ficer, the captain placed his General in
safety. While this was happening, the alarm had been given, and the
Germans, seeing that their attempt to possess themselves of the person
of General Leman had failed, retired. The guard, which comprised some
fifty men, fired repeatedly on the retreating party. Some fifty Germans,
including a standard-bearer and a drummer, were killed. Others were made
prisoners.

[Sidenote: General Leman in Fort Loncin.]

The General retired to the citadel of Sainte Walburge, and later to the
fort of Loncin. From there he followed the efforts of the enemy
attacking anew the north-east and south-east sectors. The environs of
Fort Boncelles are as difficult to defend as those of the
Barchon-Evegnee-Fleron front. There is first the discovered part which
surrounds what remains of the unfortunate village of Boncelles, which
the Belgians themselves were forced to destroy to free their field of
fire, but for the rest, there are only woods, that of Plainevaux, which
reaches to the Ourthe, Neuville, and Vecquee woods, that of Begnac,
which continues Saint Lambert wood as far as Trooz and the Meuse.

[Sidenote: Belgian troops fight heroically.]

Every place here swarmed with Germans, 40,000 at least, an army corps
which had spent a day and a night in fortifying themselves, and had been
able to direct their artillery towards Plainevaux, to the north of
Neuville, and upon the heights of Ramet. Thirty thousand men at least
would have been needed to defend this gap and less than 15,000 were
available. A similar attack was delivered at the same time between the
Meuse and the Vesdre. On both sides miracles of heroism were performed,
but the enemy poured on irresistibly. They were able to pass, on the one
side, Val Saint Lambert, on the other, between Barchon and the Meuse,
between Evegnee and Fleron. Fighting took place well into the night, the
enemy being repulsed at Boncelles twice. The following morning I saw
pieces of German corpses. The Belgian artillery had made a real carnage,
and no smaller number of victims fell in the bayonet charges. The 9th
and the Carabineers, who had fought the day before at Barchon, were
present here.

[Sidenote: Retreat ordered.]

In the other sector, the soldiers of the 12th of the line particularly
behaved like heroes. The battle began towards two o'clock in the morning
at Retinne where, after prodigies of valour and a great slaughter of the
enemy, the Belgian troops we