In preparation of the Meuse–Argonne offensive, (one part of a massive campaign known as the Hundred Days Offensive) and under orders from General John Pershing, commander-in-chief of the American Expeditionary Forces, all movement of troops were to be performed with the utmost secrecy under the cover of darkness without lights. On 16 September 1918, the soldiers of the 119th Field Artillery began a seven-night march through the mud and rain from the town of Joinville to the vicinity of the village of Avocourt to join the 79th Infantry Division. The long marches were a severe test on the morale of the soldiers of the 119th Field Artillery and by the time they arrived near Avocourt on 24 September 1918, the horses towing the artillery were weak and exhausted. General Petain, the État-major des armées, (Chief of the Defence Staff) ordered the Meuse–Argonne offensive would commence on 26 September 1918.