30 May 1918--2d Division begins moving up to check the Germans. The 9th Infantry and the 5th Marines, the lead elements, are initially spread across the entire rear of the retiring XXI French Corps. As the 6th Marines and the 23d Infantry arrive, they are fed into position and the thinly--held line becomes 11-miles long. The orders are: "No retirement will be thought of on any pretext whatsoever." By 4 June, most French units have withdrawn through the lines and the Marines and soldiers are holding the front. Their frontage has been shortened to 9,000 yards by fresh French units which fell in on their flanks. While the French were retiring through the Marines' lines, Capt Lloyd W. Williams, USMC--who was killed in the subsequent battle--snorted, "Retreat Hell, we just got here!" His famous comment was directed at a French officer who urged the Marines to retreat. When the Germans approached the Marines' lines, Marine rifle fire began killing them at 800 yards. German officers--who did not teach their men to shoot at individual targets-- first thought they had encountered a panicky unit. But as their casualties mounted, they became convinced they were facing a unit armed with nothing but machine guns. Their advance stalled and never regained its momentum. Their drive on Paris was stopped.