was cautious British optimism at the end of the Battle and General Sir Henry Wilson's felt that Haig could defeat Germany in 1917 by fighting "two Sommes at once", but that he should be told how much manpower was available and told to plan accordingly. In January 1917, Rawlinson was promoted to permanent general "for distinguished service in the field". For a period in 1917–18, he also commanded the Second Army. In February 1918 he was appointed British Permanent Military Representative to the inter-Allied Supreme War Council at Versailles. Battles of 1918 On 28 March 1918, Rawlinson took over Fifth Army from Hubert Gough, sacked in the wake of the German March offensive, Operation Michael; his Fourth Army Staff joined him and Fifth Army became Fourth Army on 2 April. By this time the German Army's offensive had been checked, and the Allies were preparing a counter-offensive. Following the success of the Australian attack at Le Hamel on 4 July, Rawlinson proposed to Haig a larger attack, designed to force the Germans back from the city of Amiens and further to damage the German Army's weakening morale. At lunch on 16 July Haig agreed, saying he had already proposed such an operation. Rawlinson had learned from his experiences on the Somme. "The immeasurable superiority of the planning for 8 August 1918 over that for 1 July 1916 testified to the distance the BEF had travelled in the interim." The attack was to be on a relatively narrow front, with no prior bombardment and limited objectives. To ensure a breakthrough, Haig gave Rawlinson command of virtually the whole British armoured forces. By this stage of the war British manpower was severely depleted, and to achieve the breakthrough, the 4th Army comprised four Canadian, five Australian, five British and one American division. The Allies achieved surprise and the Battle of Amiens proved a striking success. On 8 August, described by General Erich Ludendorff as "the black day of the German Army", the Allies took 12,000 prisoners and captured 450 guns. The German and Allied commands were struck by the collapse in German morale and the high number of Germans surrendering without a fight. The Allies were still cautious about pressing their advantage too far and on 11 August Rawlinson advised Haig to halt the offensive. In September, again commanding a mixed force of British, Australian and American divisions, Rawlinson participated in the