The French divisions of the A.F.O. (30th, 57th, 76th, 156th) came into action almost at the same moment as the Italians. General Henrys wished to cut off the enemy’s retreat by the Kichevo-Kalkandelen road, the only one which still remained open, but in the sector of Hill 1248 the Bulgarians still resisted tenaciously and held up the advance. To the west, the 302nd German Division had begun to fall back, the 6th and 1st Bulgarian Divisions were forced to follow suit, and this enabled the French to deploy along the Dihovo-Dragarina line to the north-west of Monastir, finally liberating that unfortunate city from a bombardment that had lasted nearly two years. On the 23rd the French occupied Berantzi and Topolchani, and on the evening of that day, while the Italians were advancing towards Krushevo to the north-west, they reached the line Kukurechani-Novo Selani-Prilep, cutting across the line of our advance, and the French cavalry entered Prilep, followed on the 24th by the 11th Colonial Division. On the 25th the Bulgars still held out to the west of Monastir, and with the help of three regiments, which had retired but had been subsequently recalled, repulsed the attacks of the 76th Division; the 156th was at Stari Srptzi, and beyond the sector occupied by the 35th, the 3rd Greek Division (attached to the 11th Colonial) was deployed across the Prilep-Brod road.[42] It was then suspected by the C.A.A. that a new defensive plan had been evolved by the enemy--and its existence has been subsequently confirmed by Marshal von Hindenburg’s _Memoirs_--to withdraw the centre and right, making a pivot of the Doiran sector, and resisting at Uskub, until the arrival of the Bulgarians retreating from the Monastir area, _via_ Kichevo-Kalkandelen, and of the reinforcements expected from Germany and Austria. The Bulgarians, as we have seen, tried to delay the advance of the French and Italians, calling back regiments that had begun to retire but this decision proved fatal. The troops that had withdrawn on the 25th found their line of retreat cut to the north by Allied detachments. On the same day the 30th Division reached Prevaletz (Hill 912), on the road from Monastir to Resna, and on the 26th it reached the latter place; the 76th crossed the Semnitza river, and the 156th occupied Hill 1493 on the Drvenik, to the south of Vodiani. In the meanwhile General Franchet d’Espérey had created a new unit, called the Groupement Tranié, composed of the 42nd and 44th Regiments of the 11th Colonial Division, the 58th Battalion of Chasseurs à pied, the Cavalry Brigade, a group of 75 mm. batteries and one of 65 mm., with orders to push on towards Uskub. Later the 76th Division rapidly left the Babuna road from Prilep towards Veles and Uskub, and along the heights to the north-west of it. On the 26th the line held by the A.F.O. (the 35th Division included) was the following: Resna-Sveti Petar-Murgas-west of Krushevo-Belushin-Yakrenovo-Ropotovo (on the Prilep-Kichevo road).