Meanwhile, a reserve battalion at the crossing of the Montdidier and Plessier roads counter-attacked the German Grenadiers who were entering the Rue de Montdidier. While the men were clearing the houses one by one and freeing a number of prisoners, the battalion commander and his cyclist went forward, with two armoured cars, the machine-guns of which scattered the German columns. The Rue de Montdidier was quickly cleared of the enemy and the French entered the Château. At 2.30 p. m., the detachment from Plessier arrived, and the German Grenadiers were quickly driven out of the park. In spite of counter-attacks, the French, with the help of a battalion from a neighbouring regiment, debouched from Coullemelle Wood and fully maintained their positions. The Prussian Guard was thus not only soundly beaten, but also suffered very heavy losses. The enemy attacked again on April 1 and 3, but without success. On the 4th, the French 67th Infantry Regiment captured St. Aignan in the course of a dashing counter-attack, and, in spite of repeated enemy attempts to reconquer the village, maintained themselves there. On the 5th the Germans made another powerful but futile effort against Grivesnes. The 67th Regiment of the line stubbornly held its own at St. Aignan, while to the east of Grivesnes, the 25th battalion of Chasseurs repulsed four attacks by two regiments of the Guard, who were decimated by barrage and machine-gun fire. Later, the same battalion succeeded in clearing the eastern approaches to the village. On May 9 the French captured the park, taking 258 prisoners and a large quantity of stores, and beating off all enemy counter-attacks. [Illustration: A FEW OF THE HEROES OF THE 350TH LINE REGIMENT AND THEIR COMMANDANT, LIEUT.-COL. LAGARDE.] [Illustration: GRIVESNES.--BATTERY OF 8½ IN. MORTARS TAKING UP POSITION.] [Illustration: THE WEATHER-COCK OF THE CHURCH STEEPLE AT GRIVESNES.] [Illustration: WAYSIDE CROSS AT GRIVESNES.] _Continue along_ G.C. 26 _to_ =Cantigny=. The village and its surroundings were attacked by the Germans at the end of March 1918. Sharp fighting occurred there on the night of the 29th and the whole of the following day. Cantigny fell in the evening of the 30th. On April 4 and 5, a counter-attack in this region by the French 45th Division, drove back the enemy and gave the French the northern and western outskirts of the village, which they were, however, unable to hold. On May 28, the American 1st Division, supported by a regiment of the French 60th Division and a group of tanks, brilliantly carried the village and salient of Cantigny along a 2 kms. front, capturing 170 prisoners and a large quantity of stores. [Illustration: THE AMERICAN ATTACK ON CANTIGNY, _May 28, 1918_. (_See p. 39._)] [Illustration: CANTIGNY ENTRANCE TO THE CHATEAU PARK.] The village was razed to the ground. The ruins of the church and Château may be reached by taking _the street on the left, in the middle of the village_.