On the morning of the 26th, the French and British counter-attacked from Villers-Bretonneux to the valley of the Luce, and drove the enemy back to their starting-point of the 24th. Once again, Amiens had escaped, but it remained within range of the German heavy guns. The town, which had previously suffered on various occasions from air bombardments, was now continuously and violently bombarded, especially by artillery, from April to June. Ruins accumulated in the town and suburbs, both of which had been evacuated by the inhabitants on April 9th. Liberation of Amiens The final liberation of the town began on August 8th, with the great Allied offensive. The 4th British army (Rawlinson) and the 1st French army (Debeney), in liaison on the road from Amiens to Roye, attacked at dawn from Braches to Morlancourt, the respective positions of Von der Marwitz and Von Hutier. The Australian and Canadian infantry, supported by numerous tanks, completely surprised the panic-stricken enemy. In a few hours, Villers-Bretonneux was cleared, and in the evening the British reached Chépilly, Framerville, Caix, and Beaucourt-en-Santerre. To the south, the French, by clever manœuvring, advanced 8 kilometres, and established themselves on the line La-Neuville-Sire-Bernard-Plessier-Rozainvillers-Villers-aux-Érables. That night, Debeney and Rawlinson joined hands at Mezières, both having captured enormous booty. On the 9th, progress was maintained, in spite of the growing resistance of the enemy. The British took the line of exterior defensive works of Amiens, and reached Le Quesnel, Rosières-en-Santerre, Rainecourt, and Morocourt. Debeney encircled Montdidier; to the north, his troops captured Arvillers and Pierrepont, while to the south, an attack made in the evening forced the enemy to evacuate the town on the following morning and to retreat to La Bossière. During the same day (10th), the British captured Proyart and approached Chaulnes. [Illustration: 280mm. GUN WHICH BOMBARDED AMIENS CAPTURED BY AUSTRALIANS. RANGE: 30 MILES.] From that moment Amiens was safe from further aggression, as the Germans, harried by the victorious Allied armies, retreated each day. VILLE D'AMIENS =Douze otages pris parmi les membres du Conseil Municipal auxquels s'est joint M. le Procureur-Général, répondent sur leur vie= de l'engagement pris par la Municipalité qu'aucun acte d'hostilité ne sera commis par la population contre les troupes allemandes. Le 31 Août 1914. _Le Sénateur-Maire_, A. FIQUET. (Translation) Twelve hostages chosen from the town councillors, and the Attorney General, will answer with their lives for the undertaking entered into by the Municipality that no hostile act will be committed by the population against the German troops.