fice
themselves," and each member of which knew perfectly well the duty
laid upon him, held out--some of them--all day, and eventually fought
their way back to the French lines. But on the prepared line of
resistance the German attack was hopelessly broken, and men and
reserves coming on fast from behind, ignorant of what had happened to
the attacking troops, were mown down by the French artillery. "By
midday," says the typed _compte-rendu_ of operations, which, signed by
General Gouraud's own left hand, lies before me--"the enemy appeared
entirely blocked in all directions--and the battle-position fixed by
the General Commanding the Army was intact."

Gouraud's army had, in fact, according to the proclamation of its
General, broken the attack of fifteen German divisions, supported by
ten others. The success, moreover, was of the greatest strategical
importance. Thus secured on his right, Foch at once transferred troops
from the Fourth Army, in support of General Mangin's counter-attack of
the 18th, to the other side of the Marne salient, and Gouraud remained
firmly on the watch in the position he had so victoriously held, till
the moment came for his own advance in September.

I seem still to see him insisting--in spite of his lameness--on
bringing the Staff maps himself from his study, marking on them the
points where the fighting in the September advance was most critical,
and dictating to one of his Staff the itinerary it would be best for
us to take if we wished to see part, at least, of the battle-field.
"And you won't forget," he said, looking up suddenly, "to go and see
two things--the great cemetery at Chalons, and the little 'Cimetiere
du Mont Muret.'" He described to me the latter, lying up in what was
the main fighting line, and how they had gathered there many of the
"unidentifiables"--the nameless, shattered heroes of a terrible
battle-field, so that they rest in the very ground where they gave
their lives. He might have told me,--but there was never a word of it,
and I only knew it later--that it was in that very scene of
desolation, from May, 1917, to March, 1918, that he lived among his
men, building up the spirit of troops that had suffered much,
physically and morally, caring for everything that concerned them,
restoring a shaken discipline and forging the army which a year later
was to fight with an iron steadiness under its brilliant chief.

To fight both in defence and attack. From July 15th to