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 The bulk of their forces were withdrawn east of these rivers, leaving only light forces on the west bank.
On the Marne, Ludendorff had just suffered a severe defeat. From July 18 to August 4, his armies had been driven back from the Marne to the Vesle, where they organized new positions. (See the Guide: The Second Battle of the Marne.) In the belief that this effort had temporarily exhausted the Allies, Ludendorff was planning new operations in Flanders, when he was surprised by a new and powerful Allied Offensive. From that point, the initiative remained with Foch.