had retreated, on August 29th to September
5th, from the Aisne to the north of the Marne and occupied the general
front Sezanne-Mailly.

The second, more to the east, had drawn back to the south of the line
Humbauville-Chateau-Beauchamp-Bignicourt-Blesmes-Maurupt-le-Montoy.

The enemy, in view of his right being arrested and the defeat of his
enveloping movement, made a desperate effort from the 7th to the 19th to
pierce the French center to the west and to the east of
Fere-Champenoise. On the 8th he succeeded in forcing back the right of
the new French army, which retired as far as Gouragancon. On the 9th, at
6 o'clock in the morning, there was a further retreat to the south of
that village, while on the left the other army corps also had to go back
to the line Allemant-Connantre.

Despite this retreat General Foch, commanding the army of the center,
ordered a general offensive for the same day. With the Morocco division,
whose behavior was heroic, he met a furious assault of the Germans on
his left toward the marshes of Saint Gond. Then, with the divisions
which had just victoriously overcome the attacks of the enemy to the
north of Sezanne, and with the whole of his left army corps, he made a
flanking attack in the evening of the 9th upon the German forces, and
notably the guard, which had thrown back his right army corps. The
enemy, taken by surprise by this bold maneuver, did not resist, and beat
a hasty retreat. This marked Foch as the most daring and brilliant
strategist of the war.

On the 11th the French crossed the Marne between Tours-sur-Marne and
Sarry, driving the Germans in front of them in disorder. On the 12th
they were in contact with the enemy to the north of the Camp de Chalons.
The reserve army of the center, acting on the right of the one just
referred to, had been intrusted with the mission during the 7th, 8th,
and 9th of disengaging its neighbor, and it was only on the 10th that
being reinforced by an army corps from the east, it was able to make its
action effectively felt. On the 11th the Germans retired. But,
perceiving their danger, they fought desperately, with enormous
expenditure of projectiles, behind strong intrenchments. On the 12th the
result had none the less been attained, and the two French center armies
were solidly established on the ground gained.

To the right of these two armies were three others. They had orders to
cover themselves to the north and to debouch toward the w