. Battlefields of the World War, western and southern fronts; a study in military geography . tion ofmen on foot and of cavalrymen upon certain roads, 20 bochesin Indian file on another road, so many loaded wagons enteringa certain village, a group of boches stationed in the edgeof such a wood, men busy building camouflage to conceal certainroads, a batallion, in sections spaced about 200 meters apart,descends the spur south of Bois le Pretre and goes toward thesouth, probably toward Villars Agron; 30 cavalrymen debouchfrom the same spot and follow the same route. These details 246 BATTLEFIELD
. Battlefields of the World War, western and southern fronts; a study in military geography . tion ofmen on foot and of cavalrymen upon certain roads, 20 bochesin Indian file on another road, so many loaded wagons enteringa certain village, a group of boches stationed in the edgeof such a wood, men busy building camouflage to conceal certainroads, a batallion, in sections spaced about 200 meters apart,descends the spur south of Bois le Pretre and goes toward thesouth, probably toward Villars Agron; 30 cavalrymen debouchfrom the same spot and follow the same route. These details 246 BATTLEFIELD OF THE MARNE are summed up by the observers in general terms, as for example,in regard to movements on the roads: Isolated men en route arevery numerous, one sees them, everywhere and all day long goingin every direction. The same is true of small groups of three orfour men. Many cavalrymen come and go leading their horsesby the bridle. Reconnaissances of the terrain by short, unusual activity of men on foot and cavalrymen,giving the impression of a densely occupied Fig. 71—Bridge over the Marne at Chateau-Thierry, destroyed to render passageof the natural barrier as difficult as possible. In the distance is seen the crest ofthe Marne plateau. (French official photograph.) Leaving out of account the importance of observation in con-trolling artillery fire, it will be evident that such reports as thosequoted above, coming in from a large number of good observa-tories, must give the commanding officers quite a clear pictureof what the enemy is doing behind his front. It was on the basisof such observations, supplemented of course from other sources,that Foch accurately gauged the Germans preparations fortheir offensive of July 15, 1918, and made his own dispositionsto combat them. The straight valleys, even when held in largepart by the enemy, became serious obstacles to the successfulprosecution of that enemys designs. Hence the violent com-bats for pos
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectworldwar19141918
