y in the direction east of Paris had passed beyond the Marne. There
they were attacked by superior forces between Meaux and Montmirail. In
two days' heavy fighting they have kept the enemy back and even made
progress.

"When the approach of new, stronger hostile forces was announced our
wing was withdrawn; the enemy made no attempt at pursuit. Up till now
the booty captured in this battle includes fifty cannon and some
thousands of prisoners.

"West of Verdun the army is engaged in an advancing battle. In Lorraine
and the Vosges district the situation is unchanged."

This seems to be all that the German nation has heard from official
sources of the German defeat on the Marne and the hurried retreat to the
Aisne. Almost every report issued by the German headquarters during the
succeeding three weeks informed the world that a "decision had not yet
fallen."

Evidently the nation awaited and hoped for a decision which would leave
Paris at the mercy of the invading army. They are still awaiting that
decision, but whether the waiting is seasoned by hope cannot easily be
determined.

A soldier present at the battle of the Marne has chronicled his
experiences.[167] "We passed over long, undulating hills and valleys,
and towards 1 p.m. obtained our first glimpse down the beautiful vale of
the Marne. Standing on the heights of Chateau Thierry, we beheld the
town nestling on both sides of the river in the valley below.

[Footnote 167: H. Knutz: "Mit den Koenigin-Fusilieren durch Belgien und
Frankreich,", p. 49 _et seq_.]

"Then we entered the town and saw on all sides the tokens of street
fighting. All the windows were smashed by shell fire; some houses had
been entirely gutted. Dead Frenchmen lay around in heaps, some corpses
so mutilated by shrapnel as to appear hardly human. With a shudder we
turned our eyes from this horrible scene.

"Crossing the Marne by a sand-stone bridge, we climbed the opposing
heights under a burning sun. At the top we deployed, but for that day
our artillery sufficed to drive the enemy in headlong flight to the
south; the night we spent under the open sky.

"Sunday, September 6th. Before breakfast we intended to bathe in a
stream, when our dreams of a rest-day were dispelled by an order to hold
ourselves ready for the march. 'The 17th division is under heavy rifle
fire and the 18th must advance to their support.' Meanwhile, the chicken
soup was almost ready, but the order 'form ranks' resoun