up their advantage.  The artillery fire of the British was good and in a running fight, such as this retreat, the light field artillery of the French did terrible execution.  The brunt of the British fighting was at La Tretoire.  General d’Esperey fought steadily forward all day, driving the retreating army as closely as he could, but proceeding warily because of General von Kluck’s powerful counterattacks.  The fighting was continuous from the first break of daylight until after dusk had fallen, and it was in the twilight that the French Army at last carried Montmirail on the Petit Morin, a feat of strategic value, since it exposed the right flank of Von Buelow’s army, exposed by the retreat of General von Kluck.

From this review of the forced retirement of General von Kluck, it will be seen that the German right was compelled to sustain an attack at three points, from the Sixth French Army on the banks of the Ourcq, from the British army in the region of Coulommiers and from the Fifth French Army near Courtacon.  Each of these attacks was of a widely different character.  The result of this attack lias been shown in the summary of the three days (four days on the Ourcq) which resulted in the British capture of Coulommiers and in the French capture of Montmirail.  This was General Joffre’s counteroffensive, and it developed in detail almost exactly along the lines that he had laid down.

The scene of the fighting across the west bank of the Ourcq was that of a wide-open country, gently undulating, dotted with comfortable farmhouses, and made up of a mosaic of green meadow lands and the stubble of grain fields.  The German heavy guns came into action as soon as the French offensive developed.  Tremendous detonations that shook the earth, and which were followed by sluggish clouds of an oily smoke showed where the high-explosive shells had struck.  Already, by the evening of the first day’s fighting, there were blazing haystacks and farmhouses to be seen, and the happy and smiling plain showed scarred and rent with the mangling hand of war.  On the 6th, a sugar refinery, which had been held as an outpost by a force of 1,800 Germans, was set on fire by a French battery.  The infantry had been successful in getting to within close range and as the invaders sought to escape from the burning building, they were picked off one by one by the French marksmen.  The French infantry, well intrenched, suffered scarcely any loss.  It was in brilliant sunshine that the fire broke out, and the conflagration was so fierce that the empty building sent up little smoke.  The flames scarcely showed in the bright light, and to the onlooker, it seemed as if some rapid leprous disease was eating up the building.  The situation was horrible for the Germans, either to be trapped and to perish in the flames, or to face the withering French infantry fire without any opportunity to fight back.  Less than 300 of the occupants of the refinery won clear.