of the German siege guns. General von Hausen was released for
action elsewhere. Thus we may assume, he was ordered to follow the
armies of the Duke of Wuerttemberg and crown prince down through the
Ardennes to strike the Meuse south of Namur. By this time he had been
substantially reenforced. Now under his command were the complete
Twelfth and Nineteenth Corps, and the Eleventh Reserve Corps. Also a
cavalry division of the Prussian Guard, with some other detachments of
cavalry. His Eleventh Reserve Corps were Hessians, the Twelfth and
Nineteenth Corps were Saxons. The latter two corps were regarded as
among the best in the German army. In the Franco-Prussian War they
fought with conspicuous bravery through every battle in which they were
engaged. They won the battle for Prussia at Gravelotte by turning the
French right and capturing St. Privat. They marched to Sedan under the
crown prince--subsequently the Emperor Frederick--to occupy the first
line in the hard fighting of the Givonne Valley. During the siege of
Paris they occupied a part of the German northern line, finally to march
in triumph into Paris. This infantry and cavalry of the Prussian Guard
stiffened Von Hausen's force into an army of battle strength.

We have thus two factors to bear in mind with regard to the French
defensive position at Charleroi--the resisting power of the Namur forts,
and the unknown, to the French, proximity of Von Hausen's army.

However substantial was the measure of reliance that the French General
Staff and General Michel placed on the Namur forts, evidently General
von Buelow regarded them as little more than passing targets for his
siege guns. He seemed to have made a comparatively simple mathematical
calculation of almost the number of shells necessary to fire, and the
hours to be consumed in reducing the Namur forts to masses of debris.

We can picture General von Buelow as he sat in the motor car with Marshal
von der Goltz--the old gentleman with an overcoat buttoned up to his
nose in August, and huge spectacles. Doubtless discussion ran mainly
upon the impending attack of their Second Army on the French right.
Emphasis would have been laid on the positions of the armies of the Duke
of Wuerttemberg and crown prince advancing away to their left upon the
forces of the French Generals Ruffey and de Cary. But there was
apparently a German gap here between Von Buelow's army and the armies of
the Duke of Wuerttemberg and crown pr