“ The check of April 4 saw the end of von Hutier's reserves. All the divisions of the XVIIIth Army had been engaged, most of them with heavy casualties. Unwilling to take any of the divisions from the army group under the Bavarian Crown Prince—reserved for the proposed offensive in Flanders—or the inferior and less trained troops on the Champagne and Lorraine fronts, the German High Command, realising that the struggle must develop into one of attrition, like the first battle of the Somme, gave up for the time being all idea of an offensive on the Somme-Oise front. ”

“ The famous square belfry on the left is flanked to the top by buttresses surmounted by four low, massive corbel-turrets with bell-shaped roofs. A door in the western front forms a low overhanging arch with accolade-shaped archivolts, ornamented with inset pinnacles.
A large doorway in the façade, comprising two elliptical leaves, is surmounted by high, pointed arcading forming a tympanum. On the first story, a delicate, open-work balustrade recalls that of Tilloloy; above is a fine rose window. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In Hangard Château, the French battalion, although surrounded since 10 a.m., was still holding out at 6.30 p.m., in spite of repeated attacks. At nightfall, a counter-attack by one French and one British battalions recaptured the village and castle, and drove back the enemy to the cemetery. 127 men, 3 officers and 15 machine-guns were captured, and 35 Allied prisoners released. On April 15, before it was relieved, the 29th Division, which had performed prodigies of valour in its efforts to save Hangard, made it a point of honour to clear the village entirely before leaving. ”

“ At midnight, the front line passed in front of Porquericourt Hill and Mont Renaud, at Pont-l'Évêque, thence following the Oise. It was along this line that Gen. Pellé's Corps had orders to hold the German advance, and bar the road to Paris.
General Humbert declared on the evening of the 25th: The troops of the 5th A.C. and of the 2nd C. of unmounted Cavalry are defending the very heart of France. The consciousness of the grandeur of their task will point out the path of duty to them.
This day (25th) was still more tragical on General Humbert's left. ”

“ Ludendorff, master of the hour, at once absolute military chief and political dictator. On the other hand, whilst the Allies were closely united by cordial friendship, sealed on the field of battle, their armies were independant units, separately commanded, each having its own reserves concentrated behind its particular front. ”

“ Continue your operations, leaving the enemy no respite, and developing the scope of your actions. It is this increasing breadth of the offensive, fed from the rear and strongly pressed in front, without limitation of objective, without consideration for the alignment and too close liaison, which will give us the greatest results with the least losses.... The armies of General Pétain are going forward again in the same manner.
At the time Mangin's Army was preparing to crush the enemy's front between the Aisne and St. Gobain, Horne's Army, on the Scarpe, attacked the salient east of Arras. ”

“ On the morning of the 23rd, the remnants of the British 3rd and 18th Corps were thrown back across the Crozat Canal, among the French divisions which were taking part in the battle between the Somme and Oise, and with which they were assimilated.
Further north, his divisions heavily depleted, and reinforcements coming up only slowly, General Gough abandoned the strong Somme-Tortille line, and continued his retreat westward, towards his reserves in the old battlefield of 1916. ”

“ On the evening of the 31st, the French front, practically intact, passed west of Moreuil, skirted the high ground on the left bank of the Avre, running thence west of Cantigny, round Montdidier, along the suburbs of Orvillers, through Roye-sur-Matz, Le Plémont and the hills to the south of Noyon, where the Germans had been unable to gain a footing. ”

“ The Germans straightway threw the greatest possible mass of infantry into the Allies' defences.
Amid clouds of gas, smoke and fog, the British in the advanced [Pg 11] positions were surrounded and overwhelmed, often before they had realized what was happening.
Nearly all their machine-guns, posted to sweep the first zone, were put out of action.
The First Day (March 21) .
The first day of the attack, General Byng's Army from Fontaine-les-Croisilles to Demicourt, withstood the shock steadily, the Germans penetrating the first lines only. ”

“ On the 6th and 8th, fighting was resumed in the vicinity of Hangard, where the French 29th Division held their ground. On the 9th, Hangard was lost and retaken, together with the cemetery situated about 200 yards east of the village. On the 11th, a fresh German attack was made against the Hangard-Hourges front. The enemy, held before Hourges, gained a footing in Hangard, where the fighting was desperate. On the morning of the 12th, the Germans surrounded the château and occupied the whole of the wood on Hill 104. A single French battalion in the village held out against four German battalions. ”

“ In the evening and throughout the night they vainly attempted to enlarge their gains to the west. The Franco-British troops repulsed all assaults and prevented the enemy debouching from the village, which the French soon afterwards recaptured in a dashing counter-attack. On April 4, the Germans attempted to turn Hangard from the south and attacked Hill 104. After getting to within 50 yards of it, they were checked at the foot of the hill, and fell back in disorder. They then attempted to slip in along the ravines, but the Allied artillery drove them back with very heavy losses. ”

“ At certain points, the cavalry, followed by the artillery and the aeroplanes, guarded or speeded up the advance. The enemy were taken completely by surprise. The troops and staffs were taken prisoners before they realized what had happened. One after another, the villages were surrounded and captured. Forging ahead of the infantry, the cavalry and tanks spread panic everywhere."
The British advanced rapidly in the direction of Rosières, along both sides of the Amiens-Chaulnes railway. ”

“ The French troops, about 10,000 in number, under the command of General Farre, were deployed from the railway (between Villers-Bretonneux and Marcelcave) to Cachy and Gentelles (on the Boves road) , and on the high ground dominating the valleys of the Somme, Luce and Avre. The Prussians, under General Manteuffel, far more numerous and better equipped with artillery than the French, debouched from the valley of the Luce and the roads from Péronne and Roye to Amiens, the battle opening on the two wings. ”

“ On March 26, 1918, the French 133rd Division, brought up in lorries, and the 4th Cavalry Division, had orders to protect the approaches to Moreuil and the Avre, and to join hands with the British, but were forced to give way under the pressure of the enemy's overwhelming numbers. On the 29th, the French 163rd Division had scarcely detrained when it received orders to defend Moreuil, under the direction of the General commanding the 36th Corps, forming the left of Debeney's Army. ”

“ 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) . ”

“ During the following months, the Germans organized a line of support in this region known as the "Rheinlandstellung". General Humbert's offensive of August 10, freed the entire massif. The same evening the line ran through Orvillers, Boulogne-la-Grasse, La Poste, north of Conchy, through Conchy-les-Pots and the railway-station of Roye-sur-Matz. On the 11th, in spite of fierce counter-attacks, the French reached the wood north of La Poste, Hill 81 to the east of Roye-sur-Matz, and the outskirts of Canny and La Berlière. ”

“ Humbert's right checked all enemy advance, Gen. Robillot's group and the first units of Gen. Debeney's Army, on the left, were unable to hold their ground in the Picardy Plain. Forming but a thin line, the enemy's powerful thrust opened gaps in places. ”

“ The method employed was that of a sudden, violent shock, preceded by a short artillery preparation, mostly with smoke and gas shells, the aim of which was to put the men out of action, rather than to crush the defences. To this end, huge concentrations of troops were effected, in such wise that the masses of men could be thrown quickly and secretly at the presumed weak part of the Allies' front. ”

“ On August 9, the French line was advanced as far as the station of Hangest-en-Santerre, on the Albert-Rosières-Montdidier railway.
In order to force the enemy to abandon Montdidier, without a frontal attack, General Debeney began a turning movement at about 4 p.m. A secondary attack was launched in the direction of Roye, between Domelieu and Le Ployron. The station of Montdidier and Faverolles Village on the Montdidier-Roye line, were reached that evening.
Throughout the day, the French airmen bombed Roye undisturbed by the enemy's planes or air-defence guns. ”

“ From the end of Rue du Collège, there is a fine view of the whole battlefield: Mesnil-St-Georges and Fontaine-sous-Montdidier to the west; Courtemanche and Framicourt to the north-west; Gratibus, Pierrepont and Contoire to the north, and Ayencourt and Monchel to the south.
The German offensive—March 27.
On March 27, the German hordes were held on the French right, but overran the plain on the left, where the lack of natural defences made resistance more difficult. The front-line there was very thin, and the Germans captured Cessier and Tilloloy. ”

“ In spite of its stubborn resistance, the 3rd Army (Byng) was forced to fall back, pivoting on its left, to line up with the retreating 5th Army (Gough) .
The enemy advance developed rapidly. Within forty-eight hours, over 60 German divisions (750,000 men) had been thrown into the battle, which now raged in the open.
[Pg 12]
THE INTERVENTION OF THE FRENCH.
Phases of the French Intervention.
The crushing of the right and centre of the British 5th Army opened a large breach north of the Oise, through which, as early as March 21, the Germans streamed south and west. ”

“ The road to Amiens open to the enemy.
South of the Somme, the situation was still more critical. The remains of the British 18th and 19th Corps withdrew to the line Chaulnes-Frise, which they were, however, unable to hold.
Their retreat continued to the line Proyart-Rosières. No more reserves were expected for four days. Should the Germans succeed in crushing these exhausted units the road to Amiens would be open. ”

“ Peter's Church at Montdidier. It comprises two large porches, above which rose the [Pg 73] square tower of the belfry and the gable of the nave.
Moreuil Church.
The left-hand doorway comprises six pointed arches, the third one from the inside being the most richly ornamented. This arch comprises a series of ten carved subjects, each under a canopy.
The right-hand doorway is a replica on a larger scale of the left-hand one.
A Flamboyant gallery runs above the doors. At the base of the belfry, on the northern front, is a beautiful pointed window with rich 16th century ornamentation. ”

“ South of the Somme, the Australians captured Herleville and Chuignes, with 2,000 prisoners. Rawlinson's left crossed the Ancre, took Albert, and advanced its front to the hills east of the Albert-Braye road, capturing 2,400 prisoners.
But the hardest blow was struck further north by Byng's Army. Advancing beyond the principal line of defence (the Arras-Albert railway) , [Pg 47] the 4th and 6th Corps took Gomiécourt, Ervillers, Boyelles, many guns, and more than 5,000 prisoners, then pushed on towards Bapaume and Croisilles. ”

“ The side-walls of the church are sustained by buttresses. In accordance with a custom fairly common in Picardy, each bay of the side-aisles had its own separate roof forming a right-angle with that of the great nave. The interior, with its three naves, massive pillars and low 15th century vaulting—lower at the choir end than near the doorway—appeared somewhat heavy in style.
Montdidier Cemetery (north-east of the town) . See Itinerary, p. 98. ”

“ The 16th century pillars, without capitals, in the nave, are decorated with finely carved canopies, several of which are mutilated. The present consoles and statues standing against the pillars are unfortunately not the original ones. In the aisles, the brackets on which the springing of the pointed arches rests, are ornamented with figures of persons, lizards and dæmons... The pillars of the choir with their foliate capitals, and the transept and chancel are 14th century. The high altar comprises a reredos. The carved pulpit and confessional are in the Renaissance style. ”

“ Debeney's Army, extending south of the Oise, attacked, and after capturing Dallon Spur, Castres and Essigny-le-Grand, reached the valley of the Oise, from Vendeuil to La Fère.
[Pg 52]
Peace after strife. Life in the ruins.
Méharicourt, between Chaulnes and Caix, in 1919.
Disorganized and exhausted, their ranks depleted, the enemy were now incapable of attempting a counter-offensive.
To avoid this continuous, exhaustive battle, the Germans sought refuge in positions which they believed to be impregnable, and where they hoped to rest, reorganize and reconstitute their reserves. ”

“ General Debeney rapidly transferred his artillery from his left to his right, and began a new attack. The 60th Div. advanced against Montdidier, and the 169th made a north-easterly thrust towards Faverolles, to cut the Montdidier-Roye road, the enemy's main line of retreat. The 133rd Div. attacked eastwards, to mask the massif of Boulogne-la-Grasse and cover the flank of the offensive. Behind followed the 46th Div. and 2nd Cavalry Corps, in readiness to exploit any gains.
German prisoners
passing through Montdidier (1918)
Montdidier. ”