ting of the army of Castelnau
on the left of Manoury's army, in the deployment of the army of General
de Maud'huy to the left of the army of Castelnau, in the transference of
the British army to the left of the army of Maud'huy, in the relegation
of the army of Urbal to the left of the British army, the army of Urbal
being later flanked by the Belgian army which came out of Antwerp. In
order to accomplish this new and extended disposition of forces the
French General Staff was compelled to reduce to their extreme limits the
effective strengths of the armies of the east and of the Oise, and as a
result to make the maximum use of the means of transport. In this it
succeeded. When the great battle of Flanders was waged toward the end of
October, the Germans, trying to turn the French left and to pierce it,
found themselves facing considerable French forces, which, allied with
the British and Belgian armies, completely barred the passage against
them.

From the 15th of September, 1914, it was clear that the Germans were
making a great effort to try and overwhelm the French left. General
Joffre parried the attack, reenforcing at first the army of Manoury by
an army corps, then transferring to the left of the army of Manoury the
entire army of Castelnau that was in Lorraine. A corps of cavalry and
four territorial divisions commanded by General Brugere received the
order to establish itself on both banks of the Somme and protect the
detraining of the army of Castelnau.

From September 21 to September 26, 1914, all the French forces that had
newly arrived were engaged in the Lassigny-Reye-Peronne region. They
succeeded in withstanding, not without difficulty, the German attack,
but they could not advance. The Germans determinedly and unweariedly
continued to mass new forces on their right. On the left of the army of
Castelnau it was therefore necessary to establish a new army. It was
established on September 30, 1914, under the command of General
Maud'huy. From the first days of October this army waged violent
conflicts in the region of Arras and of Lens. It found facing it two
German cavalry corps, the Guard, four active army corps, and two reserve
corps.

General Joffre continued without intermission to send new forces to the
left. On October 4, 1914, he called on General Foch in the north and
charged him with the duty of coordinating the action of all the armies
in that region: those of De Castelnau, Maud'huy, and the te