“ From there the Germans with their powerful artillery would have been able to destroy the French Corps which had withdrawn to the plain. They would also have been able to manœuvre freely in order to fall on the rear of the army of Espérey on the west, and that of Langle de Cary on the east. The whole plan of the battle of the Marne would have collapsed. The nature of the ground permits us to understand the particular violence of the struggle at this point: the Germans ready to sacrifice everything in order to attain the heights, the French disputing fiercely every inch of the ground. ”

“ The beautiful shady road that leads from, Étrépilly to Trocy first crosses a hollow, then winds up the hillside to the plateau on which Trocy is built (3 km.) . On arriving, turn to the left and so enter the heart of the village.
Trocy did not actually suffer from the German attacks, but it was bombarded by the French artillery. In front of the horse-pond, on the left of the little church, stands a farm (view opposite) which in 1917 still showed traces of the "75" shell which damaged its roof. Other houses were completely destroyed. ”

“ Those running in the streets were held up by the police, and the occupants made to alight. When the latter learned the reason, instead of grumbling, they gave a rousing cheer. Eleven hundred taxis made the journey twice during the night from Paris to the front transporting, in all, eleven thousand men.
Unfortunately, the effect of these reinforcements was fully counterbalanced by the troops which Von Kluck had brought up on the two previous days from before the British front, and only the extreme tenacity and courage of his troops enabled Maunoury to avoid being outflanked. ”

“ When we come across a place that is interesting either from an archæological or an artistic point of view, there we halt, even though the war has passed it by; that the tourist may realise it was to preserve intact this heritage of history and beauty that so many of our heroes have fallen. ”

“ Going through the village, leave the church on the right. We come to the bridge around which are the graves of the men who fell during the combats on this bitterly disputed spot (photograph p. 192) .
Cross the bridge and turn to the right; 50 yards further on, take, on the left, the road leading through a cutting to Lenharrée railway station (800 yards) . Numerous graves border the railway and the road, for the struggle, which began at the Somme, continued on the railway before spreading under German pressure to Fère-Champenoise, Connantray, and beyond. ”

“ General Grossetti needed all his energy to reform the scattered units of his division, and his men, who were on their way to the rear to rest, when they were again ordered into the thick of the battle, had need of superhuman courage to carry out the long fatiguing flank march of twelve miles, which was to bring them that afternoon to Foch's centre. ”

“ On leaving the cemetery one sees in front, on the slope of the road, the remains of the trenches dug by the French to protect themselves against counter-attacks from the heights of Varreddes.
Following the road, one soon sees the harrowing sight of the Plateau of Chambry-Barcy, covered with graves. To the right especially, in the fields which were crossed by the troops rushing to the attack from the hill visible in the photograph below, one can reconstruct the progression of the lines under fire by glancing along the succession of graves. ”

“ M. Odent pointed out the rapidity of events, and the peaceable ways of the old city. He was nevertheless led before the headquarters staff at the Grand Cerf Hotel. Immediately after, came the sound of the first shots fired by the French rearguard at the lower end of the town. The officer was furious and vowed that he would hold the mayor responsible and that his head should answer for the lives of the German soldiers. The town-clerk suggested to M. Odent that the deputy mayor should be fetched, but the latter refused, saying: "One victim is enough." ”

“ The capacity of this single branch was so small that all the heroism of the defenders would have been vain, and the Germans would have entered as conquerors into the old city, if, by a remarkable feat, motors had not been able to replace the feeble railway. The road which the tourist followed on leaving Bar-le-Duc, and which he rejoined at Issoncourt, has been known since that epoch as the "Voie Sacrée" (the Holy Way) . An average of 1,700 motors transporting troops, ammunition and stores, went by each day in both directions, making one vehicle every twenty-five seconds. ”

“ On N. 51, in the Woods of Botrait and the Grandes-Garennes, attacks and counter-attacks followed each other during four days. The thickets were the scene of fierce hand-to-hand struggles. In the rare clearings the combatants sheltered themselves in hastily-dug trenches. This stubborn resistance exasperated the Germans; and after the battle witnesses found a company of Algerian sharp-shooters whose brains had been beaten out by blows from the butt-end of rifles. ”

“ Posterity will compare this arrogant order of the Crown Prince's with the stirring proclamation which Joffre caused to be made known to the whole of the French army on the eve of the great battle:
[Pg 8]
FRENCH
DOUGLAS HAIG
"On the eve of the battle, on which the future of our country depends, it is important to remind all that there must be no looking back. Every effort mast be made to attack and drive back the enemy. Troops which can no longer advance must at all costs keep the ground they have won, and die rather than fall back. Under present circumstances no weakness can be tolerated." ”

“ Two other hostages, Audibert and Minouflet, the latter wounded, had also reached the pavement of the hospital. A German officer discharged a revolver at Audibert and left him for dead; he ordered Minouflet to show his wounds and, finding them insufficient, put a bullet through his shoulder. Three other people fell. The shrieks of the victims reached the French, who ceased fire. The surviving hostages then slipped past the trees along the road, under German fire, up to the French lines. The Germans took advantage of this to make a fresh attack, but were repulsed. ”

“ RUINS OF SERMAIZE
Affording a fine view of the Valley of the Saulx, the road enters Sermaize (61 km.) .
The town was occupied on September 6 by the Fourth Division of the Sixth Corps. Violently attacked on the north and east, and threatened with being cut off from the rest of the French line by the German advance from the west, Sermaize, already set on fire by shells, was evacuated on the 7th by the French troops, who retired towards Maurupt and Cheminon. The Germans entered the little town and completed the work of the shells, but first they pillaged the houses. ”

“ With what feelings of intense relief the defenders of Mondement must have seen Grossetti's men moving eastwards to the attack and driving the Germans back again behind Mount Chalmont. The enemy was literally demoralized by this unexpected arrival of reinforcements.
The objective of Grossetti's attack was the junction of the armies of Von Bulow and Von Hausen, viz.: the weakest point of the German front.
The German generals had at that time nothing with which to counter this last effort of Foch's, and, realising that the battle was indeed lost, began to make preparations for retreat. ”

“ The German machine-guns were installed there, and cut down the French who attempted to leave their shelter on the other side of the road. About 100 yards further on the wood gives place to a field, on the edge of which, at about 20 yards from the road, in the midst of the trees, is the grave of an unknown French soldier—a pathetic sight. A little further on, in the field, are to be seen the isolated graves of two German officers, one of them of the family of the Chief of the General Staff, Von Moltke (view below) . Between these graves and the border of the castle park many Germans lie buried. ”

“ It has been completely restored. The pillars which support the arcades are those of the early Romanesque church (see photograph p. 205) . Their capitals are finely sculptured. Above the lower arcades runs a gallery which opens on to the choir and nave by means of bays composed of twin lights. A little triforium separates this gallery from the higher windows (see below) .
CHOIR OF NOTRE-DAME
The windows of the aisles of Notre-Dame are filled with beautiful sixteenth century stained glass, which at the beginning of the war was taken down and put away for fear of damage from air-raids. ”

“ If the tourist makes this journey on a day when the castle is closed, or if he has not time to visit it, he will at least be able to glance at the charming corner of the park where stands Sylvie's House. ”

“ In 1668 the cathedral was struck by lightning for the third time; the spire fell and drove in the vaulting and the crypt. After another restoration, the two towers of the transept were embellished with stone spires, which were reconstructed in 1821, but, later, removed. In 1850 the south front of the transept was entirely rebuilt. In 1862 all the sixteenth century chapels in the aisles off the nave were done away with. Quite recently the two towers, together with the doorways of the transept, have been restored.
On the whole the cathedral is an imposing edifice. ”

“ Its principal aim is to introduce France—one of the loveliest countries on earth—to the French people themselves and to tourists of other nations.
It seeks to develop travel in all its forms: on foot, horseback, bicycle, in carriage, motor, yacht or railway, and, eventually, by aeroplane. ”

“ The retreating Germans followed this road, but in a contrary direction and pursued by the French shells.
At the highest point, on the right, is seen the trunk of a tree decapitated by artillery fire, at the top of which the workmen of the entrenched camp of Paris have fixed a branch to form a cross: humble and touching tribute to the brave men killed in going up to the attack.
Before arriving at Meaux we have a beautiful view of the town. We pass under the railway; then, on the right, take the N. 3 or Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Nicolas, which brings us back to the Cathedral (19 km.) ”

“ RUINS, NORMÉE
After their withdrawal on September 8 and 9 the French returned to the neighbourhood of Lenharrée. This they reached on the 10th and entered the next day. They found in a barn 450 wounded Germans and 150 French. The terrible struggle had drenched the village with blood and reddened the waters of the river. "There are heaps of German dead everywhere," wrote a witness, "in the streets, in the cellars, in the church, and in the cemetery. ”

“ The road, bordered by telegraph poles, which traverses the region from right to left, is G. C. 61, which the tourist is following. It is thus easy to realise the importance of the tile-field as an advanced position. Whilst the French held it they were able to utilise the valley (out of sight of the enemy coming up from Pargny) for massing reserves of troops and artillery. The position once captured, Maurupt became singularly exposed.
In point of fact, Maurupt fell on September 8, the same day as the tile-field. The German attack came, not only from Pargny, but from the east ”

“ The troops of the First Division had the honour of being chosen to attack, and fierce was the fighting in the burning streets of the village. The 84th Infantry, many of whose officers and men are buried in the churchyard, gave a brilliant example of stubborn courage. On the evening of the 6th, Châtillon was in the hands of the French, who were, however, for that day unable to advance further towards Esternay, being held up by the defence works on N. 34 (see panorama on p. 152) . ”

“ After leaving Vitry by N. 4, crossing the Marne and a level-crossing, Marolles (3 km.) is reached. In this village an old man of 70 years, M. Mathieu Coche, was seized by German cavalrymen and led away tied to a horse, with which he was obliged to keep pace. On arriving in the neighbourhood of Vitry-en-Perthois (nearly 30 km. to the north of Marolles) the poor old fellow's strength gave out, he fell and was dragged along by the horse until death ensued. His body was then left behind, and could not be buried until after the German retreat. ”