To the right of these two armies were three others. They had orders to
cover themselves to the north and to debouch toward the west on the
flank of the enemy, which was operating to the west of the Argonne. But
a wide interval in which the Germans were in force separated them from
our centre. The attack took place, nevertheless, with very brilliant
success for our artillery, which destroyed eleven batteries of the
Sixteenth German Army Corps.
On the 10th inst. the Eighth and Fifteenth German Army Corps
counter-attacked, but were repulsed. On the 11th our progress continued
with new successes, and on the 12th we were able to face round toward
the north in expectation of the near and inevitable retreat of the
enemy, which, in fact, took place from the 13th.
The withdrawal of the mass of the German force involved also that of the
left. From the 12th onward the forces of the enemy operating between
Nancy and the Vosges retreated in a hurry before our two armies of the
East, which immediately occupied the positions that the enemy had
evacuated. The offensive of our right had thus prepared and
consolidated in the most useful way the result secured by our left and
our centre.
[Illustration: Map showing the successive stages of the Battle of the
Marne.]
Such was this seven days' battle, in which more than two millions of men
were engaged. Each army gained ground step by step, opening the road to
its neighbor, supported at once by it, taking in flank the adversary
which the day before it had attacked in front, the efforts of one
articulating closely with those of the other, a perfect unity of
intention and method animating the supreme command.
To give this victory all its meaning it is necessary to add that it was
gained by troops which for two weeks had been retreating, and which,
when the order for the offensive was given, were found to be as ardent
as on the first day. It has also to be said that these troops had to
meet the whole German army, and that from the time they marched forward
they never again fell back. Under their pressure the German retreat at
certain times had the appearance of a rout.
In spite of the fatigue of our men, in spite of the power of the German
heavy artillery, we took colors, guns, mitrailleuses, shells, more than
a million cartridges, and thousands of prisoners. A German corps lost
almost the whole of its artillery, which, from information brought by
our airmen, was destroyed by our guns.
"THE RUSH TO THE SEA."
_LONDON, March 18.--The third installment of the historical review of
the war, emanating from French official sources and purely from the
French viewpoint, has been received by The Associated Press. The French
narrative contains a long chapter on the siege war from the Oise to the
Vosges, which lasted from Sept. 13 to Nov. 30. Most of the incidents in
this prolonged and severe warfare have been recorded in the daily
bulletins. The operations were of secondary importance, and were
conducted on both sides with the same idea of wearing down the troops
and the artillery of the opposing forces with the view of influencing
the decisive result in the great theatre of war in the north. The next
chapter deals with "the rush to the sea," Sept. 13 to Oct. 23, and is as
follows:_