ABSTRACT
The defeat of the enemy by the combined Allied Armies must always be regarded as the primary object for which British troops were originally sent to France, and to achieve that end, the closest cooperation of French and British as a united Army must be the governing policy; but I wish you distinctly to understand that your command is an independent one and that you will in no case come under the orders of any Allied General further than the necessary cooperation with our Allies above referred to. 1
