e bank to the other, lined by poplars and
willows. On either side of its limpid waters are broad fields, whose
delicate greenery frames the sparkling line of the river, which forms a
by no means impassable obstacle. In the days just preceding the German
offensive of July 15, American patrols constantly crossed between
Chateau-Thierry and Mezy, and picked up prisoners and information on the
northern bank. In like manner, during that offensive the attacking
German troops were able without great losses to cross the Marne and
attack the defenders on the southern bank. To be sure, the Allied
air-men made their life a burden by keeping up an incessant bombardment
of the bridges, large and small.

[Sidenote: Fierce fighting on the slopes.]

But the real obstacle which this valley offers is found in the slopes
which dominate it, and it was there that the fiercest fighting took
place until the day when the French and Americans, having thrown the
enemy back across the river, scaled the cliffs of the right bank on his
heels and dislodged him therefrom. In this neighborhood there were two
sectors of terrific fighting--that of Chatillon-Dormans upstream, and
that of Chateau-Thierry below.

[Sidenote: A wide valley with steep slopes.]

[Sidenote: The vine-growing district.]

Going upstream, the valley is quite wide: from Monvoisin to Dormans, by
Chateau-Thierry, it measures two kilometres almost everywhere. The high
cliff which overlooks it on the north, cut by a multitude of narrow
valleys coming down from the table-land of the Tardenois, forms a series
of buttresses which make excellent defensive positions. On the sharpest,
which is a genuine peninsula overhanging the main valley, sits the
village of Chatillon, formerly crowned by a haughty feudal castle, on
whose ruins was erected a statue of Pope Urban II, who long ago had
trouble with the German emperors. The slopes below are hard to climb,
because of their steepness and the network of tilled fields. Here we
are at the heart of the vine-growing district, and these banks of the
Marne contribute largely to the production of the famous champagne. The
vines extend, on long rows of poles, to the very summit of the cliffs,
especially on the right bank, which has a better exposure to the sun;
they are often connected by strands of wire, on which straw mats are
placed to protect the vines from the cold in winter.

[Sidenote: Allied troops find many obstacles.]

On a lower level,