"The Second Corps halted on this line, where they intrenched themselves, enabling Sir Douglas Haig, with the First Corps, to withdraw to the new position.
NIGHT ATTACK ON THE LEFT
"Toward midnight the enemy appeared to be directing his principal effort against our left. I had previously ordered General Allenby with the cavalry to act vigorously in advance of my left front and endeavor to take the pressure off.
"About 7:30 in the morning General Allenby received a message from Sir Charles Fergusson, commanding the fifth division, saying he was very hard pressed and in urgent need of support. On receipt of this message General Allenby drew in his cavalry and endeavored to bring direct support to the fifth division.
"During the course of this operation General DeLisle of the Second Cavalry Brigade thought he saw a good opportunity to paralyze the further advance of the enemy's infantry by making a mounted attack on his flank. He formed up and advanced for this purpose, but was held up by wire about 500 yards from his objective.
GENERAL SMITH-DORRIEN IN RETREAT
"The Nineteenth Infantry Brigade was brought by rail to Valenciennes on the 22d and 23d. On the morning of the 24th, they were moved out to a position south of Quarouble to support the left flank of the Second Corps. With the assistance of cavalry Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien was enabled to effect his retreat to a new position.
"At nightfall a position was occupied by the Second Corps to the west of Bavay, the First Corps to the right. The right was protected by the fortress of Maubeuge, the left by the Nineteenth Brigade in position between Jenlain and Bavay and cavalry on the outer flank. The French were still retiring and I had no support except such as was afforded by the fortress of Maubeuge.
ARMY IN GEEAT PERIL
"I felt that not a moment must be lost in retiring to another position. I had every reason to believe that the enemy's forces were somewhat exhausted and I knew that they had suffered heavy losses. The operation, however, was full of danger and difficulty, not only owing to the very superior forces in my front, but also to the exhaustion of the troops. "The retirement was recommenced in the early morning of the 25th to a position in the neighborhood of Le Catean and the rear guard were ordered to be clear of Maubeuge and Bavay by 5:30 a. m.
"The fourth division commenced its detrainment at Le Cateau on Sunday, August 23, and by the morning of the 25th eleven battalions and a brigade of artillery with the divisional staff were available for service. I ordered General Snow to move out to take up a position with his right south of Solesmes, his left resting on the Cambrai-Le Cateau road south of La Chapriz. In this position the division rendered great help.
"Although the troops had been ordered to occupy Cam-brai-Le Cateau-Landrecies position and ground had, during the 25th, been partially prepared and entrenched, I had grave doubts as to the wisdom of standing there to fight.
"Having regard to the continued retirement of the French right, my exposed left flank, the tendency of the enemy's western corps to envelop me, and, more than all, the exhausted condition of the troops, I determined to make a great effort to continue the retreat till I could put some substantial obstacle, such as the Somme or the Oise between my troops and the enemy.
RETREAT IS ORDERED
"Orders were therefore sent to the corps commanders to continue their retreat as soon as they possibly could toward the general line of Vermand, St. Quentin and Ribemont, and the cavalry under General Allenby were ordered to cover the retirement. Throughout the 25th and far into the evening the First Corps continued to march on Landrecies, following the road along the eastern border of the forest of Mormal, and arrived at Landrecies about 10 o'clock. I had intended that the corps should come further west so as to fill up the gap between Le Cateau and Landrecies, but the men were exhausted and could not get further in without a rest.
"The enemy, however, would not allow them this rest and about 9: that evening the report was received that the Fourth Guards brigade in Landrecies was heavily attacked by troops of the Ninth German army corps, who were coming through the forest to the north of the town.
FRENCH AID IS GIVEN
"At the same time information reached me from Sir Douglas Haig that his first division was also heavily engaged south and east of Marilles. I sent urgent messages to the commander of two French reserve divisions on my right to come up to the assistance of the First Corps, which they eventually did.
"By about 6 in the afternoon the Second Corps had got Into position, with their right on Le Cateau, their left in the neighborhood of Caudry, and the line of defense was continued thence by the fourth division toward Seranvillers.
"During the fighting on the 24th and 25th the cavalry became a good deal scattered, but by early morning of the 26th General Allenby had succeeded in concentrating two brigades to the south of Cambrai.
"On the 24th the French cavalry corps, consisting of three divisions under General Sordet, had been in billets, north of Avesnes. On my way back from Vavay, which was mypaste de commandementeduring the fighting of the 23d and the 24th, I visited General Sordet and earnestly requested his cooperation and support. He promised to obtain sanction from his army commander to act on my left flank, but said that his horses were too tired to move before the next day.
"Although he rendered me valuable assistance later on in the course of the retirement, he was unable for the reasons given to afford me any support on the most critical day of all—namely, the 26th.
GERMANS USE HEAVY GUNS
"At daybreak it became apparent that the enemy was throwing the bulk of his strength against the left of the position occupied by the Second Corps and the fourth division. At this time the guns of four German army corps were in position against them, and Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien reported to me that he judged it impossible to continue his retirement at daybreak.
"I sent him orders to use his utmost endeavors to break off the action and retire at the earliest possible moment, as it was impossible for me to send him support.
"The French cavalry corps under General Sordet was coming up on our left rear early in the morning, and I sent him an urgent message to do his utmost to come up and support the retirement of my left flank, but owing to the fatigue of his horses he found himself unable to intervene in any way.
"There had been no time to intrench the position properly, but the troops showed a magnificent front to the terrible fire which confronted them.
ARMY FACED ANNIHILATION
"At length it became apparent that if complete annihilation was to be avoided retirement must be attempted, and the order was given to commence it about 3:30 in the afternoon. The movement was covered with most devoted intrepidity and determination by the artillery, which had itself suffered heavily, and the fine work done by the cavalry in the further retreat from the position assisted materially the final completion of this most difficult and dangerous operation.
"I cannot close the brief account of this glorious stand of the British troops without putting on record my deep appreciation of the valuable services rendered by Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien. I say without hesitation that the saving of the left wing of the army under my command on the morning of the 26th could never have been accomplished unless a commander of rare and unusual coolness, intrepidity and determination bad been present to personally conduct the operations.
"The retreat was continued far into the night of the 26th and through the 27th and the 28th, on which date the troops halted on the line from Noyon, Chauny and LeFere.
PRAISES SORDET'S HELP
"On the 27th and 28th I was much indebted to General Sordet and the French cavalry division which he commands for materially assisting my retirement and successfully driving back some of the enemy on Cambrai. General d'Amade also, with the Sixty-first and Sixty-second Reserve divisions, moved down from the neighborhood of Arras on the enemy's right flank and took much pressure off the rear of the British forces.
"This closed the period covering the heavy fighting which commenced at Mons on Sunday afternoon, August 23, and which really constituted a four days' battle.
"I deeply deplore the very serious losses which the British forces suffered in this great battle, but they were inevitable, in view of the fact that the British army—only a few days after concentration by rail—was called upon to withstand the vigorous attack of five German army corps.
"It is impossible for me to speak too highly of the skill evinced by the two general officers commanding army corps, the self-sacrificing and devoted exertions of their staffs, the direction of troops by the divisional, brigade and regimental leaders, the command of small units by their officers and the magnificent fighting spirit displayed by the noncommissioned officers and men.
[Signed] "J. D. P. FRENCH, "Field Marshal."
TOLD BY A WOUNDED SOLDIER
A British soldier, who was wounded in the fight during the retreat from Mons, told the following story of the battle there:
"It was Sunday, August 23, and the British regiments at Mons were merry-making and enjoying themselves in leisure along the streets. Belgian ladies, returning from church, handed the soldiers their prayer books as souvenirs, while the Belgian men gave the men cigarettes and tobacco.
"About noon, when the men were beginning to think about dinner, a German aeroplane appeared overhead and began throwing out a cloud of black powder, which is one of their favorite methods of assisting batteries to get the range.
"No sooner had the powder cloud appeared than shrapnel began to burst overhead and in a moment all was confusion and uproar. But it didn't take the regiments long to get into fighting trim and race through the city to the scene of operations, which was on the other side of the small canal, in the suburbs. "Here our outposts were engaging the enemy fiercely. The outposts lost very heavily, most of the damage being done by shells. The rifle fire was ineffective, although at times the lines of contenders were not more than 300 yards apart.
"The first reinforcements to arrive were posted in a glass factory, the walls of which were loop-holed, and we doggedly held that position until nightfall, when we fixed bayonets and lay in wait in case the enemy made an attempt to rush the position in the darkness.
DESTROY BRIDGES BEHIND THEM
"About midnight orders came to retire over the canal and two companies were left behind to keep the enemy in check temporarily. After the main body had crossed the bridge was blown up, leaving the two outpost companies to get across as best they could by boats or swimming. Most of them managed to reach the main body again.
"The main body retired from the town and fell back through open country, being kept moving all night. When daylight arrived it was apparent from higher ground that Mons had been practically blown away by the German artillery.
"Throughout the morning we continued to fight a rearguard action, but the steady march in retreat did not stop until 6 o'clock in the evening, when the British found themselves well out of range of the German artillery in a quiet valley.
"Here all the troops were ordered to rest and eat. As they had been without food since the previous morning's breakfast it was rather amusing to see the soldiers going into the turnip fields and eating turnips as though they were apples.
"At 8 o'clock all lights were extinguished, the soldiers were ordered to make no noise and the pickets pushed a long distance backward. Long before dawn the troops were hastily started again and continued the retirement.
"By noon the enemy was again heard from and a large detachment was assigned the task of fighting to protect our rear.
WATCH DUEL IN AIR
"During the afternoon both the German and British armies watched a duel in the air between French and German aeroplanes. The Frenchman was wonderfully clever, and succeeded in maneuvering himself to the upper position, which he gained after fifteen minutes of reckless effort. Then the Frenchman began blazing away at the German with a revolver.
"Finally he hit him, and the wounded German attempted to glide down into his own lines. The glide, however, ended in the British lines near my detachment, the West Kent Infantry. We found the aviator dead when we reached the machine. We buried him and burned the aeroplane.
"At dusk a halt was made for food, and as the Germans had fallen behind the English spent a quiet night. At dawn, however, we found the Germans close to our heels, and several regiments were ordered to prepare intrenchments. This is tedious and tiresome work, especially in the heat and without proper food, but we quickly put up fortifications which were sufficient to protect us somewhat from the artillery fire.
"It was not long before the German gunners found the range and began tearing up those rough fortifications, concentrating their fire on the British batteries, one of which was completely demolished. Another found itself with only six men. Both these disasters bore testimony to the excellent markmanship of the German gunners.
OFFICER, SPIKES THE GUNS
"As it became evident that we must leave these guns behind and continue the retreat, an officer was seen going around putting the guns out of action, so that they would be of no use to the Germans. His action required cool bravery, because the Germans, having found the range, continued firing directly at these batteries.
"Things rapidly got hotter, and the commanding officer ordered a double-quick retreat. We were not long in doing the retiring movement to save our own skins.
"I was wounded at this time by a Maxim bullet. For a moment I thought my head had been blown off, but I recovered and kept on running until I reached a trench, where I had an opportunity to bandage the wound. I rushed off to the ambulances, but found the doctors so busy with men worse off than I that I went back to my place in the line."
THE BATTLE AT CHABLEROI
The loss of life in the Franco-German battle near Charleroi was admittedly the greatest of any engagement up to that time. It was at Charleroi that the Germans struck their most terrific blow at the allies' lines in their determination to gain the French frontier. Though the tide of battle ebbed and flowed for awhile the French were finally forced to give way and to retreat behind their own frontier, while the British were being forced back from their position at Mons. The fighting along the line was of the fiercest kind. It was a titanic clash of armies in which the allies were compelled to yield ground before the superior numbers of the German host.
One of the wounded, who was taken to hospital at Dieppe, said of the fighting at Charleroi:
"Our army was engaging what we believed to be a section of the German forces commanded by the crown prince when I was wounded. The Germans at one stage of the battle seemed lost. They had been defending themselves almost entirely with howitzers from strongly intrenched positions. The Germans were seemingly surrounded and cut off and were summoned to surrender. The reply came back that so long as they had ammunition they would continue to fight.
"The howitzer shells of the Germans seemed enormous things and only exploded when they struck the earth. When one would descend it would dig a hole a yard deep and split into hundreds of pieces. Peculiarly enough the howitzer shells did much more wounding than killing. The other shells of the Germans, like cartridges, the supply of which they seemed to be short of, did only little damage.
AEROS CONSTANTLY ABOVE
"The German aeroplane service was perfect. An aircraft was always hovering over us out of range. We were certain within an hour after we sighted an aeroplane to get the howitzers among us. Whenever we fired, however, we did terrific execution with our seventy-five pieces of artillery. I counted in one trench 185 dead. Many of them were killed as they were in the act of firing or loading.
"The ground occupied by the Germans was so thick with dead that I believe I saw one soldier to every two yards. You might have walked for a mile on bodies without ever putting foot to the ground. They buried their dead when they had time, piling fifteen or twenty in a shallow pit."
THE FRENCH IN ALSACE-LORRAINE
On August 9 the advance guard brigade of the French right wing, under General Pau, a veteran of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71, invaded Alsace, fought a victorious action with an intrenched German force of equal numbers and occupied Muelhausen and Kolmar. The news of the French entry into the province lost in 1871 was received all over France with wild enthusiasm. The mourning emblems on the Strasburg monument in Paris were removed by the excited populace and replaced by the tricolor flag and flowers in token of their joy. Muelhausen was soon after retaken by the German forces, only to be recaptured later by the French and then evacuated once more.
On the day of the first French occupation of Muelhausen France declared war against Austria in consequence of the arrival of two Austrian army corps on the Rhine to assist the main German army.
After the French occupation of Muelhausen a large German army was sent to the front in Alsace-Lorraine and succeeded in dislodging the French from that city, but not without severe fighting.
Two weeks after the war began the French defeated a Bavarian corps in Alsace and for awhile General Pau more than held his own in that former province of France. On August 21 the Germans drove back the French who had invaded Lorraine, and occupied Lunéville, ten miles inside the French border.
About the same time the French reoccupied Muelhausen, after three days' fighting around the city. Another French army was reported to be within nineteen miles of Metz, But before the end of the month the French had been compelled to evacuate both their former provinces. They continued during September, however, to make frequent assaults on the German frontier positions, but without regaining a sure foothold on German soil, the bulk of their efforts being devoted to the defense of their own frontier strongholds.
FIGHTING AROUND NANCY
An official dispatch from the foreign office in Paris, dated August 28, said:
"Yesterday the French troops took the offensive in theVosges mountains and in the region between the Vosges andNancy, and their offensive has been interrupted, but the Germanloss has been considerable."Our forces found, near Nancy, on a front of three kilometers,2,500 dead Germans, and near Vitrimont, on a frontof four kilometers, 4,500 dead. Longwy, where the garrisonconsisted of only one battalion, has capitulated to the CrownPrince of Germany after a siege of twenty-four days."
FRENCH TRAPPED IN ALSACE
The German view of early operations in Alsace-Lorraine was given in the following dispatch September 2 from the headquarters of the general staff at Aix-la-Chapelle:
"The French forces were trapped in Alsace-Lorraine.Realizing that the French temperament was more likely to beswayed by sentiment than by stern adherence to the rulesof actual warfare, the German staff selected its own battleline and waited. The French did not disappoint. Theyrushed across the border. They took Altkirch with little opposition.Then they rushed on to Muelhausen. Through thepasses in the Vosges mountains they poured, horse, artillery,foot—all branches of the service. Strasburg was to fall andso swift was the French movement that lines of communicationwere not guarded."Then the German general staff struck. Their troopsfrom Saarburg, from Strasburg and from Metz, under thecommand of General von Heeringen, attacked the French allalong the line. They were utterly crushed. The Germanstook 10,000 Frenchmen prisoners and more than one hundredguns of every description. Alsace-Lorraine is now reportedabsolutely cleared of French troops."The armies of Crown Prince Frederick Wilhelm and ofCrown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria are moving in an irresistiblemanner into France. In a 3-day battle below Metzthe French were terribly cut up and forced to retreat in almosta rout. It is declared that in this engagement the Frenchlost 151 guns and were unable to make a stand against the victoriousGermans until they had passed inside of their secondaryline of defense."
THE GERMAN "SPY POSTERS"
Just prior to the declaration of war, cable dispatches from Paris told of a remarkable series of posters dotting the countryside of France. These posters, innocently advertising "Bouillon Kub," a German soup preparation, were so cleverly printed by the German concern advertising the soup, that they would act as signals to German army officers leading their troops through France.
In one of our photographic illustrations, one of these "spy posters" is seen posted on the left of an archway past which the French soldiers are marching en route to meet the Germans near the Alsace frontier.
The ingenuity of the signs was remarkable. Thus a square yellow poster would carry the information, "Food in abundance found here," while a round red sign would advertise, "This ground is mined." Many geometrical figures and most of the colors were utilized, and animal forms, flowers and even the American Stars and Stripes were employed to convey their messages of information.
The French Minister of the Interior got wind of the system, and orders were telegraphed throughout France to destroy these posters. Bouillon Kub, therefore, is no longer advertised in France.
A SOLDIER'S EXPERIENCE UNDER FIRE
A wounded French soldier described his experiences under fire during the Alsace campaign. He said in part: "There! A blow in the breast, a tearing in the body, a fall with a loud cry and a terrible pain; there I lay one of the victims of this terrible day. My first sensation was anger at the blow, my second an expectation of seeing myself explode, for, judging by the sound of the ball, I believed I had a grenade in my body; then came the pain, and with it helplessness and falling.
"Oh, how frightful are those first moments! Where I was hit, how I was wounded, I could form no idea; I only felt that I could not stir, saw the battalion disappear from sight and myself alone on the ground, amid the fearful howling and whistling of the balls which were incessantly striking the ground around me.
"With difficulty could I turn my head a little, and saw behind me two soldiers attending on a third, who was lying on the ground. Of what happened I can give no account except that I cried for help several times as well as I could, for the pain and burning thirst had the upper hand. At last both of them ran to me, and with joy I recognized the doctor and hospital attendant of my company.
"'Where are you wounded?' was the first question. I could only point. My blouse was quickly opened, and in the middle of the breast a bloody wound was found. The balls still constantly whizzed around us; one struck the doctor's helmet, and immediately I felt a violent blow on the left arm. Another wound! With difficulty I was turned round, to look for the outlet of the bullet; but it was still in my body, near the spine. At last it was cut out. They were going away—'The wound in the arm, doctor.' This, fortunately, was looked for in vain; the ball had merely caused a blue spot and had sunk harmlessly into the ground.
"I extended my hand to the doctor and thanked him, as also the attendant, whom I commissioned to ask the sergeant to send word to my family. The doctor had carefully placed my cloak over me, with my helmet firmly on my head, in order in some measure to protect me from the leaden hail.
"Thus I lay alone with my own thoughts amid the most terrible fire for perhaps an hour and a half. All my thoughts, as far as pain and increasing weakness allowed, were fixed on my family. Gradually I got accustomed to the danger which surrounded me, and only when too much sand from the striking bullets was thrown on my body did I remember my little enviable position. At last, after long, long waiting, the sanitary detachment came for me."
THE REAL TRAGEDY OF WAR
It is not a pleasant picture—this story of the French soldier. It has little in it of the grandeur, the beat of drums, the sound of martial music, which is supposed to accompany war. The tread of marching feet has died away, the excitement is gone, and man the demon is supplanted by man the everyday human creature of suffering and home folks and fear.
It is only a personal account of an individual experience, yet in it may be found the real significance and the real tragedy of war; for, after the fighting is over, after the intoxication of legalized murder has gone, after nations turn their attention from victories to men, it is the aggregate of individual experiences which counts the costs of war.
Thousands of German, French, Belgian, Austrian, Russian, and British men in the prime of life have been miserably slain and lie in obscure graves of which the enemy now is the guardian, while others writhe in the agony of lingering wounds or sullenly brood over their fate in the dull routine of military prisons. In every part of the warring countries mothers weep over the sons they shall see no more, and wives over the husbands snatched from them forever. In many a mansion, in many a comfortable home, in many a peasant's cottage, the empty chair is eloquent of the absent father, brother, husband or son who shall be absent forever.
GERMAN ADVANCE ON PARIS
Allies Withdraw for Ten Days, Disputing Every Inch of Ground With the Kaiser's Troops—Germans Push Their Way Through France in Three Main Columns— Reports of the Withdrawing Engagements— Paris Almost in Sight.
Flushed with their successes over the Allies at Mons and Charleroi, the Germans pushed their advance toward the French capital with great celerity and vigor. During the last week of August and the first few days of September, it appeared inevitable that the experience of Paris in 1870-71 was to be repeated and that a siege of the city by the German forces would follow immediately.
It was conceded that the armies of the Allies had been forced back and that Paris was endangered. The German advance was general, all along the line. The flower of the Kaiser's army had marched through Belgium and pushed back the lines of the Allies to the formidable rows of fortifications that surround Paris. The Germans advanced in three main columns, constantly in touch with one another, from the right, passing through Mons, Cambrai and Amiens, to the extreme left in Lorraine. The center threatened Verdun, and from that point the right advance swept through Northern France like an opening fan, with the fortress of Verdun as the pivot.
Three million men were engaged in the main struggle. When the Germans first reached the Franco-Belgian frontier near Charleroi they were opposed by 700,000 French and 150,000 British troops. After being driven back the Allies began assembling 1,000,000 men between the frontier and Paris, The Allies hoped to hold the whole German army in check while the Russians pursued their successes in eastern Germany. French troops guarded the entire frontier, battling to check the other German invading columns. The holding of the Germans, once they broke through the fortifications that formed the chief reliance of the French, would be impossible. The next stand would be around Paris, which was well fortified. The invaders were, of course, attempting to get through where there were no forts.
ALLIES MAKE STRENUOUS RESISTANCE
Strenuous resistance to the onward movement of the German enemy was made by the Allies from day to day, but for a period of ten days there was an almost continual retirement of the French and British upon Paris. It was in fact a masterly retreat, but a retreat nevertheless. From the line of La Fère and Mezieres, occupied by the Allies after the battles at Mons and Charleroi, they fell back 70 miles in seven days, disputing every step of the way, but withdrawing gradually to the line of defenses around the French capital. From Cambrai the Germans pushed through Amiens to Beauvais; from Peronne to Roye, Montdidier, Creil, and on to the forest of Chantilly. From the region of Le Cateau and St. Quentin the German advance was by Noyon to Compiegne (famous for its memories of Joan of Arc's famous sortie), at which point the Allies made a desperate stand and the Germans had to fight for every inch of ground. They then passed through Senlis, which was first bombarded, down to Meaux, almost within sight of Paris, the head of the German army resting on a line between Beaumont, Meaux and La Ferte, at which point the resistance of the Allies finally forced a change in German plans.
Other German forces passed through Laon, Soissons and Chateau Thierry. Farther to the east, the road from Mezieres led the Germans to Rheims, Mourmelon, and opposite Chalons on the River Marne.
Another German army from the direction of Longwy, under the command of the Crown Prince, was operating through Suippes and on the wooded Argonne plateau, with its five passes, famous in the action of which preceded the battle of Valmy. At the entrance to this hilly country stands the little town of Sainte Menehould, where there was severe fighting with the French. Here the German Crown Prince made his headquarters.
The great plain of the Argonne is full of most wonderful ecclesiastical buildings and many magnificent cathedrals, townhalls and ancient fortresses were passed by the warring armies in their advance and withdrawal, some of these historic structures sustaining irreparable damage.
The German advance continued southward toward Paris until September 4.
RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF THE BRITISH
All reports agree that during the retirement of the Allies, the Germans pursued the British headquarters staff with uncanny precision throughout the ten days from Mons back to Compiègne. After fierce street fighting in Denain and Landrecies Sir John French withdrew his headquarters to Le Cateau, which was at once made the target of a terrific bombardment. The town caught fire, burning throughout one night, and the British headquarters had to be evacuated, this time in favor of St. Quentin, in the local college. Here the same thing happened and Field Marshal French was compelled once more to retire, to the neighborhood of Compiègne.
In an official report issued on Sunday, September 6, it is stated that, "The 5th French army on August 29 advanced from the line of the Oise River to meet and counter the German forward movement and a considerable battle developed to the south of Guise. In this the 5th French army gained a marked and solid success, driving back with heavy loss and in disorder three German army corps, the 10th, the Guard, and a reserve corps. In spite of this success, however, and all the benefits which flowed from it, the general retirement to the south continued and the German armies, seeking persistently after the British troops, remained in practically continuous contact with the rearguards.
"On August 30 and 31 the British covering and delaying troops were frequently engaged, and on September 1 a very vigorous effort was made by the Germans, which brought about a sharp action in the neighborhood of Compiègne. This action was fought principally by the 1st British Cavalry Brigade and the 4th Guards Brigade and was entirely satisfactory to the British. The German attack, which was most strongly pressed, was not brought to a standstill until much slaughter had been inflicted upon them and until ten German guns had been captured. The brunt of this affair fell upon the Guards Brigade, which lost in killed and wounded about 300 men."
This affair was typical of the numerous rearguard engagements fought by both the British and the French forces during their retirement.
MASTERLY TACTICS IN RETIRING
Pressing hard upon the rear of the Allies for ten days was the greatest military machine that has ever been assembled in one cohesive force. Through Belgium had poured nearly 2,000,000 German troops, made up of about 800,000 first-line soldiers and more than 1,000,000 reserves. The twenty-six-hour march of part of the German army through Brussels was stunning evidence of the might of the "war machine," and despite fierce fighting all the way, the great army had never faltered in its 150-mile advance in Belgium.
But the numerical might of the German advance was matched by the masterly tactics of the Allies in retiring. By these tactics, in which General Joffre, the French commander-in-chief, co-operated with the British field-marshal, Sir John French, the Allies prevented their lines being overwhelmed by the superior numbers of their foe, but the German right flank and center, strung out over a line more than 150 miles long, northeast of Paris, kept smashing on. Losses were frightfully heavy, but the Kaiser's order was "Take Paris!"
It was believed certain that the German general staff had staked everything on investing Paris immediately, by completely breaking down the opposition massed between the German lines and the city. Paris had therefore prepared for the siege, with her great circles of forts strengthened and her food supply replenished. Many of the residents fled the city in panic, fearing a repetition of the dread days of 1871, with their privation and distress, but the spirit of the French people generally remained unshaken and General Gallieni, military governor of Paris, assumed complete control of the situation in the city.
GOVERNMENT MOVED TO BORDEAUX
On August 26 the French cabinet had resigned in a body and it was reconstructed on broader lines under Premier Viviani to meet the demands of the national emergency.
German troops were reported within 40 miles of Paris on September 3, and at 3 A. M. of that day a proclamation was issued by President Poincaré, announcing that the seat of government would be temporarily transferred from Paris to Bordeaux. The minister of the interior stated that this decision had been taken "solely upon the demand of the military authorities because the fortified places of Paris, while not necessarily likely to be attacked, would become the pivot of the field operations of the two armies."
The text of President Poincaré's proclamation was as follows:
"ENDURE AND FIGHT!"
"FEENCHMEN: For several weeks our heroic troops have been engaged in the fierce combat with the enemy. The courage of our soldiers has won for them a number of marked advantages. But in the north the pressure of the German forces has constrained us to retire. This situation imposes on the president of the Republic and the government a painful decision.
"To safeguard the national safety the public authorities are obliged to leave for the moment the city of Paris. Under the command of its eminent chief, the French army, full of courage and spirit, will defend the capital and its patriotic population against the invader. But the war must be pursued at the same time in the rest of the French territory.
"The sacred struggle for the honor of the nation and the reparation of violated rights will continue without peace or truce and without a stop or a failure. None of our armies has been broken.
"If some of them have suffered only too evident losses, the gaps in the ranks have been filled up from the waiting reserve forces, while the calling out of a new class of reserves brings us tomorrow new resources in men and energy.
"Endure and fight! Such should be the motto of the allied army, British, Russians, Belgians and French.
"Endure and fight! While on the sea our allies aid us to cut the enemy's communications with the world.
"Endure and fight! While the Russians continue to carry a decisive blow to the heart of the German empire.
"It is for the government of this republic to direct this resistance to the very end and to give to this formidable struggle all its vigor and efficiency. It is indispensable that the government retain the mastery of its own actions. On the demand of the military authorities the government therefore transfers its seat momentarily to a point of the territory whence it may remain in constant relations with the rest of the country. It invites the members of parliament not to remain distant from the government, in order to form, in the face of the enemy, with the government and their colleagues, a group of national unity.
"The government does not leave Paris without having assured a defense of the city and its entrenched camp by all means in its power. It knows it has not the need to recommend to the admirable Parisian population a calm resolution and sangfroid, for it shows every day it is equal to its greatest duties.
"Frenchmen, let us all be worthy of these tragic circumstances. We shall gain a final victory and we shall gain it by untiring will, endurance and tenacity. A nation that will not perish, and which, to live, retreats before neither suffering nor sacrifice, is sure to vanquish."
The removal of the French government departments to Bordeaux was accomplished within twenty-four hours and the southern city became at once a center of remarkable activity. Ambassador Herrick, representing the United States, remained in Paris to render aid to his fellow-countrymen who were seeking means of returning to America and were more than ever anxious to get away when a state of siege became imminent. A radical change in the French military operations was put in effect after the Germans had swept in from Belgium, and had taken the cities of Lille, Roubaix, and Longwy. The French army had attempted to strike and shatter the Germans at their weakest point, and failed.
Paris prepared for the worst when the Kaiser's conquering army reached La Fère, about seventy miles away. From Amiens to La Fère the Germans pressed their attack hardest. As the Allies were seen to be gradually falling back, reserve troops were assembled in Paris and the forts put in readiness for siege.
THE FORTIFICATIONS OP PARIS
Paris has one of the strongest fortification systems of any city in the world. The siege of the giant city would be a much greater undertaking than forty-four years ago, as the fortifications have been essentially augmented and strengthened since the Franco-Prussian war.
Map of French Capital With Stars Indicating Position Of Fortifications
The fortifications consist of the old city walls, the old belt of forts and the new enceinture of the fortified camps, which have been advanced far outside of the reach of the old forts. The main wall, ten meters (33 feet) high, consists of ninety-four bastions and is surrounded by a ditch fifteen meters wide. Behind the wall a ringroad and a belt line run around the city.
The belt of old forts surrounds this main fortification of the city at a little distance and consists of not less than sixteen forts. Those farthest advanced are hardly half a mile distant from the main wall. The experiences of the last war, the immense progress of the artillery, and especially the wider reach of the modern siege guns induced the French army authorities to build a belt of still stronger forts, which surrounds the old fortress of 1870 like a protective net. The forts, redoubts and batteries belonging to this last belt of fortifications are situated at least two miles from the city limits proper, and even Versailles is taken into this belt of fortifications.
The circumference of the circle formed by them is 124 kilometers (nearly 77 miles) and the space included in it amounts to 1,200 square kilometers. This new belt of fortifications consists of seven forts of the first class, sixteen forts of the second class and fifty redoubts or batteries, which are connected with each other by the "Great Belt Line," of 113 kilometers (71 miles).
FORM LARGE FORTIFIED CAMPS
The strongest of these forts form fortified camps, large enough to give protection to strong armies and also the possibility for a new reconcentration. There are three of these camps. The northern camp includes the fortifications from the Fort de Cormeilles on the left to the Fort de Stains on the right wing, with the forts of the first class, Cormeilles and Domont, and the forts of the second class, Montlignon, Montmorency, Ecouen and Stains, and it is protected in the rear by the strong forts in the vicinity of St. Denis. The eastern camp goes from the Ourcq canal and the forest of Bondy to the Seine, and its main strongholds are the forts of Vaujours and Villeneuve-St. Georges, with the smaller forts of Chelles, Villiers, Champigny and Sully.
On the left bank of the Seine the southwestern camp is situated, including Versailles, whose main forts are those of St. Cyr, Haut-Bue, Villeras and Palaiseau, to which the large redubt of Bois d'Arey and the forts of Chatillon and Hautes-Bruyeres, situated a little to the rear, belong likewise.
To invest this strongest fortress of the world the line of the Germans ought to have a length of 175 kilometers and to its continuous occupation, even if the ring of the investing masses were not very deep, a much greater number of troops would be necessary than were used in 1870 for the siege of Paris.
GERMAN AMMUNITION CAPTURED
A correspondent at Nanteuil, September 12, thus described the capture of a German ammunition column while the Germans were feeling their way toward Paris:
"The seven-kilometer column was winding its way along Crepy-en-Valois when General Pan sent cavalry and artillery to intercept it. The column was too weakly guarded to cope with the attack, and so was captured and destroyed. This capture had an important bearing on the subsequent fighting.
"A noticeable feature of the operations has been the splendid marching qualities of the French troops. This was displayed especially when two divisions, which were sent to intercept the expected attempt of the Germans to invest Paris, covered eighty kilometers (49½ miles) in two stages."
ALLIES PLAN TO PROTECT PARIS
The plan of the Allies on September 1 was to make a determined stand before Paris, in the effort to protect the city from the horrors of a siege. With their left wing resting on the strongly fortified line of the Paris forts and with their right wing strengthened by the defensive line from Verdun to Belfort, they would occupy a position of enormous military strength. If the Germans concentrated to move against their front the French reserve armies could assemble west of the Seine, move forward and attack the German invading columns in flank. If in their effort to continue the great turning movement the Germans pushed forward across the Seine and attempted by encircling Paris to gain the rear of the allied armies, the French could mass their reserve corps behind their center at Reims, push forward against the weakened German center in an attack that if successful would cut off the German invading columns and expose them to annihilation.
Such were the conditions and the possibilities when the German advance reached its climax on September 4.
BATTLE OF THE MARNE
German Plans Suddenly Changed—Direction of Advance Swings to the Southeast When Close to the French Capital—Successful Resistance by the Allies—The Prolonged Encounter at the Marne—Germans Retreat With Allies in Hot Pursuit for Many Miles.
Suddenly the German plans were changed. With Paris almost in sight, almost within the range of their heavy artillery, the German forces on the right of the line on September 4 changed the direction of their advance to a southeasterly course, which would leave Paris to the west. The people of the gay capital, who for several days had been preparing themselves once more for the thunder of the Prussian guns, began to breathe more freely, while all the world wondered at the sudden and spectacular transformation in the conditions of the conflict.
What had happened? Why was the advance thus checked and the march on Paris abandoned? Was it a trick, designed to lead the Allies into a trap? Or were the German troops too exhausted by forced marches and lack of rest to face the determined resistance of the allied forces before Paris?
These were the questions on every tongue, on both sides of the Atlantic, while the military experts sought strategic reasons for the change in German plans.
When the movement towards the east began the right of the German forces moved through Beaumont and L'Isle towards Meaux, apparently with the intention of avoiding Paris. Their front some twenty-four hours later was found to be extending across the River Marne as far south as Conlommiers and La Ferte-Gaucher, the two opposing lines at that time stretching between Paris on the left flank and Verdun on the right.
On Monday, September 7, there came news that the southward movement of the German army had been arrested, and that it had been forced back across the Marne to positions where the German right wing curved back from La Ferté-sous-Jouarre along the bank of the River Ourcq, a tributary of the Marne, to the northward of Chateau Thierry. All this territory forms part of the district known as the "Bassin de Paris."
Then came a turn in the tide of war and the German plans were temporarily lost sight of when the Allies assumed the offensive along the Marne and the Ourcq and the Germans began to fall back. For four days their retreat continued. Ten miles, thirty miles, forty-five miles, back toward the northeast and east the invaders retired and Paris was relieved. The tide of battle had thrown the Germans away from the French capital and Frenchmen believed their retirement was permanent.
BATTLE OF THE MARNE
Important and interesting details of the battle of the Marne and the movements that preceded it are given in an official report compiled from information sent from the headquarters of Field Marshal Sir John French (commander-in-chief of the British expeditionary forces), under date of September 11. This account describes the movements both of the British force and of the French armies in immediate touch with it. It carries the operations from the 4th to the 10th of September, both days inclusive, and says:
"The general position of our troops Sunday, September 6, was south of the River Marne, with the French forces in line on our right and left. Practically there had been no change since Saturday, September 5, which marked the end of our army's long retirement from the Belgian frontier through Northern France.
"On Friday, September 4, it became apparent that there was an alteration in the advance of almost the whole of the first German army. That army since the battle near Mons on the 23d of August had been playing its part in a colossal strategic endeavor to create a Sedan for the Allies by out-flanking and enveloping the left of their whole line so as to encircle and drive both the British and French to the south.
THE CHANGE IN GERMAN STRATEGY
"There was now a change in its objective and it was observed that the German forces opposite the British were beginning to move in a southeasterly direction instead of continuing southwest on to the capital, leaving a strong rear guard along the line of the River Ourcq (which flows south of and joins the Marne at Lizy-sur-Ourcq) to keep off the French Sixth Army, which by then had been formed and was to the northwest of Paris. They were evidently executing what amounted to a flank march diagonally across our front.
"Prepared to ignore the British as being driven out of the fight, they were initiating an effort to attack the left flank of the main French army, which stretched in a long curved line from our right toward the east, and so to carry out against it alone an envelopment which so far had failed against the combined forces of the Allies.
"On Saturday, the 5th, this movement on the part of the Germans was continued and large advance parties crossed the Marne southward at Trilport, Sammeron, La Ferte-sous-Jouarre and Chateau Thierry. There was considerable fighting with the French Fifth Army on the French left, which fell back from its position south of the Marne toward the Seine.
"On Sunday large hostile forces crossed the Marne and pushed on through Coulommiers and past the British right, farther to the east. They were attacked at night by the French Fifth, which captured three villages at the point of bayonets.
ALLIES TAKE THE OFFENSIVE
"On Monday, September 7, there was a general advance on the part of the Allies. In this quarter of the field our forces, which had now been reinforced, pushed on in a northeasterly direction in co-operation with the advance of the French Fifth Army to the north and of the French Sixth Army to the eastward against the German rearguard along the River Ourcq.
"Possibly weakened by the detachment of troops to the eastern theater of operations and realizing that the action of the French Sixth Army against the line of Ourcq and the advance of the British placed their own flanking movement in considerable danger of being taken in the rear and on its flank, the Germans on this day commenced to retire toward the northeast.
"This was the first time that these troops had turned back since their attack at Mons a fortnight before and from reports received the order to retreat when so close to Paris was a bitter disappointment. From letters found on dead soldiers there is no doubt there was a general impression among the enemy's troops that they were about to enter Paris.
GERMAN RETREAT IS HASTENED
"On Tuesday, September 8, the German movement north-eastward was continued. Their rear guards on the south of the Marne were being pressed back to that river by our troops and by the French on our right, the latter capturing three villages after a hand-to-hand fight and the infliction of severe loss on the enemy.
"The fighting along the Ourcq continued on this day and was of the most sanguinary character, for the Germans had massed a great force of artillery along this line. Very few of their infantry were seen by the French. The French Fifth Army also made a fierce attack on the Germans in Montmirail, regaining that place.
"On Wednesday, September 9, the battle between the French Sixth Army and what was now the German flank guard along the Ourcq continued.
"The British corps, overcoming some resistance on the River Petit Morin, crossed the Marne in pursuit of the Germans, who now were hastily retreating northwest. One of our corps was delayed by an obstinate defense made by a strong rear guard with machine guns at La Ferte-sous-Jouarre, where the bridge had been destroyed.
"On Thursday, September 10, the French Sixth Army continued its pressure on the west while the Fifth Army by forced marches reached the line of Chateau Thierry and Dormans on the Marne. Our troops also continued the pursuit on the north of the latter river and after a considerable amount of fighting captured some 1,500 prisoners, four guns, six machine guns and fifty transport wagons.
"Many of the enemy were killed or wounded and the numerous thick woods which dot the country north of the Marne are filled with German stragglers. Most of them appear to have been without food for at least two days.
"Indeed, in this area of the operations, the Germans seem to be demoralized and inclined to surrender in small parties. The general situation appears to be most favorable to the Allies.
"Much brutal and senseless damage has been done in the villages occupied by the enemy. Property has been wantonly destroyed. Pictures in chateaus have been ripped up and houses generally have been pillaged.
"It is stated on unimpeachable authority also that the inhabitants have been much ill-treated.
TRAPPED IN A SUNKEN ROAD
"Interesting incidents have occurred during the fighting. On the 10th of September part of our Second Army Corps, advancing into the north, found itself marching parallel with another infantry force some little distance away. At first it was thought this was another British unit. After some time, however, it was discovered that it was a body of Germans retreating.
"Measures promptly were taken to head off the enemy, who were surrounded and trapped in a sunken road, where over 400 men surrendered.
"On September 10 a small party under a noncommissioned officer was cut off and surrounded. After a desperate resistance it was decided to go on fighting to the end. Finally the noncommissioned officer and one man only were left, both of them being wounded.
"The Germans came up and shouted to them: 'Lay down your arms!' The German commander, however, signed to them to keep their arms and then asked to shake hands with the wounded noncommissioned officer, who was carried off on his stretcher with his rifle by his side.
"Arrival of reinforcements and the continued advance have delighted our troops, who are full of zeal and anxious to press on.
SUCCESS OF THE FLYING CORPS
"One of the features of the campaign on our side has been the success obtained by the Royal Flying Corps. In regard to the collection of information it is impossible either to award too much praise to our aviators for the way they have carried out their duties or to overestimate the value of the intelligence collected, more especially during the recent advance.
"In due course certain examples of what has been effected may be specified and the far-reaching nature of the results fully explained, but that time has not arrived.
"That the services of our Flying Corps, which, has really been on trial, are fully appreciated by our allies is shown by the following message from the commander-in-chief of the French armies, received September by Field Marshal Lord Kitchener:
"'Please express most particularly to Marshal Frenchmy thanks for the services rendered on every day by theEnglish flying corps. The precision, exactitude and regularityof the news brought in by its members are evidence oftheir perfect organization and also of the perfect trainingof the pilots and the observers.—JOSEPH JOFFRE, General,'
"To give a rough idea of the amount of work carried out it is sufficient to mention that during a period of twenty days up to the 10th of September a daily average of more than nine reconnaissance flights of over 100 miles each has been maintained.
FIVE GERMAN PILOTS SHOT
"The constant object of our aviators has been to effect an accurate location of the enemy's forces and, incidentally, since the operations cover so large an area, of our own units. Nevertheless, the tactics adopted for dealing with hostile air craft are to attack them instantly with one or more British machines. This has been so far successful that in five cases German pilots or observers have been shot while in the air and their machines brought to ground.
"As a consequence the British Flying Corps has succeeded in establishing an individual ascendancy which is as serviceable to us as it is dangerous to the enemy.
"How far it is due to this cause it is not possible at present to ascertain definitely, but the fact remains that the enemy have recently become much less enterprising in their flights. Something in the direction of the mastery of the air already has been gained in pursuance of the principle that the main object of military aviators is the collection of information.
"Bomb dropping has not been indulged in to any great extent. On one occasion a petrol bomb was successfully exploded in a German bivouac at night, while from a diary found on a dead German cavalry soldier it has been discovered that a high explosive bomb, thrown at a cavalry column from one of our aeroplanes, struck an ammunition wagon, resulting in an explosion which killed fifteen of the enemy."
LOSSES AT THE MARNE ENORMOUS
Some idea of the terrific character of the fighting at the Marne and of the great losses in the prolonged battle may be gained from the following story, telegraphed on September 14 by a correspondent who followed in the rear of the allied army:
"General von Kluck's host in coming down over the Marne and the Grand Morin rivers to Sezanne, twenty-five miles southwest of Epernay, met little opposition, and I believe little opposition was intended. The Allies, in fact, led their opponents straight into a trap. The English cavalry led the tired Germans mile after mile, and the Germans believed the Englishmen were running away. When the tremendous advance reached Provins the Allies' plan was accomplished, and it got no farther.
"Fighting Sunday, September 6, was of a terrible character, and began at dawn in the region of La Ferte-Gaucher. The Allies' troops, who were drawn up to receive the Germans, understood it would be their duty to hold on their very best that the attacking force at Meaux might achieve its task in security. The battle lasted all night and until late Monday.
"The Germany artillery fire was very severe, but not accurate. The French and English fought sternly on and slowly beat the enemy back.
"Attempts of the Germans to cross the Marne at Meaux entailed terrible losses. Sixteen attempts were foiled by the French artillery fire directed on the river and in one trench 600 dead Germans were counted.
COUNTRY STREWN WITH DEAD
"The whole country was strewn with the dead and dying. When at last the Germans retired they slackened their rifle fire and in once place retired twelve miles without firing a single shot. One prisoner declared that they were short of ammunition and had been told to spare it as much as possible.
"Monday saw a tremendous encounter on the Oureq. In one village, which the Germans hurriedly vacated, the French in a large house found a dinner table beautifully set, with candles still burning on the table, where evidently the German staff had been dining. A woman occupant said they fled precipitately.
"There was a great deal of hand-to-hand fighting and bayonet work on the Ourcq, which resulted in the terrible Magdeburg regiment beating a retreat.
"Monday night General von Kluck's army had been thrown back from the Marne and from the Morin and to the region of Sezanne and his position was serious. Immediate steps were necessary to save his line of communications and retreat. To this end reinforcements were hurried north to the Meaux district and the Ourcq and tremendous efforts were made to break up the French resistance in this section.
GERMAN GUNS ARE SILENCED
"The second attempt on the Oureq shared the fate of the first. Though all Monday night and well on into Tuesday the great German guns boomed along this river, the resistance of the allies could not be broken. 'Hold on!' was the command and every man braced himself to obey. While the Ourcq was being held the struggle of Sezanne was bearing fruit.
"The German resistance on Thursday morning was broken. I heard the news in two ways: from the silence of the German guns and from the wounded who poured down to the bases.
"The wounded men no longer were downhearted, but eager to rejoin the fray. On every French lip was the exclamation that 'They are in full retreat!' and 'They are rushing back home!' and in the same breath came generous recognition of the great help given by the British army.
"The number of wounded entailed colossal transportation work. I counted fifteen trains in eight hours. A fine, grim set of men, terribly weary but amiable, except for the officers.
GERMANS LEAVE SPOILS BEHIND
"The enemy crossed the Marne on the return journey north under great difficulties and beneath a withering fire from the British troops, who pursued them hotly. The German artillery operated from a height. There was again much hand-to-hand fighting and the river was swollen with dead.
"Tuesday night the British were in possession of La Ferte-sous-Jouarre and Chateau Thierry and the Germans had fallen back forty miles, leaving a long train of spoils behind them.
"On the same day, in the neighborhood of Vitry-le-François, the French troops achieved a victory. Incidentally they drove back the famous Imperial Guard of Germany from Sezanne, toward the swamps of Saint Cond, where, a century ago, Napoleon achieved one of his last successes. The main body of the guard passed to the north of the swamps, but I heard of men and horses engulfed and destroyed.
"'It is our revenge for 1814,' the French officers said. 'If only the emperor were here to see.'
BRITISH KEEP UP PURSUIT
"Wednesday the English army continued the pursuit toward the north, taking guns and prisoners.
"On that day I found myself in a new France. The good news had spread. Girls threw flowers at the passing soldiers and joy was manifested everywhere.
"The incidents of Wednesday will astound the world when made known in full. I know that two German detachments of 1,000 men each, which were surrounded and cornered but which refused to surrender, were wiped out almost to the last man. The keynote of these operations was the tremendous attack of the Allies along the Ourcq Tuesday, which showed the German commander that his lines were threatened. Then came the crowning stroke.
"The army of the Ourcq and of Meaux and the army of Sezanne drew together like the blades of a pair of shears, the pivot of which was in the region of the Grand Morin. The German retreat was thus forced toward the east and it speedily became a rout."
RETREAT SEEN FROM THE SKY
The best view of the retreating German armies was obtained, according to a Paris report, by a French military airman, who, ascending from a point near Vitry, flew northward across the Marne and then eastward by way of Rheims down to the region of Verdun and back again in a zigzag course to a spot near Soissons.
He saw the German hosts not merely in retreat, but in flight, and in some places in disorderly flight.
"It was a wonderful sight," the airman said, "to look down upon these hundreds and thousands of moving military columns, the long gray lines of the Kaiser's picked troops, some marching in a northerly, others in a northeasterly direction, and all moving with a tremendous rapidity.
"The retreat was not confined to the highways, but many German soldiers were running across fields, jumping over fences, crawling through hedges, and making their way through woods without any semblance of order or discipline.
"These men doubtless belonged to regiments which were badly cut up in the fierce fighting which preceded the general retreat. Deprived of the majority of their officers, they made a mere rabble of fugitives, Many were without rifles, having abandoned their weapons in their haste to escape their French and British pursuers."
GERMANS ABANDON GUNS
The London Times correspondent describes the German retreat in a hurricane, with rain descending in torrents, the wayside brooks swollen to little torrents.
"The gun wheels sank deep in the mud, and the soldiers,unable to extricate them, abandoned the guns," he said."A wounded soldier, returned from the front, told methat the Germans fled as animals flee which are cornered andknow it."Imagine the roadway littered with guns, knapsacks, cartridgebelts, Maxims and heavy cannon. There were miles ofroads like this."And the dead! Those piles of horses and those stacksof men I have seen again and again. I have seen men shot soclose to one another that they remained standing after death."At night time the sight was horrible beyond description.They cannot bury whole armies."In the day time over the fields of dead carrion birdsgathered, led by the gray-throated crow of evil omen with ahost of lesser marauders at his back. Robbers, too, havedescended upon these fields."Trainload after trainload of British and French troopsswept toward the weak points of the retreating host."The Allies benefited by this advantage of the battle-ground;there is a network of railways, like the network of aspider's web."