and the Oise on the loth), decided, now his army was success-
fully reunited astride the Avre, to press his advantage in con-
junction with the British on his left. The disaster to the German
II. Army in the N. had rendered the position of the XVIII. Army, which was facing Debeney, so difficult that it had to throw back its right flank to W. of Roye a movement which was carried out on the night of the gth. By the evening of the loth the I. Army following up the retiring enemy had reached the line Andechy-Bus, and on the next day a further slight advance was made on either wing of the enemy, Lechelle and Tilloloy being taken by the XXXI. and XXXV. Corps.
By now the German XVIII. Army, although its attention was distracted by the advance of the French III. Army against its centre and left, was reconstituting a solid line in the old French zone of 1916. Von Hutier, whose forces had been increased from 15 to 18 divisions by the nth, established them in depth on two successive lines of trenches, with a strong belt of wire in front, all lines of approach being swept by direct and indirect machine-gun fire. A continuation of the rapid advance of the French I. Army was under these circumstances out of the question, and it was necessary to resort to slower and more thorough measures for overcoming the German resistance which was day by day hardening in proportion as further fresh rein- forcements arrived.
Continuation of British Advance (Aug. 9-11). It was decided by Gen. Rawlinson that the IV. Army should on the gth con- tinue its advance to the line Roye-Chaulnes-Bray-Dernancourt. The main attack was entrusted to the Canadian Corps which was to push S.E. to the line Roye-Hallu, while the Australian Corps was to secure its left between the latter place and Meri- court, and the III. Corps to advance to Etinehem and form a strong defensive flank on the N. bank of the Somme.
The Canadian attack, on the pth, failed to attain all its objec- tives. Assisted by the 2nd Cavalry Div., it none the less effected a deep advance of some 4 to 6 m., secured eight more villages, and halted for the night on the line Arvillers-Rosieres. To its left the Australians advanced their front between the Chaulnes railway and the Amiens-Brie road as far as Lihons hill, W. of Lihons village, and Framerville, after stubborn fighting. The
III. Corps, reinforced by an American detachment, carried all its objectives for the day, clearing the Chipilly spur and taking Morlancourt. The German II. Army, still much disorganized, had been reinforced by six additional divisions from the XVIII. and IX. Armies, sent up by train and lorry and thrown straight into battle, often without their artillery, and its resistance had noticeably stiffened.
The British advance was continued on the loth. The Cana- dians, now opposed by fresh troops from the XVIII. German Army, succeeded in attaining with its left the front assigned to it at Hallu and Fouquescourt but failed to get its right forward to Roye, the western suburbs of which were stoutly held. The Australian Corps which had now extended its left astride the Somme, in order to secure effective coordination of the opera- tions on both its banks, had severe fighting on Lihons hill and was held up by determined German counter-attacks. Operations were undertaken on both banks N. of the Somme under cover of darkness, the plan being to encircle the hostile positions in the Etinehem and Mericourt bends by drawing a cordon across the bases of these bends. Etinehem and all its garrisons were easily taken, but the attack on Mericourt was broken up by hostile bombing planes and had to be completed on the nth.
The IV. Army orders for this day's operations were that the Canadians and Australians should continue their advance to the line of the Somme and secure the crossings from Offoy (E. of Ham) to Bray. During the loth and nth, however, 8 more German divisions had come into line and delivered a series of vigorous counter-attacks which had the effect of putting a stop to any real British advance. The Canadian attacks were can- celled and the Corps had hard work to hold its ground. The Australians captured and held Lihons but could get no farther.
In fact, it was now clear that to push the offensive further would lead to disproportionate loss with little corresponding
gain. The German II. Army had reformed its front, shattered on the 8th, with fresh troops drawn from the XVIII. and IX. Armies and from Prince Rupprecht's group in Flanders, and settled itself on the edge of the area devastated in the Somme battles of 1916, where a maze of old trenches, wire, and shell holes rendered defence easy and rapid advance impracticable. The British IV. Army had engaged all its 13 divisions, and its units were tired and in need of a breathing space. Gen. Rawlinson therefore decided on the nth to allow his troops a few days' rest, while preparing for a renewal of the attack on the 15th. The units in the line were relieved and the tired infantry together with the cavalry were withdrawn into reserve.
French I. Army's Operations (Aug. 12-22). On Debeney 's front also during this period, minor activity took place, resulting in merely local advantages to the French. On the left of the I. Army, the line was drawn closer to Roye on the N.W. and W., while on the right the XXXV. Corps took Reuvraignes on the zoth. In this area, however, the German XVIII. Army had put into line no less than 10 divisions, while on the whole front between Roye and Lassigny a total of over 20 divisions were engaged between Aug. 9 and 22 against the French I. Army. Thanks to the employment of these strong forces, and to the increasing facilities for defence afforded by the shattered and intersected country into which the battle line had now been carried, the German XVIII. Army was enabled to maintain its ground to the W. and S. of Roye until the pressure of events else- where compelled its withdrawal in conformity with the armies on either flank at the end of August.
The operations of the French I. Army since Aug. 9 had resulted in the reconquest of an area of ground to a depth of 10-15 m - and the capture of some 12,000 prisoners and over 100 guns, besides much other material and stores.
British Operations (Aug. 12-22). The IV. Army offensive planned for the isth did not take place and only partial actions were carried out on its front during the period from the I2th to the 22nd. British attacks alternated with German counter- attacks with no great. change resulting in the situation. Thus on the 1 2th the Australians took Proyart, while on the isth the Canadians secured Damery and Parvillers. On the lyth Sir D. Haig decided that the next large-scale attack by the British should take place on the I. and III. Army fronts; the Canadian Corps left the IV. Army, the French taking over its sector as far as S. of Lihons and the remainder of the IV. Army line, which on Aug. 22 ran from Damery by Lihons and Proyart to Dernancourt, was left to the 12 divisions of the Australian and III. Corps. Facing them the German II. Army had available 26 divisions, of which, however, only 16 were in good fighting trim.
During the period from Aug. 8 to Aug. 22 the IV. Army had forced back the Germans to a depth of 12 m., had defeated or engaged with its own 13 divisions no less than 27 of the enemy's, had taken from him 23,000 prisoners and 400 guns and had killed and wounded more than an equivalent number of his men at a cost to itself of some 27,000 total casualties.
Offensive of French III. Army (Aug. 10-22). In accordance with the scheme of Gen. Fayolle, already mentioned, the attack of the French III. Army was launched on the early morning of the loth. The XXXIV. and XV. Corps (7 divs.), on a front of. 14 m., from Courcelles to the Oise, were opposed by 7 German divisions in line and one in reserve, forming the centre and left of the German XVIII. Army. The objective of the French offensive was assigned as the line Lassigny-Noyon. The nature of the ground in front of Humbert's right, a tangled and broken mass of wooded hills, known as the " Petite Suisse," forbade any rapid advance in that quarter, and recourse was had therefore to an enveloping movement by the left (XXXIV.) Corps of the III. Army, which was directed to turn the highland by the north. At 4:20 A.M. on the loth the attack commenced without artillery preparation; little resistance was met with at first, and before noon a penetration of some 3 to 4 m. had been effected, the infantry reaching the front Onvillers-Macqueglise. The advance was continued during the afternoon against the high ridge of Boulogne, while French aeroplanes carried out a bombing raid
