Here are two instances of individual French heroism:
“In a village on the point of occupation by German cavalry, a French
soldier, the last of his regiment there, heard a woman’s cries. He
turned back. At that moment a Uhlan patrol entered the village. The
soldier hid behind a door and then shot down the first officer and then
one of the soldiers.
“While the rest of the patrol hesitated, the soldier rushed out, seized
the officer’s riderless horse, swung himself into the saddle and,
hoisting the woman behind him, rode off amid a hail of bullets. Both
reached the French lines unscathed.
“The second act of bravery cost the hero his life. On the banks of the
Oise a captain of engineers had been ordered to blow up a bridge in
order to cover the French retreat.
“When a detachment of the enemy appeared on the other side of the bridge
the officer ordered his men back and then himself running forward fired
the mine with his own hand, meeting a death which he must have known to
be certain.”