GERMAN ADVANCE ON PARIS

Allies Withdraw for Ten Days, Disputing Every Inch of Ground With the Kaiser's Troops—Germans Push Their Way Through France in Three Main Columns— Reports of the Withdrawing Engagements— Paris Almost in Sight.

Flushed with their successes over the Allies at Mons and Charleroi, the Germans pushed their advance toward the French capital with great celerity and vigor. During the last week of August and the first few days of September, it appeared inevitable that the experience of Paris in 1870-71 was to be repeated and that a siege of the city by the German forces would follow immediately.

It was conceded that the armies of the Allies had been forced back and that Paris was endangered. The German advance was general, all along the line. The flower of the Kaiser's army had marched through Belgium and pushed back the lines of the Allies to the formidable rows of fortifications that surround Paris. The Germans advanced in three main columns, constantly in touch with one another, from the right, passing through Mons, Cambrai and Amiens, to the extreme left in Lorraine. The center threatened Verdun, and from that point the right advance swept through Northern France like an opening fan, with the fortress of Verdun as the pivot.

Three million men were engaged in the main struggle. When the Germans first reached the Franco-Belgian frontier near Charleroi they were opposed by 700,000 French and 150,000 British troops. After being driven back the Allies began assembling 1,000,000 men between the frontier and Paris, The Allies hoped to hold the whole German army in check while the Russians pursued their successes in eastern Germany. French troops guarded the entire frontier, battling to check the other German invading columns. The holding of the Germans, once they broke through the fortifications that formed the chief reliance of the French, would be impossible. The next stand would be around Paris, which was well fortified. The invaders were, of course, attempting to get through where there were no forts.

ALLIES MAKE STRENUOUS RESISTANCE

Strenuous resistance to the onward movement of the German enemy was made by the Allies from day to day, but for a period of ten days there was an almost continual retirement of the French and British upon Paris. It was in fact a masterly retreat, but a retreat nevertheless. From the line of La FÈre and Mezieres, occupied by the Allies after the battles at Mons and Charleroi, they fell back 70 miles in seven days, disputing every step of the way, but withdrawing gradually to the line of defenses around the French capital. From Cambrai the Germans pushed through Amiens to Beauvais; from Peronne to Roye, Montdidier, Creil, and on to the forest of Chantilly. From the region of Le Cateau and St. Quentin the German advance was by Noyon to Compiegne (famous for its memories of Joan of Arc's famous sortie), at which point the Allies made a desperate stand and the Germans had to fight for every inch of ground. They then passed through Senlis, which was first bombarded, down to Meaux, almost within sight of Paris, the head of the German army resting on a line between Beaumont, Meaux and La Ferte, at which point the resistance of the Allies finally forced a change in German plans.

Other German forces passed through Laon, Soissons and Chateau Thierry. Farther to the east, the road from Mezieres led the Germans to Rheims, Mourmelon, and opposite Chalons on the River Marne.

Another German army from the direction of Longwy, under the command of the Crown Prince, was operating through Suippes and on the wooded Argonne plateau, with its five passes, famous in the action of which preceded the battle of Valmy. At the entrance to this hilly country stands the little town of Sainte Menehould, where there was severe fighting with the French. Here the German Crown Prince made his headquarters.

The great plain of the Argonne is full of most wonderful ecclesiastical buildings and many magnificent cathedrals, townhalls and ancient fortresses were passed by the warring armies in their advance and withdrawal, some of these historic structures sustaining irreparable damage.

The German advance continued southward toward Paris until September 4.

RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF THE BRITISH

All reports agree that during the retirement of the Allies, the Germans pursued the British headquarters staff with uncanny precision throughout the ten days from Mons back to CompiÈgne. After fierce street fighting in Denain and Landrecies Sir John French withdrew his headquarters to Le Cateau, which was at once made the target of a terrific bombardment. The town caught fire, burning throughout one night, and the British headquarters had to be evacuated, this time in favor of St. Quentin, in the local college. Here the same thing happened and Field Marshal French was compelled once more to retire, to the neighborhood of CompiÈgne.

In an official report issued on Sunday, September 6, it is stated that, "The 5th French army on August 29 advanced from the line of the Oise River to meet and counter the German forward movement and a considerable battle developed to the south of Guise. In this the 5th French army gained a marked and solid success, driving back with heavy loss and in disorder three German army corps, the 10th, the Guard, and a reserve corps. In spite of this success, however, and all the benefits which flowed from it, the general retirement to the south continued and the German armies, seeking persistently after the British troops, remained in practically continuous contact with the rearguards.

"On August 30 and 31 the British covering and delaying troops were frequently engaged, and on September 1 a very vigorous effort was made by the Germans, which brought about a sharp action in the neighborhood of CompiÈgne. This action was fought principally by the 1st British Cavalry Brigade and the 4th Guards Brigade and was entirely satisfactory to the British. The German attack, which was most strongly pressed, was not brought to a standstill until much slaughter had been inflicted upon them and until ten German guns had been captured. The brunt of this affair fell upon the Guards Brigade, which lost in killed and wounded about 300 men."

This affair was typical of the numerous rearguard engagements fought by both the British and the French forces during their retirement.

MASTERLY TACTICS IN RETIRING

Pressing hard upon the rear of the Allies for ten days was the greatest military machine that has ever been assembled in one cohesive force. Through Belgium had poured nearly 2,000,000 German troops, made up of about 800,000 first-line soldiers and more than 1,000,000 reserves. The twenty-six-hour march of part of the German army through Brussels was stunning evidence of the might of the "war machine," and despite fierce fighting all the way, the great army had never faltered in its 150-mile advance in Belgium.

But the numerical might of the German advance was matched by the masterly tactics of the Allies in retiring. By these tactics, in which General Joffre, the French commander-in-chief, co-operated with the British field-marshal, Sir John French, the Allies prevented their lines being overwhelmed by the superior numbers of their foe, but the German right flank and center, strung out over a line more than 150 miles long, northeast of Paris, kept smashing on. Losses were frightfully heavy, but the Kaiser's order was "Take Paris!"

It was believed certain that the German general staff had staked everything on investing Paris immediately, by completely breaking down the opposition massed between the German lines and the city. Paris had therefore prepared for the siege, with her great circles of forts strengthened and her food supply replenished. Many of the residents fled the city in panic, fearing a repetition of the dread days of 1871, with their privation and distress, but the spirit of the French people generally remained unshaken and General Gallieni, military governor of Paris, assumed complete control of the situation in the city.

GOVERNMENT MOVED TO BORDEAUX

On August 26 the French cabinet had resigned in a body and it was reconstructed on broader lines under Premier Viviani to meet the demands of the national emergency.

German troops were reported within 40 miles of Paris on September 3, and at 3 A. M. of that day a proclamation was issued by President PoincarÉ, announcing that the seat of government would be temporarily transferred from Paris to Bordeaux. The minister of the interior stated that this decision had been taken "solely upon the demand of the military authorities because the fortified places of Paris, while not necessarily likely to be attacked, would become the pivot of the field operations of the two armies."

The text of President PoincarÉ's proclamation was as follows:

"ENDURE AND FIGHT!"

"FEENCHMEN: For several weeks our heroic troops have been engaged in the fierce combat with the enemy. The courage of our soldiers has won for them a number of marked advantages. But in the north the pressure of the German forces has constrained us to retire. This situation imposes on the president of the Republic and the government a painful decision.

"To safeguard the national safety the public authorities are obliged to leave for the moment the city of Paris. Under the command of its eminent chief, the French army, full of courage and spirit, will defend the capital and its patriotic population against the invader. But the war must be pursued at the same time in the rest of the French territory.

"The sacred struggle for the honor of the nation and the reparation of violated rights will continue without peace or truce and without a stop or a failure. None of our armies has been broken.

"If some of them have suffered only too evident losses, the gaps in the ranks have been filled up from the waiting reserve forces, while the calling out of a new class of reserves brings us tomorrow new resources in men and energy.

"Endure and fight! Such should be the motto of the allied army, British, Russians, Belgians and French.

"Endure and fight! While on the sea our allies aid us to cut the enemy's communications with the world.

"Endure and fight! While the Russians continue to carry a decisive blow to the heart of the German empire.

"It is for the government of this republic to direct this resistance to the very end and to give to this formidable struggle all its vigor and efficiency. It is indispensable that the government retain the mastery of its own actions. On the demand of the military authorities the government therefore transfers its seat momentarily to a point of the territory whence it may remain in constant relations with the rest of the country. It invites the members of parliament not to remain distant from the government, in order to form, in the face of the enemy, with the government and their colleagues, a group of national unity.

"The government does not leave Paris without having assured a defense of the city and its entrenched camp by all means in its power. It knows it has not the need to recommend to the admirable Parisian population a calm resolution and sangfroid, for it shows every day it is equal to its greatest duties.

"Frenchmen, let us all be worthy of these tragic circumstances. We shall gain a final victory and we shall gain it by untiring will, endurance and tenacity. A nation that will not perish, and which, to live, retreats before neither suffering nor sacrifice, is sure to vanquish."

The removal of the French government departments to Bordeaux was accomplished within twenty-four hours and the southern city became at once a center of remarkable activity. Ambassador Herrick, representing the United States, remained in Paris to render aid to his fellow-countrymen who were seeking means of returning to America and were more than ever anxious to get away when a state of siege became imminent. A radical change in the French military operations was put in effect after the Germans had swept in from Belgium, and had taken the cities of Lille, Roubaix, and Longwy. The French army had attempted to strike and shatter the Germans at their weakest point, and failed.

Paris prepared for the worst when the Kaiser's conquering army reached La FÈre, about seventy miles away. From Amiens to La FÈre the Germans pressed their attack hardest. As the Allies were seen to be gradually falling back, reserve troops were assembled in Paris and the forts put in readiness for siege.

THE FORTIFICATIONS OP PARIS

Paris has one of the strongest fortification systems of any city in the world. The siege of the giant city would be a much greater undertaking than forty-four years ago, as the fortifications have been essentially augmented and strengthened since the Franco-Prussian war.

The fortifications consist of the old city walls, the old belt of forts and the new enceinture of the fortified camps, which have been advanced far outside of the reach of the old forts. The main wall, ten meters (33 feet) high, consists of ninety-four bastions and is surrounded by a ditch fifteen meters wide. Behind the wall a ringroad and a belt line run around the city.

The belt of old forts surrounds this main fortification of the city at a little distance and consists of not less than sixteen forts. Those farthest advanced are hardly half a mile distant from the main wall. The experiences of the last war, the immense progress of the artillery, and especially the wider reach of the modern siege guns induced the French army authorities to build a belt of still stronger forts, which surrounds the old fortress of 1870 like a protective net. The forts, redoubts and batteries belonging to this last belt of fortifications are situated at least two miles from the city limits proper, and even Versailles is taken into this belt of fortifications.

The circumference of the circle formed by them is 124 kilometers (nearly 77 miles) and the space included in it amounts to 1,200 square kilometers. This new belt of fortifications consists of seven forts of the first class, sixteen forts of the second class and fifty redoubts or batteries, which are connected with each other by the "Great Belt Line," of 113 kilometers (71 miles).

FORM LARGE FORTIFIED CAMPS

The strongest of these forts form fortified camps, large enough to give protection to strong armies and also the possibility for a new reconcentration. There are three of these camps. The northern camp includes the fortifications from the Fort de Cormeilles on the left to the Fort de Stains on the right wing, with the forts of the first class, Cormeilles and Domont, and the forts of the second class, Montlignon, Montmorency, Ecouen and Stains, and it is protected in the rear by the strong forts in the vicinity of St. Denis. The eastern camp goes from the Ourcq canal and the forest of Bondy to the Seine, and its main strongholds are the forts of Vaujours and Villeneuve-St. Georges, with the smaller forts of Chelles, Villiers, Champigny and Sully.

On the left bank of the Seine the southwestern camp is situated, including Versailles, whose main forts are those of St. Cyr, Haut-Bue, Villeras and Palaiseau, to which the large redubt of Bois d'Arey and the forts of Chatillon and Hautes-Bruyeres, situated a little to the rear, belong likewise.

To invest this strongest fortress of the world the line of the Germans ought to have a length of 175 kilometers and to its continuous occupation, even if the ring of the investing masses were not very deep, a much greater number of troops would be necessary than were used in 1870 for the siege of Paris.

GERMAN AMMUNITION CAPTURED

A correspondent at Nanteuil, September 12, thus described the capture of a German ammunition column while the Germans were feeling their way toward Paris:

"The seven-kilometer column was winding its way along Crepy-en-Valois when General Pan sent cavalry and artillery to intercept it. The column was too weakly guarded to cope with the attack, and so was captured and destroyed. This capture had an important bearing on the subsequent fighting.

"A noticeable feature of the operations has been the splendid marching qualities of the French troops. This was displayed especially when two divisions, which were sent to intercept the expected attempt of the Germans to invest Paris, covered eighty kilometers (49½ miles) in two stages."

ALLIES PLAN TO PROTECT PARIS

The plan of the Allies on September 1 was to make a determined stand before Paris, in the effort to protect the city from the horrors of a siege. With their left wing resting on the strongly fortified line of the Paris forts and with their right wing strengthened by the defensive line from Verdun to Belfort, they would occupy a position of enormous military strength. If the Germans concentrated to move against their front the French reserve armies could assemble west of the Seine, move forward and attack the German invading columns in flank. If in their effort to continue the great turning movement the Germans pushed forward across the Seine and attempted by encircling Paris to gain the rear of the allied armies, the French could mass their reserve corps behind their center at Reims, push forward against the weakened German center in an attack that if successful would cut off the German invading columns and expose them to annihilation.

Such were the conditions and the possibilities when the German advance reached its climax on September 4.