Quoting from a letter received from a French officer a Bordeaux
correspondent tells how a French cavalry division held in check two
German corps for twenty-four hours:
“When the Germans were advancing from the north we were ordered to hold
a certain village at all costs with a few quick-firing guns and cavalry.
It was a heroic enterprise, but we succeeded.
“The German attack began in the morning. A terrific bombardment was
maintained all day; shells destroyed every building and the noise was
infernal. We had to scream and shout all orders. The church tower was
struck by a shell at the stroke of midnight and collapsed.
“Early in the morning we retreated under a hail of shells, after mowing
down masses of German infantry. We gave our army in the rear a whole
day’s rest and our exploit is mentioned in many orders as a historic
rearguard defensive action.”