[8] On 21 September Falkenhayn had decided to concentrate the 6th Army near Amiens, to attack westwards to the coast and then envelop the French northern flank south of the Somme.

From the northern corps of the Second Army and the Territorial and cavalry divisions nearby, Joffre created a Subdivision d'Armée under the command of General Louis Maud'huy.

The I Bavarian Reserve Corps (General Karl von Fasbender), was withdrawn from Lorraine and moved to Cambrai and Valenciennes, intended to advance from Douai, in another attempt to outflank the French.

French infantry then attacked from Drocourt and forced the German columns to deploy and work forward closer to Izel, to try to overrun the artillery.

Bavarian Reserve Infantry Brigade 11 advanced on Beaumont, Drocourt and Bois-Bernard, moving the rearguard round to the right flank, which arrived just in time to meet a French attack from Hénin Liétard.

[17] The disorganisation in the 5th Bavarian Reserve Division, which had been caused by the urbanised landscape and the vigour of the French defence, was not remedied by the ad hoc groups and worsened on 4 October.

[19] Foch was appointed as a deputy to Joffre, with responsibility for the northern area of operations, the Territorial divisions, the Second and Tenth armies, which were combined in the Groupe Provisoire du Nord (GPN).

An attack by a second battalion began at 6:00 a.m. and quickly succeeded; the rest of the brigade advanced soon after but was engaged west of Avion, by French infantry and artillery firing from Lens and Givenchy.

New orders arrived for the troops to press on, as it was mistakenly believed that the French were withdrawing but the German infantry made no attempt to advance in daylight, over open ground and without artillery support.

[23] Gruppe Leibrock captured Arleux at 3:00 a.m. on 4 October, made a costly advance to Willerval and then at 8:30 a.m., was held up at the railway embankment and the village of Farbus until dark.

The 5th Bavarian Reserve Division had managed a considerable advance, despite increasing French resistance, casualties and fatigue but Vimy Ridge had not been captured apart from Telegraphenhöhe.

[24] The French had been able to use the undamaged railways behind their front to move troops more quickly than the Germans, who had to take long detours, wait for repairs to damaged tracks and replace rolling stock.

[25] The French had been able to move troops in up to 200 trains per day and use hundreds of motor-vehicles which were co-ordinated by two staff officers, Commandant Gérard and Captain Doumenc.

The French resorted to more cautious infantry tactics, using cover to reduce casualties and a centralised system of control, as the German army commanders followed contradictory plans.

[27] Foch arrived on 5 October, in command of all French forces north of the Oise and ordered the Tenth Army to end the fighting withdrawal and regain the initiative.

Hasty counter-attacks were made from the area of La Folie, which quickly bogged down and soon after, parties of French troops were seen retreating from Vimy Ridge, through Neuville-Saint-Vaast (Neuville) and south of Carency.

As soon as the moves began, French artillery-fire slowed the advance and Gruppe Hurt was stopped at the east end of Carency and the higher ground to the south.

In the 1st Bavarian Reserve Division area, the troops west of Bailleul and Thélus attacked Roclincourt at 9:00 a.m. but were slowed on open ground by French artillery fire and two days without food and water.

Gruppe Hurt in the north managed to repulse French attacks but could not advance and was severely bombarded on the Lorette Spur, which forced some temporary retirements towards Carency.

Gruppe Samhaber failed to get forward to St Eloi and no advance was possible towards Roclincourt after the French Tenth Army had issued orders to X Corps and the 77th Division to hold their positions at all costs.

Despite elaborate arrangements, only a small amount of ground along the Bailleul–Arras road was taken and the attack on Roclincourt was abandoned as a costly failure, one battalion being reduced to 240 riflemen.

During the afternoon the French made a general attack from Ablain to Neuville which forced the Germans and Bavarians to rush forward every spare man to plug gaps between units.

On 2 September, German detachments entered Lille and left three days later, the town was intermittently occupied by patrols, guarding the right flank of the 1st Army.

The new Lille garrison, consisting of Territorial and Algerian mounted troops, took post to the south at Faches and Wattignies, linking with the rest of the 13th Division at Ronchin.

A German attack reached the railway and on 5 October, a French counter-attack recaptured Fives, Hellemmes, Flers, the fort of Mons-en-Barœul and Ronchin; to the west, cavalry engagements took place along the Ypres Canal.

On 6 October, the 13th Division left two chasseur battalions at Lille as XXI Corps moved south towards Artois and French cavalry near Deûlémont repulsed a German attack.

The last train left Lille at dawn on 10 October, an hour after German artillery had begun to fire on the neighbourhood of the station, Prefecture and the Palais des Beaux Arts.

Despite shortages of equipment, artillery and ammunition, which led Joffre to doubt that a decisive success could be obtained, it was impossible to allow the Germans to concentrate their forces in Russia.

[41] Foch ordered Maud'Huy to slow the planned pace of the offensive, of successive attacks on several days, to ensure artillery support for the infantry, which was intended to substitute shells for lives.

Next day the corps concentrated its attack on Carency to little effect until 27 December, when 700 m (2,300 ft) of front-line trench was captured, only for most to be lost to a German counter-attack.