After arriving in France, Marshall served with the 1st Division on the St. Mihiel, Picardy, and Cantigny fronts. In late 1917, John J. Pershing, the commander of the American Expeditionary Force, inspected the 1st Division. Unimpressed by what he observed, Pershing began to berate division commander William L. Sibert in front of Sibert's staff. Sibert took Pershing's criticism in silence, but when Pershing turned his attention to the division chief of staff, Marshall angrily interceded to inform Pershing of logistical and administrative difficulties of which Pershing was unaware. Marshall also informed Pershing that the AEF staff had not been very helpful in dealing with the problems. The division commander and staff were concerned that Marshall's willingness to confront Pershing had probably cost him his career. Instead, Pershing began to seek out Marshall and ask for his advice.