The French Tenth Army under General Mangin, the victor of
Soissons, now took up the running between the Oise and the Aisne. The great counterstroke of July 18th was made south of the Aisne ; this month's offensive commenced north of the Oise. General Mangin's task was to clear the Germans from the difficult wooded plateaux between the rivers. He began last Saturday with a local attack on a three-mile front at Autreches, north of Vic-sur-Aisne, advancing a mile and taking two hundred and forty prisoners. Last Sunday, in his modest phrase, he " rectified " his line on a nine-mile front from Carlepont to Fontenoy on the Oise, advancing another mile and taking Nouvron-Vingre with seventeen hundred prisoners. On Monday General Mangin " rectified" the line a little more, capturing Morsain in the morning and Vassens at night, with five hundred more prisoners. Having thus thrown the enemy into confusion, he delivered a grand attack on Tuesday along the whole sixteen-mile front between the Oise and the Aisne. He was successful at all points. The French advanced at least two and a half miles, taking numerous villages and capturing over eight thousand prisoners.
