French ordered a general retreat, during which I Corps (under General Douglas Haig) and II Corps became separated. French agreed to Haig's retreat east of the Forest of Mormal (Haig Diary, 24 August) without, apparently, the knowledge of Smith-Dorrien. Murray noted in his diary (25 August) that GHQ had moved back from Le Cateau to St Quentin and that I Corps was being heavily engaged by night – making no mention of II Corps's situation. Because the German plan was to envelop the BEF from the west, most of the pressure fell on II Corps, which suffered higher casualties (2,000) in its fighting withdrawal on 24 August than at Mons the previous day (1,600).