rumbling walls have been strengthened
by sand bags]

[Illustration: A remarkable photograph of an actual bayonet charge
by French soldiers typical of the gallantry and spirit they display
in action]

[Illustration: A British naval brigade, sent to aid in the defense
of Antwerp, holding a road at Lierre. They are supported by a Maxim
gun]

[Illustration: The city of Lille, France, under fire. During the
Great War this city has suffered bombardment by both Allies and
Germans]

[Illustration: A remarkable photograph taken during the bombardment
of Antwerp, showing the falling wall of a house that has been struck
by a German shell]

[Illustration: Drawn by R. Caton Woodville. Fighting from house to
house in Ypres, afterward but a ruin. Because of its strategic
position, Allies and Germans have battled repeatedly for its
possession. ]

[Illustration: Drawn by H. W. Koekkoek. A village in the Argonne,
occupied alternately by French and German troops in the autumn of
1914. The French finally reported "a slight advance in the Argonne"]

[Illustration: Drawn by R. Caton Woodville. The London Scottish
re-forming for a third charge, in which they succeeded in taking and
occupying Messines October 31, 1914]

* * * * *

CHAPTER XIX

"CROSSING THE AISNE"

In order to gain a clear idea of what was involved in the feat of
"crossing the Aisne," which more than one expert has declared to
be the greatest military feat in river crossing in the history of
arms, it is well to look at the topography of that point, first in
its relation to the whole German line, and, second, in its relation
to possible attack in September, 1914.

The prepared positions on the Aisne to which the Germans fell back
after the battle of the Marne, were along a line of exceptionally
strong natural barriers. The line extends from a point north of
Verdun, on the heights of the Meuse, across the wooded country of
the Argonne and the plain of Champagne to Rheims, thence northwest
to Brimont, crossing the Aisne near its confluence with the Suippe,
and from thence proceeding to Craonne, whence it takes a westerly
course along the heights of the Aisne to the Forest of the Eagle,
north of Compiegne. The eastern end of this line has already been
described in connection with the battles of the Marne, and it is
the western section of this line which now demands consideration.
Just as the River Marne was taken as a basis for t