country that when the morning
of September 13, 1914, dawned there was scarcely a German soldier
left on the southern side of the Aisne, west of Rheims.

The administration of the German armies meanwhile had been markedly
changed. In the turning movement on the Marne the plan was clearly
outlined, each commander had his instructions, and that was all.
But with the need for changes of plan there was need for a directing
head, and Field Marshal van Heeringen was sent in a hurry to take
charge of the Aisne. This placed both General von Kluck and General
von Buelow into subordinate positions. Field Marshal von Heeringen
held a deserved reputation as one of the most brilliant as well
as one of the most iron-willed of the German military leaders.
He had been the backbone of the crown prince's movement against
Troyon, a movement which, given a day or two longer, might have
meant the capture of Verdun.

This was not the only factor that was framing up to give the German
armies a decided advantage. The essential factor of the Aisne was
the arrival of General von Zwehl and his guns. On September 13,
1914, at 6 a. m., Zwehl arrived in Laon, and in less than an hour
he was in action on the Aisne front. The story of General von Zwehl
and his guns is essential to an understanding of the causes that
rendered the British victory of the Aisne a barren and a fruitless
victory at best.

The week of September 5-12, 1914, witnessed the entire series of
the battles of the Marne, which drove the Germans across the Marne
and across the Aisne, as well as a German victory which exerted
almost as powerful an influence in favor of the invaders as the
check at the Marne did for the defenders. This victory was the
fall of Maubeuge. It is going too far to say--as several military
writers have done--that General von Zwehl saved Germany, and that
unless he had arrived as opportunely as he did the "German retreat
to the Aisne valley would have been changed into a disastrous and
overwhelming rout." But it is not going too far to say that the
successful holding of the Aisne line was due to the victor of Maubeuge.

General von Zwehl was one of the iron-jawed battle-scarred warriors
of 1870, a man with a will as metallic as his own siege guns, and
a man who could no more be deflected from his purpose than a shell
could be diverted in its flight. He had been set to reduce Maubeuge
and he had done so with speed and with thoroughness. Maubeuge was
not pro