During the
Battle of Amiens in August 1918, the divisional HQ of the U.S
33rd Infantry Division was set up in the chateau at Molliens-au-Bois. During that period, King
George V went to the castle and awarded medals to
General Pershing and other troops. General Bell was the C.O of the division. On the night of August 8–9, 1918, as three Battalions of
Doughboys from the 33rd U.S. Division were joining the Allied offensive during the
Battle of Amiens, American
war poet Lieut.
John Allan Wyeth and Lieut. Thomas J. Cochrane were assigned to deliver sealed orders from Division HQ at Molliens-au-Bois to the Field Headquarters of all three Battalions engaged in the attack. The location of each Battalion was unknown, but they were believed to be along the northern bank of the
Somme River, near the village of
Sailly-le-Sec. Wyeth would later describe the mission in detail in his six interlinked "
Chipilly Ridge sonnets." ==Population==