s Fort les Ayvelles, which is intended to
protect the bridges and Meuse crossings south of Mezieres-Charleville;
the fort was levelled to the ground by 300 shots from our 21-centimetre
howitzers. It was built in 1878 and armed with forty cannon; of these
the principal weapons consisted of two batteries each containing six
9-centimetre cannon, which, however, were cast in the years 1878-1880,
and in the best case could only carry 4,000 yards. Then there were some
12-centimetre bronze pieces cast in 1884, and a few five-barrelled
revolver cannon.

"Besides these there were old howitzers from the year 1842;
muzzle-loaders with the characteristic pyramids of cannon ball by the
side, such as are often used in Germany at village festivals or to fire
a salute. The fort itself was a perfect picture of the obsolete and
out-of-date. Apart from the crude, primitive equipment, the organization
must have been faulty indeed.

"On the road leading up to the fort we saw some tree-branches which had
been hurriedly placed as obstacles, and higher up wire entanglements had
been commenced at the last moment. At least one battery was useless, for
the field of fire was cut off by high trees, and at the last minute the
garrison had tried to place the guns in a better position.

"Our artillery which fired from a north-westerly position displayed a
precision of aim which is rare. One battery had had nearly every gun put
out of action by clean hits. In several cases we saw the barrel of the
gun yards away from its carriage, and only a heap of wheels, earth,
stones, etc., marked the place where it had stood.

"Another proof of the excellent work done by the artillery, was the fact
that hardly a shell had struck the earth in the 500 yards from the
battery to the fort. After the former had been disposed of, the
artillery fire was concentrated on the fort, which was reduced to a heap
of rubbish. The stonework and the high walls--yards thick--had tumbled
to pieces like a child's box of bricks.

"A garrison of 900 men had been placed in this useless cage, and they
had fled almost at the first shot. Instead of putting these men in
trenches, their superiors had put them at this 'lost post' and allowed
them to suffer the moral effects of a complete, inevitable defeat.

"Near the fort I saw the grave of its commander, the unfortunate man who
had witnessed the hopeless struggle. He lived to see his men save their
lives in wild flight--and then ended