only be man-handled across it. Meanwhile the
construction of a bridge was commenced close to the road bridge at
Venizel.

At 2 P.M. the Twelfth Infantry Brigade attacked in the direction of
Chivres and Vregny with the object of securing the high ground east of
Chivres, as a necessary preliminary to a further advance northward. This
attack made good progress, but at 5:30 P.M. the enemy's artillery and
machine gun fire from the direction of Vregny became so severe that no
further advance could be made. The positions reached were held till
dark.

The pontoon bridge at Venizel was completed at 5:30 P.M., when the Tenth
Infantry Brigade crossed the river and moved to Bucy le Long.

The Nineteenth Infantry Brigade moved to Billy-sur-Aisne, and before
dark all the artillery of the division had crossed the river, with the
exception of the heavy battery and one brigade of field artillery.

During the night the positions gained by the Twelfth Infantry Brigade to
the east of the stream running through Chivres were handed over to the
Fifth Division.

The section of the bridging train allotted to the Third Corps began to
arrive in the neighborhood of Soissons late in the afternoon, when an
attempt to throw a heavy pontoon bridge at Soissons had to be abandoned,
owing to the fire of the enemy's heavy howitzers.

In the evening the enemy retired at all points and intrenched himself on
the high ground about two miles north of the river, along which runs the
Chemin-des-Dames. Detachments of infantry, however, strongly intrenched
in commanding points down slopes of the various spurs, were left in
front of all three corps with powerful artillery in support of them.

During the night of the 13th and on the 14th and following days the
field companies were incessantly at work night and day. Eight pontoon
bridges and one foot bridge were thrown across the river under
generally very heavy artillery fire, which was incessantly kept up on to
most of the crossings after completion. Three of the road bridges, i.e.,
Venizel, Missy, and Vailly, and the railway bridge east of Vailly, were
temporarily repaired so as to take foot traffic, and the Villiers Bridge
made fit to carry weights up to six tons.

Preparations were also made for the repair of the Missy, Vailly and
Bourg bridges so as to take mechanical transport.

The weather was very wet and added to the difficulties by cutting up the
already indifferent approaches, entailing a large