On November 13th the Painlevé Cabinet fell and was succeeded by that of M. Clemenceau. To the latter the Allied Ministers, in the Versailles meeting of December 2nd, communicated all the complaints against Sarrail. M. Clemenceau studied the various files concerning him very carefully, and thus became acquainted with the above-mentioned episodes. In spite of the pressure of the General’s political friends, Clemenceau had the courage to cut the Gordian knot without hesitating; on December 7th Sarrail received his order of recall, on the 22nd he left Salonica, and after a series of inquiries he was placed on the retired list. His departure was welcomed with a sense of relief and satisfaction by all the Allies, and even among the French officers it caused no regret, save in a small group of persons in his immediate entourage who had taken advantage of his friendship to obtain exceptional promotion and other advantages for themselves. With General Sarrail his Chief of the Staff, General Michaud, also departed. CHAPTER XII GENERAL GUILLAUMAT General Sarrail was succeeded by General Guillaumat. The latter was a man of very different stamp. A good soldier and a thorough gentleman, he immediately acquired an authority over the other Allied Commanders such as had never been enjoyed by his predecessor. In France he had given proof of high military qualities, but he remained a short time in Macedonia and had no opportunity of carrying out an offensive. His earnestness of purpose and conduct, however, which were soon made manifest, argued well for the future, and while the merit of the victory is justly attributed to General Franchet d’Espérey, the plan of operations is due, in no small part, to General Guillaumat. Above all he restored the discipline of the A.F.O., which had been badly shaken under the unfortunate Sarrail régime. He brought a new Chief of the Staff with him, General Charpy, who was certainly superior to General Michaud, but he was to prove not too friendly towards the Italians; he retained his post until after the end of the campaign. The Commander of the A.F.O. was also changed in the autumn of 1918, but for other reasons. General Grossetti was forced to leave Macedonia owing to a serious illness, which had a fatal ending; he left an excellent memory of himself, for his fine military qualities and his character. He was succeeded by General Régnault, late Commander of a group of divisions in Macedonia; he in his turn was succeeded by General Henrys. With the successive Commanders of the A.F.O. our relations were always cordial and friendly, even when they were less so with the C.A.A. It was in fact much easier for two fine soldiers such as Generals Petitti and Mombelli to agree with fighting leaders endowed with qualities similar to their own than with Generals whose attention was largely monopolized by political affairs. [Illustration: THE SALONICA FIRE (NIGHT FROM AUGUST 18TH TO 19TH, 1917).]