In the spring of 1916 Sir Henry Rawlinson was appointed to the command of the new Fourth Army, which took its place in the line on the right of the old Third Army in the Somme area. He was in command of the whole front when the Battle of the Somme opened on July 1st, 1916. On the first two days of the battle he commanded the whole of the five Corps on that front, but handed over the two northern Corps to Sir Hubert Gough's reserve Fifth Army early in July. The Fourth Army line then ran southward from Thiepval to the junction with the French at Maricourt. Under his direction were fought the actions of July 14th and September 15th and 25th. Few British forces have had a harder task than to break the mighty defences of Contalmaison, High Wood, Delville Wood, and Guillemont. When the German retreat began in the spring of 1917, Sir Henry Rawlinson led the southern part of the British advance. It was his men who entered Peronne and fought their way to the gates of St. Quentin. The Commander of the Fourth Army is one of the most accomplished and highly trained of modern British Generals. He has mastered the learning of his profession, and has a perfect understanding of Staff work. But his knowledge is only a small part of the endowment which he brings to work in the field. He has that _flair_ for the decisive moment which no training can give, and his high spirits, stout heart, and steady confidence in himself and his men have made him an ideal Commander, both for the tedious war of positions, and any future war of movement. IV GENERAL SIR HUBERT DE LA POER GOUGH, K.C.B., K.C.V.O. SIR HUBERT GOUGH was born on August 12th, 1870; the eldest son of the late Sir Charles John Stanley Gough. He was educated at Eton and Sandhurst, and, in 1889, obtained a commission in the 16th Lancers. He served in the Tirah Expedition and in the South African War. On the outbreak of the European War he commanded the 3rd Cavalry Brigade during the Retreat from Mons and the Battle of the Marne. His Brigade was one of the first to arrive at the Aisne on September 12th, 1914, and, a few weeks later, when the Cavalry Corps was formed under Sir Edmund Allenby, he was given command of the 2nd Cavalry Division. His Division was the first part of the British force to leave on October 3rd for Flanders.