The French Fifth Army had
been compelled to abandon all idea of a direct attack upon the
Craonne plateau, the natural position being far too strong. The
Second and Third Corps of the British army could do nothing. Sir
John French, though eager to push the advantage, secured by his
position on the heights, was well aware that such a move was not
possible unless the entire French line was ready to cooperate with
him, for, if he tried to drive down upon the ridge of the Aisne,
or, for that matter, tried to flank it, the line of the Duke of
Wuerttemberg would bend back upon him and nip him in a way which
would render escape difficult.
A sudden recrudescence of activity on the western front gave rise to
the hope that the deadlock might yet be avoided, that the two great
armies might come to handgrips again. Bolstered up by reenforcements,
General Manoury checked the German attack and regained all the
ground that had been lost. Concentrating on the need of driving
the invaders out of the quarries of Autreches, the French succeeded.
This eased the western end of the line, and the Second and Third
British Army Corps were left in peace.
Friday, September 18, 1914, is again a date of moment, not because
anything of importance was transacted, but because nothing was
transacted. It was a day of realizations. It was a day that convinced
the Allies that the German positions could not be broken down by
frontal attack, just as the battles of the Marne had convinced
the Germans that the road to Paris was not yet open.
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