Sir John French explains that he understood that at most
two German army corps and perhaps a cavalry division were opposed to the British position at Mons. On Sunday, the 23rd, he received "a most unexpected message " from General Joffre that at least three German army corps were moving on the British position, and that the French on the British right were already retiring as the Germans controlled the Sambre between Charleroi and Namur. We cannot summarize all the incidents of the retreat which at once became necessary. The important fact that stands out plainly is that when the British right rested on the fortress of Maubeuge, and there was no French support forthcoming, Sir John French found himself in imminent danger of being completely surrounded by the im- mensely superior numbers of Germans. For the execution of a supremely difficult act of extrication he had an exhausted army l Yet he must keep moving. "I felt," he says, "that not a moment must be lost."
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