ost two to one.

Through the apple and pear orchards of La Tretoire the battle was
sanguinary; the British (reenforced on September 7, 1914, by some
French divisions) swept through the terrain in widely extended
lines, for close formation was not to be thought of with artillery
and machine guns in front. It was bitter fighting, and the German
right contested every inch of ground stubbornly. Once, indeed, it
seemed that General von Kluck would turn the tables. He rapidly
collected his retreating troops, and with unparalleled suddenness
hurled them back upon the advancing First Corps under Sir Douglas
Haig. Aeroplane scouts decided the issue. Had the British been
compelled to await the onset, or had they been forced to depend
on cavalry patrols, there would have been no opportunity to resist
that revengeful onslaught. But no sooner had the Germans begun
to re-form than Sir Douglas Haig moved his machine guns to the
front and fell back a few hundred yards to a better position. This
happened on September 8, 1914, and may be regarded as the last
offensive move made by General von Kluck's army in the west. On
that same day Coulommiers was invested and Prince Eitel compelled
to flee, and the battle of Coulommiers was won.

* * * * *

CHAPTER XVII

CONTINUATION OF THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE

The third part of the battle of the Marne, called by some the Battle
of Montmirail, was not marked by special incident. General d'Esperey's
part was to hold firm, and this he did. Not only by reason of the
British assistance on the left, but also because the strong army
of General Foch to the right was a new army, of greater strength
than was known to General von Moltke and the German General Staff.
The battle of Montmirail was won by the steady resistance of the
Fifth Army to the hammer blows of the German right, and to the quick
advantage seized by General d'Esperey when the British weakened
the flank of the force opposing him. On September 8, 1914, General
d'Esperey had not only held his ground, but had driven General
von Kluck back across the Grand Morin River at La Ferte-Gaucher,
and also across the Petit Morin at Montmirail. Since the British
had butted the Germans back from the Petit Morin at La Tretoire,
these three days of fighting in the battles of Coulommiers and
Montmirail had won the Allies advanced positions across two rivers,
and had so weakened the German right that it was compelled to fa