th "speculating on the question of food-prices
and the ill-treatment of soldiers at and behind the front. The power of
the censor makes it exceedingly difficult, or even impossible, to
ventilate this matter."

German writers are careful to impress their readers that the losses of
the French were appalling, but here and there a stray word or sentence
lifts the veil and discovers their own.

"Just before me are the graves of some German officers adorned with
wooden crosses and helmets, and a little farther on a _Massengrab_
(large common grave) containing several hundred German soldiers. At this
point (Sedan) the battle raged with awful fury, and the Germans had to
make heavy sacrifices. It seems almost incredible that the Germans could
have forced the position.

"The country is hilly; not a tree or bush offered cover from the French
bullets. French trenches at distances of from thirty to fifty yards,
stretched across the land, and between them were wire entanglements and
other obstacles. Besides which they had an open firing-range of over a
mile in extent, with their artillery to cover them from a steep hill on
the other side of the Meuse.

"At 5 a.m. the attack commenced, and by the afternoon the French had
been hurled across the river. Then came the most difficult part of the
operations. From the Meuse the ground rises gradually to a steep hill,
on which the French artillery and machine guns were placed. The only
bridge over the river, at Donchery, had been blown up at the last moment
by the enemy, and although our pioneers had hastily constructed a bridge
of tree-trunks--what was this for so many regiments!

"Many tried to ford or swim the stream. The French fire was murderous in
its effect. Several times the ranks wavered, but again and again they
pressed forward, till the heights were stormed and the enemy in flight.
The battle raged on into the night and then the remains of the regiments
gathered at the foot of the hill. They had won a costly but glorious
victory. Those who have seen the successes which our troops have gained,
even under the most difficult conditions, need have no fear as to the
ultimate result of this war.

"I stood long at this spot on the blood-drenched soil of France, just
where the regiments from Trier[174] had fought so bravely and suffered
so heavily. Serious thoughts arose in me as I gazed at the battlefield.
What a dispensation! Two gigantic battles on the same spot in such a
short