"To ensure the liaison with the British; _secondary mission_; "The latter prescribed that everything possible should be done to avoid severance from the French; "Should this be unavoidable, _to fall back slowly, covering the Channel Ports_. "If we place these two orders side by side, _their divergence strikes us painfully_. It is patent that the instructions of the two great chiefs had not the same object in view, and did not tend towards the same end. One was thinking of Paris, the other of the Channel Ports. Each would evidently consecrate the bulk of his forces and resources to what he considered the essential task. To sum up: on the German side, there was only one battle; _on the Allies' side, there were two: the battle for Paris, and the battle for the ports_. Had this situation continued, our defeat was certain. [Illustration: BRITISH AND FRENCH REINFORCEMENTS IN A VILLAGE. (_Photo imperial War Museum_).] "Foch's first thought, from the moment he took over the direction, was to cause this disastrous divergence to cease. To the two commanders-in-chief he prescribed the maintenance, at all cost, of the liaison between their armies. The accessory thus became the essential. The vital point was to ensure the junction between the Allied Armies, and to that end, to cover neither Paris, nor Calais, but Amiens. The battle which, till then, had been double, became single, i.e. _the Battle for Amiens_. "Such was the strategical idea which, during the following days, Foch strove to materialise. Motoring from G.H.Q. to G.H.Q., he impressed the same thing upon all; on Haig, Pétain, Gough, the latter's successor, Rawlinson, Fayolle, Debeney and Humbert. By dint of repetition, this idea was to be deeply impressed into the minds of the executants. "To ensure liaison, to keep the troops where they were, to prevent voluntary retreat, above all, to avoid effecting relief during the battle, to throw the divisions into the line of fire, as they arrived--such were the orders which were constantly on his lips during the days which followed". (_La bataille de Foch_, by Raymond Recouly). On March 28, General Pershing offered Foch the direct and immediate help of the American Forces: _I come to tell you that the American people would consider it a great honour for our troops to take part in the present battle. I ask this of you in my name and theirs. At this time, the only question is to fight. Infantry, artillery, aviation, all we have is yours._ Henceforth, the battle was directed from Foch's headquarters, temporarily installed at Beauvais. Twice a day, couriers maintained communications between Foch and the British and French G.H.Q's. [Illustration: LINE OF BRITISH AND FRENCH SHARPSHOOTERS. (_Photo Imperial War Museum_).] The Fall of Montdidier. The Growing Resistance on the Wings. [Illustration]