Due to the need for battlefield replacements, the SWC military generals issued Joint Note #18, which asked that the United States only send infantry and machine gun units to France. General Pershing agreed to the arrangement, but wanted to take it one month at a time. Prime Minister Clemenceau drafted the final agreement, which extended the plan for two months. At the prefect's (police chief's ?) house in Abbeville, at 10 am on 2 May, a secret meeting took place to discuss the matter of a B.E.F. embarkment from the Channel Ports. In a time of crisis, if the Germans pushed the English toward the Channel Ports, should the B.E.F. retreat to England or move south and link up with the French? It was known that both Field Marshal Haig, and General Robertson's replacement, General Henry Wilson, both favored embarkation. This matter was discussed by the military generals before the official conference started. General Foch, who was present, would have none of it. When asked, he repeatedly answered, "Ne lachez pas pied" (Don't let go), and "Ni l'un ni l'autre. Cramponnez partout" (Neither. Cling Everywhere). At the start of the war, instructions from Field Marshal Kitchener to Field Marshal French (B.E.F. Commander at the time) authorized him, in the event of "unusual circumstances", to retreat to the Channel Ports, but not to evacuate. "The view taken at Abbeville was that the British should retire behind the Somme and abandon the Channel ports rather than lose touch with the French." Henry Wilson says this was unanimously agreed to. Because of this, instructions were reinforced on 21 June 1918 to order Field Marshal Haig to retreat south and link up with the French. Remarkably, twenty two years later, Lord Gort faced the same exact predicament when the Germans invaded France and the armored spearheads of the Wehrmacht advanced rapidly toward the Channel Ports. In defiance of orders, Gort asked for an evacuation, and he ordered the B.E.F. to retreat to the Channel Ports, where a hastily arranged embarkation took place. Although the Miracle of Dunkirk may have saved the British Army, Lord Gort was sidelined for the rest of his career. 1–3 June 1918 The sixth SWC Conference took place in Versailles against the background of the German Bluecher Offensive which had begun on 27 May. Here, the United States was asked for more reinforcements. Other issues discussed were amalgamation (the integration