CHANZY S CAMPAIGN. 
97 
column was led by a small detachment of cuirassiers. After these came 
three infantry soldiers, two of them about 150 yards in front of the 
column, and one behind to connect these foremost men with the detach¬ 
ment of infantry which followed. The three foremost soldiers of the 
German army in face of the enemy were accompanied by four pet dogs, 
trotting quickly along beside them. After the infantry detachment 
came a detachment of cuirassiers, then more infantry, all of the same 
regiment, and followed by the light battery of the advanced guard. 
Owing to the thick mist the troops moved cautiously, for they knew 
that the enemy might appear at any moment. The pace was a moder¬ 
ate walk, about three miles an hour, with occasional halts, to examine a 
farm or a group of cottages near the road. Eight and left of the road 
were cavalry and infantry marching in pairs searching like dogs for 
game. They were generally concealed by the fog, but now and then a 
small party would peep out from a lane or cottage garden, and vanish 
again into the mist, when they saw that all was going smoothly, and 
that they had not lost their place beside the column. The troops 
marching along the undulating road had no reason to take thought for 
anything, save in front, as they had perfect confidence in the sagacity 
of their comrades, who, sometimes walking quickly, sometimes with 
rifle at the charge, were pushing on as well as they could over vine¬ 
yards and gardens, ploughed fields and stubble, walls and fences, 
peering into every tree and bush for any enemy who might possibly be 
concealed by a copse, a garden wall, or a cottage. Occasionally one 
would run to the road and report something that had a suspicious look, 
when instantly some of his comrades were sent in the direction named 
to see whether any Frenchmen might be concealed there. All this was 
done so quickly as scarcely to interrupt the march of the column.” 
I have some sketches of the little actions that under those circum¬ 
stances took place at some of the villages all along this river Braye, 
which was obstinately contested, but, not to spend too much time over 
it, the result was that General Jouffroy was pushed gradually back. 
An awkward thing at this point was General Curten^s movement. 
When he came up here, towards St. Amand, he was manifestly on the 
left and threatening the rear of the 10th Corps. That delayed part 
of the 10th Corps and two cavalry divisions and he was in no danger 
himself, because there was abundance of railways, and when he 
wished he just went back a little and turned up where he pleased. 
In this difficult country, up about Belleme, the 4th Cavalry was easily 
checked—it did little in fact; also, in the country near Nogent and La 
Ferte Bernard, the 13th Corps was only able to move slowly. And 
then another curious thing happened: that whereas originally the 
Germans had intended to come on in a re-entering fashion with the 
13th down on the right and with the 10th on the left (describing the 
same), when they came to fight the battles on the 10th, 11th and 12th, 
instead of being in a re-entering form they were in a salient form. I 
mean to say that they wished the 13th and 10th Corps on the wings 
to be in advance, as it were, of the 3rd, and all to make a kind 
of semicircle round Le Mans; but when it came to the fight the 
position was reversed, and the 3rd Corps was in the front and tfio 
