During the night of July 23-24, 1918, the Germans delivered a terrific counterattack in the neighborhood of Epieds, where they were opposed by American troops. The Germans succeeded after a hard fight in recapturing the village, and another in the neighborhood, but they were unable to hold their gains. On the following day the Americans drove them out of these villages and pushed on beyond Courpoil, more than a mile to the northeast.
North of this fighting area French troops had penetrated as far as Brecy, while to the southeast French and American troops drove forward through the woods on a wide front beyond Preloup on the Marne. The advance of the Allies at several points was about two miles.
The Germans had nearly half a million troops concentrated in the Marne salient. Attacked on three sides by British, French, and American forces, their position was extremely perilous. To continue resistance in a position so threatened might appear to be an act of madness, yet it was a maxim of Napoleon's that, where forces are about equal, the inside fighters have the advantage over an adversary in concentric formation.
The Allies continued to bend in the salient, the French and Americans on the west, and the French and British on the east. The most important point held by the Germans, and the Allies' main objective, was Fère-en-Tardenois, the junction of several roads, and a chief distributing point.
This nerve center of the German front, subjected to constant cross fire from French and American guns, was fast becoming untenable. Indeed there was no corner of the salient where the Germans were not constantly harried by the artillery of the Allies.
The most important gain made by the Franco-American forces on July 25, 1918, was below the Ourcq River. In the course of this advance the Allies captured Hill 141 southeast of Armentières, and the village of Coincy on the south, and pushing ahead in a northeasterly direction they occupied most of Tournelle Wood, which is only three miles from Fère-en-Tardenois. Farther to the south an advance was made as far as the forest of Fère and to the general line of Beuvardes-Charmel. Ground was also gained north of Dormans on the Meuse.
As a result of these advances the Allies had taken about forty miles of territory from the Germans, and had acquired almost a straight line running southeast from Armentières to Vincelles, on the Marne.
In the sector west of Rheims, British and French troops had advanced to Guex and Mery-Premecy, which meant a push of two miles in the direction of Fismes, and the narrowing of the mouth of the salient to that extent.
Ten divisions of reserves had been rushed to the aid of the German crown prince, drawn from the army of Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria in the course of the week's fighting, but the new forces were unable to stay the victorious advance of the Allies.
As the result of the last week's operations the whole situation on the western front was transformed. The Germans had used up sixty-five divisions on the Champagne front and all of the crown prince's reserves. They had only about thirty divisions left belonging to Prince Rupprecht's Army to draw on.