In the centre, the Germans who had just been reinforced, were racing towards the Marne. The first division to reach the river arrived at about 2 p.m., the next at about 6 p.m., then pushed on towards Château-Thierry, where the 10th Colonials (General Marchand) were just organising the defence of the town. To the east of the salient thus formed, the French front extended along the Verneuil-Ville-en-Tardenois line, whence it linked up with the Janvry and Gueux positions. The resistance of the French stiffened and became increasingly effective. Ever on the watch, General Pétain, with that shrewd discernment of which he had given numberless proofs since the Battle of Verdun, realised that this was not a mere enemy feint, and brought up reinforcements. Meanwhile, the Germans continued to engage their reserves in the battle. North of the Aisne the Germans succeeded in clearing the approaches to Soissons as far as Courtil. On the south of the river, the Moroccan Division held their ground until noon without flinching, and took part in the counter-offensive by the 35th and 51st Divisions, which re-occupied Courmelles and the banks of the Crise. However, at night-fall, the Germans counter-attacked violently and forced them slightly back westwards. Lower down, the enemy progressed along the Ourcq Valley beyond Neuilly-Saint-Front and approached Villers-Cotterets Wood, the outskirts of which were stubbornly defended by the 2nd Cavalry Corps, fighting on foot with the infantry. To the south, the Germans made a dash for Château-Thierry, where they were decimated by the 33rd Colonials fighting in the streets. Reaching the Marne at Dormans and Vincelles, they approached Verneuil. The enemy progressed slightly in the immediate vicinity of Rheims and reached the line Saint-Brice-Ormes-Bligny. Fighting took place in the suburbs near Tinqueux. [Illustration: GENERAL BERTHELOT.] [Illustration: THE GERMAN ADVANCE FROM JUNE 1 TO 5 (_between the two continuous black lines_).] The Westward Push. On the evening of May 31, the German High Command held a new war council, at which the Kaiser and Hindenburg declared in favour of the continuance of the offensive. The push towards the Marne having absorbed all the reserves of the corps engaged in the centre and to the east, the enemy were unable to increase their efforts in the region of Château-Thierry, where the French reserves were arriving in great numbers. They therefore decided to push westwards. Attacking at midnight, the enemy met with but little success in the region of Soissons, but to the south-west of the town, where they still had large reserves, they reached the Savières Stream and the Dammard-Hautevesnes-Bussiares-Etrepilly line on the evening of June 1. The 7th and 11th French Corps and the 2nd Cavalry Corps counter-attacked, and made the enemy pay dearly for their advance in this region.