On the other hand, the British had gained full consciousness of their strength, and had fought in closer union with their French comrades. The Allies of all ranks had learned to know and appreciate one another better, and future operations were destined to become more closely co-ordinated. "To fight under such conditions unity of command is generally essential, but in this case, the cordial good feeling of the Allied Armies, and their sincere desire to help one another, served the same purpose and removed all difficulties" (Field-Marshal Haig). Among the French, the veterans and young classes vied with one another in heroism. Many "_bleuets_" (twenty-year old youths) were under fire for the first time. In contact with their seasoned Verdun comrades, they fought with splendid dash. After scaling the craggy slopes east of Curlu village, many of them waved their handkerchiefs to cries of "_Vive la France!_" Up to the middle in the foul Somme mud, which at times forced the men out of the trenches into the open, in spite of the shells and bullets, the Allied troops acquired the _morale_ of Victory, while the High Command gained and kept the initiative. [Illustration: GERMAN TANK CAPTURED BY THE NEW ZEALANDERS DURING THE ALLIED OFFENSIVE OF 1918. _Extracted from the Michelin Guide +"The Second Battle of the Somme (1918)"+_] A VISIT TO THE SOMME BATTLEFIELDS. FIRST DAY. AMIENS-ALBERT-THIEPVAL-BAPAUME. [Illustration: ITINERARY FOR THE FIRST DAY.] _Leave =Amiens= by the Boulevard d'Alsace-Lorraine, in front of the station, on the left. Beyond the cemetery, take N. 29 to Albert, on the right._ [Illustration: Exit from Amiens going towards Albert] _Eleven kilometres beyond Amiens, =Pont-Noyelles= is passed through._ This village was made famous by the sanguinary, indecisive battle fought there on December 23, 1870, between the French and Germans. To the left of the road, just outside the village, a monument commemorates the battle. _Twenty-eight kilometres beyond Amiens, N. 29 enters =Albert=._ ALBERT. The prosperous, industrial town of Albert, whose population before the war numbered more than 7,000 inhabitants, is to-day entirely in ruins. Lying at the foot of a hill, on both sides of the River Ancre, Albert formerly went by the name of Ancre. At the beginning of the seventeenth century Albert belonged to Concini, the favourite minister of Marie de Medicis, but after his downfall in 1619 it became the property of Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes, who gave it his name. Albert during the War When, after the first Battle of the Marne, the front advanced northwards, the Germans tried on several occasions to break through the French lines before Albert. [Illustration: Passing through Albert] [Illustration: PANORAMIC VIEW OF ALBERT, AS SEE ON ENTERING THE TOWN. _(See sketch, p. 32.)_]