_The Allied Armies_, he declared, _have arrived at the turning of the ways; in the thick of battle they have regained the initiative, and their strength enables them to retain it; the principles of war command them to do so. The time has come to abandon the defensive attitude necessitated till now by numerical inferiority, and to take the offensive._ _The action of the Commander-in-chief of the Allied Armies will, in future, aim at maintaining his hold on the German Commandment, giving him no respite which would allow him to recover and reconstitute his forces. To that end, separate surprise attacks will be made successively, as rapidly as possible, so as to augment progressively the disorganization of the enemy's armies and the confusion of the German Commandment, until the day of the general offensive, and of the final attack which will crumble up the whole of the adversary's front._ A comparison of this conception of Foch's with that of Ludendorff brings out all its suppleness and power. The counter-offensive by the armies of Mangin and Degoutte in the Château-Thierry pocket, begun on July 18, was scarcely over, when the Second Battle of the Somme broke out. [Illustration: THE ALLIED MILITARY CHIEFS. _From left to right: PÉTAIN, HAIG, FOCH and PERSHING._] In this new battle of the Somme, the retreat of the German armies on the Hindenburg Line, in August-September 1918, was effected under the pressure of four successive thrusts: I.--The operations carried out simultaneously by the British 4th Army and the French 1st and 3rd Armies against the Albert, Montdidier, Lassigny salient, to clear the Paris-Amiens railway. (_Pages 38-45._) II.--The British offensive north of the Somme, coinciding with the French offensive between the Oise and the Aisne. (_Pages 46-49._) III.--The British offensive on the Scarpe and the French offensive on the Ailette. (_Page 50._) IV.--The Franco-British offensive against the advanced defences of the Hindenburg line. (_Page 51._) I.--THE ATTACK ON THE SALIENT OF ALBERT-MONTDIDIER-LASSIGNY. August 8-13, 1918. Preliminary Operations of July. Throughout July, the Allies carried out different local operations, in order to improve their positions and prepare for the coming offensive. As early as July 4, Australians supported by Americans, had begun to advance between Villers-Bretonneux and the Somme, by capturing the village and wood of Hamel. On July 9, after a brilliant attack between Castel and the north of Mailly-Raineval, the French captured Castel, and on the 23rd, Mailly-Raineval, which brought them nearer the Avre. These different actions, and the flattening of the Cantigny salient by the American 1st Div. on May 28, had warned the enemy. On August 2, the Germans fell back on the Ancre, and on the 3rd to the Avre. The bulk of their forces were withdrawn east of these rivers, leaving only light forces on the west bank.