The objective of the attack was both to reduce a small salient made by the German Army in the front lines but also to instill confidence among the French.

The village was situated on high ground surrounded by woods, making it an ideal observation post for German artillery.

Because the Americans did not have them in sufficient quantity, the French provided air cover, 368 heavy artillery pieces, trench mortars, tanks, and flamethrowers.

At 17:10 the first large-scale counterattack took place, and a company of the 1st Battalion of the 26th Infantry Regiment commanded by Major Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was used to reinforce a weak spot in the American line.

[7] At the unveiling of this monument, a speech was given (at the invitation of General John J. Pershing) by Col. Robert R. McCormick, who had commanded the 1st Battalion of the 5th Field Artillery Regiment at the battle.

In the center of Cantigny, a small monument was dedicated in 2005 by the McCormick Foundation to commemorate the participation of Colonel Robert R. McCormick in the historic 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery, the oldest American military unit on continuous active duty (dating back to the American Revolutionary War), then part of the First Division.

In 1960, the McCormick Foundation opened the Cantigny War Memorial of the First Division, where materials from Chicago veterans were then collected.