After the battle of Le Cateau, however, the Germans slackened their pursuit for a very brief interval; partly because the terrific strain of marching and fighting was telling upon them no less than upon the Allies, partly because the engineers had blown up the bridges over every river, canal, and stream, behind the retreating armies, and partly because, under directions from the French commander in chief, General Manoury was organizing a new force on the British left, a new Sixth Army, mainly reserve troops, one corps of line troops, and General Sordet’s cavalry.  On the right of the British were General Lanrezac’s troops; then, between Lanrezac’s Fifth Army and the Fourth Army, came a Ninth Army, under General Foch, formed of three corps from the south.

Counterattacks were ordered by the French general in chief, continued during the entire retreat and had frequently brilliant results.

On August 29, 1914, a corps of the Fifth Army and of the divisions of reserve attacked with success in the direction of St. Quentin with the object of withdrawing the pressure on the British army.  Two other corps and a division of reserves joined issue with the Prussian Guard and the Tenth Corps of the German army which debouched from Guise.  This was a very violent battle, known under the name of the Battle of Guise.  At the end of the day, after various fluctuations in the fight, the Germans were thrown completely over the Oise and the entire British front was relieved.  The Prussian Guard on that occasion suffered great losses.

August 27, 1914, the Fourth Army under General de Langle de Cary succeeded likewise in throwing the enemy across the Meuse as he endeavored to secure a footing on the left bank.  The success continued on the 28th; on that day a division of this army (First Division of Morocco under the orders of General Humbert) inflicted a sanguinary defeat on a Saxon army corps in the region of Signy l’Abbaye.

Thanks to these brilliant successes, the retreat was accomplished in good order and without the French armies being seriously demoralized; as a matter of fact, they were actually put to flight at no point.  All the French armies were thus found intact and prepared for the offensive.

The right wing of the German army marched in the direction of Paris at great speed, and the rapidity of the German onslaught obliged the French General Staff to prolong the retreat until they were able to establish a new alignment of forces.  The new army established on the left of the French armies, and intrusted to General Manoury, was not able to complete its concentration in the localities first intended.  In place of concentrating in the region of Amiens it was obliged to operate more to the south.

The situation on the evening of September 2, 1914, as a result of the vigorous onward march of the German right, was as follows: 

A corps of German cavalry had crossed the Oise and had reached Chateau Thierry.  The First German Army (General von Kluck), consisting of four active army corps and a reserve corps, had passed Compiegne.  The Second Army (General von Buelow), with three active army corps and two reserve corps, had attained to the region of Laon.  The Third German Army (General van Hausen), with two active army corps and a reserve corps, had crossed the Aisne and reached Chateau Porcin-Attigny.