“I stood long at this spot on the blood-drenched soil of France, just where the regiments from Trier[174] had fought so bravely and suffered so heavily.  Serious thoughts arose in me as I gazed at the battlefield.  What a dispensation!  Two gigantic battles on the same spot in such a short space of time; two great victories over the French.  And most remarkable of all, the nation which for forty-four years had desired revanche for Sedan, was again completely defeated at the same place—­almost on the anniversary of the first battle.

[Footnote 174:  The writer, Dr. W. Kriege, is a Roman Catholic priest from Trier (Treves).  His book “Bilder vom Kriegsschauplatz” (Pictures from the Seat of War"), published in 1915, is both interesting and illuminating.]

“Twilight shadows fall deep upon the quiet fields where the dead rest.  Squadrons of white clouds drift down the valley, as if to cover the sleeping heroes with a shroud of white.  Above Sedan’s heights appears the shining crescent of the moon and sheds a ghostly light over the wide field of death—­the battlefield of Sedan."[175]

[Footnote 175:  Dr. W. Kriege:  “Bilder vom Kriegsschauplatz,” p. 45 et seq.]

“At last we arrive at our destination—­Somme-Py.  But what a sight!  Nothing remains of the once beautiful, spacious village but a heap of rubbish.  A few black-burnt walls are still standing and about three houses; among them, fortunately, the house occupied by Kaiser Wilhelm I. in 1870-71, when the victorious German army was marching on Paris.  At present it serves as a field-hospital.  Yes, this is the second time that a German army has marched this way; but the battles were never so bloody as this time.

“Somme-Py and the country round has a special meaning for us folk in Trier.  For here our Trier regiments—­above all the 29th and 69th—­have fought with splendid valour, and here they have buried many a dear friend and comrade.  Immediately before Somme-Py one of the largest mass-graves of the whole campaign may be seen.

“A simple iron railing surrounds the spot where hundreds of those rest who lived so happily in our midst, who marched so gaily and to whom we waved farewell greetings as they tramped through our streets.

“The fight for the village had been particularly fierce and bloody; the inhabitants had no time to flee.  Half-burnt men and animals, soldiers and civilians, filled the houses and streets, or lay buried under the ruins—­awful sacrifices to the war Fury!  We must thank God and our brave soldiers that they have preserved our hearths and homes from such horror and misery."[176]

[Footnote 176:  Ibid., pp. 78-80.]

It is cheering to find a growing feeling of respect for the French in German war literature.  One of many such expressions will be sufficient to quote here.  The writer of it is a German author who enjoys much esteem in his own country, and was a guest at the German Crown Prince’s headquarters in May, 1915.