“On our right and left the French have been fighting fiercely and have been gradually gaining ground.  One village already has been captured and recaptured twice by each side and at the time of writing remains in the hands of the Germans.

“The fighting has been at close quarters and of the most desperate nature, and the streets of the village are filled with dead of both sides.

CHEERING MESSAGE TO THE FRENCH

“As an example of the spirit which is inspiring our allies the following translation of an Ordre du Jour (order of the day), published on September 9, after the battle of Montmirail, by the commander of the French Fifth Army, is given: 

“’Soldiers:  Upon the memorable fields of Montmirail, of Vauchamps, of Champaubert, which a century ago witnessed the victories of our ancestors over Bluecher’s Prussians, your vigorous offensive has triumphed over the resistance of the Germans.  Held on his flanks, his center broken, the enemy now is retreating towards the east and north by forced marches.  The most renowned army corps of old Prussia, the contingents of Westphalia, of Hanover, of Brandenburg, have retired in haste before you.

“’This first success is no more than the prelude.  The enemy is shaken but not yet decisively beaten.  You have still to undergo severe hardships, to make long marches, to fight hard battles.  May the image of our country, soiled by barbarians, always remain before your eyes!  Never was it more necessary to sacrifice all for her.

“’Saluting the heroes who have fallen in the fighting of the last few days, my thoughts turn toward you, the victors in the last battle.  Forward, soldiers, for France!’

LETTER FROM A GERMAN SOLDIER

“So many letters and statements of our wounded soldiers have been published in our newspapers that the following epistle from a German soldier of the Seventy-fourth Infantry regiment, Tenth Corps, to his wife also may be of interest: 

“’My Dear Wife:  I have just been living through days that defy imagination.  I should never have thought that men could stand it.  Not a second has passed but my life has been in danger, and yet not a hair of my head has been hurt.

“’It was horrible; it was ghastly, but I have been saved for you and for our happiness, and I take heart again, although I am still terribly unnerved.  God grant that I may see you again soon and that this horror may soon be over.

“’None of us can do any more; human strength is at an end.  I will try to tell you about it.  On September 5 the enemy were reported to be taking up a position near St. Prix, southeast of Paris.  The Tenth Corps, which had made an astonishingly rapid advance of course, was attacked on Sunday.