How did Joseph E. Johnston try to slow William Tecumseh Sherman's advance through Georgia?

To slow William Tecumseh Sherman’s advance through Georgia during the 1864 Atlanta Campaign, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston employed a strategy of planned withdrawals and defensive maneuvering.12

Rather than engaging in a single decisive battle that risked the destruction of his smaller force, Johnston occupied nine successive defensive positions. He utilized the terrain to his advantage and repeatedly anticipated Sherman’s flanking maneuvers, pulling his army back just in time to establish new defensive lines. This "cat-and-mouse" approach successfully delayed the Union advance toward Atlanta for several months.31

Additionally, Johnston’s defensive efforts were supported by audacious cavalry raids conducted by Nathan Bedford Forrest and Joseph Wheeler, which targeted Sherman’s supply lines in his rear. While Johnston’s strategy was effective in preserving his army, his refusal to engage in a major offensive battle and his continual retreats ultimately led Confederate President Jefferson Davis to replace him with John B. Hood in July 1864.3124