cross.{{sfn|MacArthur|1964|p=67}} The 42nd Division returned to the line for the last time on the night of 4–5 November 1918.{{sfn|James|1970|pp=227–228}} In the final advance on [[Sedan, Ardennes|Sedan]]. MacArthur later wrote that this operation "narrowly missed being one of the great tragedies of American history".{{sfn|MacArthur|1964|p=68}} An order to disregard unit boundaries led to units crossing into each other's zones. In the resulting chaos, MacArthur was taken prisoner by men of the 1st Division, who mistook him for a German general.{{sfn|James|1970|pp=232–233}} This would be soon resolved by the removal of his hat and long scarf that he wore.{{sfn|Gilbert|1994|p=494}} His performance in the attack on the [[Meuse (river)|Meuse]] heights led to his being awarded a seventh Silver Star. On 10 November, a day before the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|armistice with Germany]] that ended the fighting, MacArthur was appointed commander of the 42nd Division, upon the recommendation of its outgoing commander, Menoher, who had left to take over the newly activated [[VI Corps (United States)|VI Corps]].{{sfn|Perret|1996|p=108}}{{sfn|Herman|2016|p=144}} For his service as the 42nd's chief of staff and commander of the 84th Infantry Brigade, he was later awarded the [[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Army Distinguished Service Medal]].{{sfn|James|1970|pp=239–240}}

His period in command of the 42nd Division was brief, for on 22 November he, like other brigadier generals, was replaced and returned to the 84th Infantry Brigade, with Major General [[Clement Flagler]], his former battalion commander from Fort Leavenworth days before the war, instead taking command. It is possible that he may have retained command of the 42nd had he been promoted to major general (making him the youngest in the U.S. Army) but, with the sudden cessation of hostilities, that was unlikely. General [[Peyton C. March]], the [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Army Chief of Staff]] (and close friend of Arthur MacArthur), "had put a block on promotions. There would be no more stars awarded while the War Department got to grips with demobilization. MacArthur returned to commanding the 84th Brigade".{{sfn|Perret|1996|p=112}}{{sfn|Herman|2016|p=152}}

The 42nd Division was chosen to participate in the [[occupation of the Rhineland]], occupying the [[Ahrweiler (district)|Ahrweiler district]].{{sfn|James|1970|pp=241–245}} In April 1919, the 42nd Division entrained for [[Brest, France|Brest]] and [[Saint-Nazaire]], where they boarded ships to return to the United States. MacArthur traveled on the ocean liner {{SS|Leviathan||6}}, which reached New York on 25 April 1919.{{sfn|James|1970|pp=256–259}}{{sfn|Perret|1996|pp=113–114}}