Fighting for The Butcher

Called on by the allied Generalissimo Ferdinand Foch and part of General Alex Godley’s XXII Corps, the British Reserve Corps, the 15th (Scottish) together with the under-prepared 34th Divisions were rushed by cattle train through the peaceful French countryside support the Franco-American offensive to take the fight to the Germans and strike back against the Boche.

General Charles Mangin, one of the heroes of Verdun, had twice been sacked and twice reinstated, most recently in June 1918 by Premier Georges Clemenceau and Ferdinand Foch, who both recognized his unique talents would be perfectly suited to the allies planned Counter-offensive intended to sever the jugular Marne salient, trapping the Germans in the poche (pocket). Taking command of the French Xe Armée he was charged with making the main thrust of the offensive and driving his forces rapidly eastwards, severing the jugular vein and closing the neck of the ‘poche’, cutting off the escape route of the enemy and trapping them inside the salient.