History of Souilly Marker-First Army Headquarters

Background

On the outside of the town hall of Souilly, France, is a bronze tablet identifying the building as the headquarters of the American First Army towards the end of World War I.

Inscribed in French and English is the following:

Headquarters of the American First Army
occupied this building from September 21, 1918
to the end of hostilities, and from here
conducted the Meuse-Argonne Offensive,
one of the greatest operations of the war.

The tablet is located outside the town hall of Souilly, France, approximately 160 miles east of Paris.