Bulgarian and German soldiers with a Skoda mountain gun on the Balkan Front.
"'The British Government,' Guillaumat was informed, 'give their consent to the proposal so far as it concerns them and the British troops.' It was all he wanted.There were still the Italians to consult. As soon as Guillaumat returned to Paris, he was off again, this time on the Rome Express. Franchet d'Esperey was becoming anxious. All was ready and further delay might prove disastrous: the enemy could discover what was afoot, and there was the risk of the weather breaking. To make his position clear, d'Esperey even sent a staff officer by plane to Rome to insure that Guillaumat understood the situation. He need not have worried. Guillaumat took the Italians by storm, as he had taken 10 Downing Street; they gave their consent.Triumphantly Franchet d'Esperey made a laconic entry in his diary: 'Tuesday, September 10. I receive from Clemenceau authority to commence operations when I judge it suitable. Artillery fire to open September 14. D. Day [Jour J]: 15 September.'"
French general Adolphe Guillaumat commanded Allied forces — French, British, Italian, and Serbian — on the Balkan Front from December 1917 until his replacement by General Louis Franchet d'Esperey in June, 1918. During his tenure, Guillaumat laid the groundwork for the offensive d'Esperey would execute and could argue strongly and knowledgeably for it. French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau had sent Franchet d'Esperey to the Balkans, scapegoat for the French failure in the Aisne (Blücher) Offensive.
The Gardeners of Salonika by Alan Palmer, page 198, copyright © 1965 by A. W. Palmer, publisher: Simon and Schuster, publication date: 1965
1918-09-10, 1918, September, Franchet d'Esperey, Louis Franchet d'Esperey, Clemenceau, Georges Clemenceau, Guillaumat, Adolphe Guillaumat, Balkan Front, Bulgarian German gun, Bulgarian German
