rently.

"The Commander-in-Chief feels sure that His Excellency Marshal French
will be good enough to examine this question of capital importance
with all the attention it deserves, and will take the necessary action
without which the gravest consequences must be faced.

"To sum up, the Commander-in-Chief has the honour to submit to His
Excellency Marshal French the following points on which he begs His
Excellency may be good enough to give a prompt reply:--

"1. Transport of the 2nd Army Corps to the same area, Hazebrouck,
completed the 9th.

"2. Transport of the 3rd Corps to the same area, completed the
13th.

"3. Lastly, and this is the essential point, without which the
fate of the campaign may be compromised, the possibility of
engaging the British Divisions in the north as they arrive,
without waiting for the British Army to be concentrated.

"The task of the British Army now in the general operations should,
therefore, be constantly to prolong the general line as it detrains,
in order to outflank the enemy and thus to join hands with the Belgian
Army.

"The support of our Cavalry Corps operating in the northern area will
always be given."

I answered thus:--

"Sir John French has duly received His Excellency's note 791 for which
he begs to offer him his best thanks.

"The arrangements therein proposed are perfectly
satisfactory, and the _role_ which the British Army can fulfil on the
left flank of the Allied Force will, Sir John French hopes and
believes, tend best to the efficient progress of the campaign.

"He can assure His Excellency of the very best support of the British
Army at all times; and, should necessity arise, the various units, as
they arrive in the new area, will on no account be held back to await
a general concentration, if and when their immediate action is
demanded by the exigencies of the campaign.

"Sir John French would like to point out particularly to His
Excellency that the possibility of his having to engage his forces,
unit by unit, before the entire force is concentrated, offers another
great reason why it is most essential that the relief of the 1st Army
Corps from its present position should be effected with the least
possible delay.

"Whilst feeling quite assured that His Excellency the
Commander-in-Chief will do his utmost to effect this, Sir John French
feels that it is most necessary to insist upon the vast importance of