Helping France; the Red cross in the devastated area . rtillery on one of 178 Helping France these heights fell short of ammunition. Theguns fired their last shot; the Germans wereadvancing. Nothing remained but to destroythe guns and retreat. The order was crew of one gun received it with tears intheir eyes. My captain, they said, Ourgun has been a good gun. Before we destroyit, may we not decorate it? The captainassented. The soldiers gathered flowers fromthe fields and branches from the woods; theymade a flowery chariot of their well-lovedcompanion in arms, the gun. But the captai
Helping France; the Red cross in the devastated area . rtillery on one of 178 Helping France these heights fell short of ammunition. Theguns fired their last shot; the Germans wereadvancing. Nothing remained but to destroythe guns and retreat. The order was crew of one gun received it with tears intheir eyes. My captain, they said, Ourgun has been a good gun. Before we destroyit, may we not decorate it? The captainassented. The soldiers gathered flowers fromthe fields and branches from the woods; theymade a flowery chariot of their well-lovedcompanion in arms, the gun. But the captainstood watching the enemy, field glass to he saw the advancing columnswheel, turn and file away. He waited, stillwatching. Then the truth dawned on Germans are falling back, he cried,the battle is won. Such is the legend of thegun that saved Nancy, as beautiful a legendas those King Stanislas caused to be wroughtin the citys golden gates. In the city itself, during these terrible days,there was a spirit as unconscious, as heroic,. Church of Flirey, Meurthe-Moselle. The Prefect of the Frontier 179 as that of its defenders. It was due in agreat measure to the new prefet who had cometo Nancy only a month before. M. LeonMirman had been successively professor ofmathematics at the Lyceum of Reims, deputy,and director of public aid in the Ministry ofthe Interior. At the outbreak of the war, hehad asked to be sent to a point of department of the Meurthe and Mosellewas given to him. He came to Nancy withhis wife and his family, saying to his newneighbors in his first proclamation: I bringyou that which, next to my country, I cherishmost, my wife and my six children who willbe proud to share your trials, to toil with youin your labors, and to unite themselves toyour hope. From the summer of 1914 to the summer of1918, Nancy suffered bombardment everymonth, sometimes every week, and during thefull moons—for the felon aviators of Germanypreferred its light
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectworldwar19141918
