g wore on.

Through the forested region of Crecy the British passed, and it has been
told hereinbefore how they surprised the two cavalry commands thrust out
as scouts by General von Kluck. But, as they reached the land that had
been occupied by the German hosts, the bearing of the men changed, even
as the country changed. The simple homes of the peasants were in ashes,
every house that had showed traces of comfort had been sacked or gutted
with fire. Between noon and three o'clock in the afternoon of that day
three burned churches were passed. The songs stopped. A black silence
fell upon the ranks. Bloody business was afoot.

It was in the middle of the afternoon, a slumbrous harvest afternoon,
that a big gun boomed in the distance, and the shell shrieked dolefully
through the air, its vicious whine ceasing with a tremendous sudden roar
as it burst behind the advancing British lines. On the instant, Sir John
French's batteries almost wiped out the German cavalry, and ten minutes
had not elapsed before the full artillery on both sides had begun a
terrific fire that was stunning to the senses. Under cover of their own
fire, the British infantry advanced and hurled themselves against the
outer line of General von Kluck's Second Army. The attack failed. The
British were driven back, but though the loss of life was sharp, it was
not great, as the British commander had but advanced his men to test out
the invader's strength. The British artillery was well placed, and under
its cover the British made a second advance, this time successful. The
Germans replied with a counterattack which was repulsed, but in that
forty minutes 10,000 men had fallen.

A dispatch has been quoted from a French soldier, showing the terrible
havoc caused by the German machine guns, and a letter from a German
officer, published in the "Intelligenzblatt" of Berne pays a like
tribute to the artillery of the Allies. Speaking of this very section of
the battle front, he wrote:

"We were obliged to retreat as the English were attempting a turning
movement, which was discovered by our airmen. [This refers to the
advance of the British First Army Corps under Sir Douglas Haig in the
direction of La Ferte-sous-Jouarre, which, if it could have been
successfully carried out, would have meant the entire loss of General
von Kluck's southern army.] During the last two hours we were
continually exposed to the fire of the enemy's artillery, for our
artillery had