It will be to the lasting credit of General Joffre and the French Staff that after six weeks of disorder owing to the unreadiness of their army and their grievous errors in the disposition of the available troops, they recovered themselves in a supreme effort and by a brilliant stroke of strategy took the enemy completely by surprise and dealt him a staggering blow.  The German Headquarters Staff—­the brains of the greatest military machine in Europe—­sublimely arrogant in their belief that they had an exclusive knowledge of the whole science of war and that the allied armies were poor blunderers without intelligence and without organization, utterly incapable of resisting the military genius of the German race, found themselves foiled and out-manoeuvred at the very moment when the prize of victory seemed to be within their grasp.

For the first time since the beginning of their advance into French territory they were confronted with something like equal numbers, and they were brought to a halt at once.  This arrest, shocking to their self-confidence, was found to be more than a mere check easily overpowered by bringing up more battalions.  General von Kluck realized that the French had gathered together a formidable mass of men ready to be flung upon his right flank.  Their guns were already beginning to open fire with frightful effect upon his advanced columns.  The pressure of French regiments marching steadily and swiftly from the south-east and south-west after weeks of retirement, was forcing in his outposts, chasing back his cavalry and revealing a strong and resolute offensive.  On September 4 and 5 there was heavy fighting on the German left and centre, to the south of the Marne and the west of the Ourcq.  While General von Kluck was endeavouring to resist the thrust of the French and British troops who were massing their guns with great strength on his right, General von Bulow’s left wing, with the Saxon army and the Prince of Wurtemberg’s army, made desperate attempts to break the French centre by violent attacks to the north of Sezanne and Vitry-le-Francois.  For two days the Germans tested the full measure of the strength opposed to them, but failed in smashing through any part of the French line, so that the Allies, successful in holding their ground against the full weight of the enemy, gained time for the supports to reach them and then developed a complete and general attack.

Von Kluck found that his troops were yielding.  The French mordant was too much for Prussians as well as Saxons, who in many villages of France and in the hollows of the downs were heavily punished by the Anglo-French artillery, and routed by bayonet charges thrust home with incredible ferocity.  The German Headquarters Staff, receiving these reports from all parts of the line, must have had many moral shocks, undermining their pride and racking their nerves.  Perhaps one day we shall read the history of those councils of war between the German generals, when