LAND AND AVATER 
September 26, 1914 
that it is one of tlie most notaLle foutures iu the hiiid- 
scapc from tlic ]ilain of IJhoiiiis, aud has been noticed 
by every traveller who has come into Elieims from 
Laon. The village of Craonne, from which this liead- 
hmd takes its name, stands up on the southern slope, 
not qnito at the top, which top is Hat, and forms the 
eastward cuhniuation of the whole plateau. There 
was directed against this important knot of hill 
country about Thm-sday and Friday hist the Avholo 
Avcight of the Fi-cnch 5th Army, but what exact 
measure of success it obtained is exceedingly difficult 
to discover. The llghtmg reached up to the plateau 
itself, aud a number of prisoners from the 11th and 
12th German Army Corps were taken ; but it is hardly 
likely that Craonne village Avas permanently held l^ 
Sunday. If it had been, the fact would have been 
mentioned in the French commnuique. It seems 
more likely that here, as elsewhere, the effort of the 
Allies sAumg up to the foot of the slopes and partially 
occupied them, but had not j-et carried the heights. 
When, or if, a retirement from the plateau begins, 
Craonne will go with the rest ; but the position is too 
valuable to be abandoned so long as the last chance of 
piercing through Eheinis remains to the Germans. 
SUMMARY OF THE OPERATIONS 
UPON THE WESTERN HALF OF 
THE DEFENSIVE LINE. 
By Sunday, September 20th, then, the general 
position in the Western half of the German general 
position — that is, the hilly part between Craonne and 
the River Oise— was as follows : 
The Germans everywhere still held the highest 
point of the plateau from Craonne right away to the 
heights behind Nampcel that overlook the Oise. The 
French and English held the ramparts of this plateau, 
that is the first projections which stand out like 
peninsula; from the central ridge and are separated by 
the brook-valleys which run down from that ridge to 
the Aisne. The German position on the ridge was 
held by heavy artillery against Avhich the Allies were 
bringing an increasing number of lieaAy guns, which 
heavy aiiiHery had in the first days of the week done 
great execution against the Allies ; had not compelled 
it anywhere to retire permanently, had gi-avely 
damaged the open town of Soissons, but was gradually 
relaxing its fii-e as the heavy guns of the Allies came 
up. Meanwhile, a French body of unknown magni- 
tude Avas Avorking up beyond the Oise to the North, 
round the right Aving of the Germans, but had not 
yet occupied Noyon, nor turned that right Aving, 
though it Avas akeady beyond Lassigny and had 
occupied the heights to the east of that village. 
THE SECOND EASTERN, OR 
"RHEIMS," LIMB OF THE GERMAN 
DEFENSIVE POSITION. 
I have said that the backbone of aU the eastern 
limb of the Gemian defensive position from where that 
position crossed the Aisne at Beny-au-Bac to the 
Argonne was an even sweU of land running to the 
north and east of the river Suippe, and this was 
apparently the position taken up and held in the first 
days Avhcu the great Gennan retreat across Champagne 
came to a standstill and was brought into Ime Avith 
Von Kluck's reti-eat from Meaux to the Aisne. That 
is, we must regard the main German line as standing 
from_ Beny-au-Bac and following the Suippe to 
feouam, and thence eastward through Lo Mesnil 
Massige.s and Villc-sur-Tourbc to the Argonne' 
This first line is most rationally divided at Bazancourt 
because, although such a point cuts it in two A'cry 
unequal portions as to length, yet these tAvo portions 
balance each other in imi)ortance, and each has a 
character of its oavu. 
(1) The jjortion betAveen Craonne — Beny-au-Bac 
and Bazancourt lies directly north of E, and, as it 
Avere, threatens the great city of Eheims. Eheims, 
politically from its Avealth and size, strategically from 
its accumulated stores and the fact that it is a junction 
of five raihvay lines and scA'cn main roads, was 
essential to any successfid counter-offensive the 
Germans might attempt to push home. 
(2) The second section, on the other hand, from 
Bazancom*t to the Argonne runs through very deserted 
country of no political importance, and contains but 
one, though that an important, .strategical feature. 
This strategical feature is the side Ihie of railway 
Avhich starts from the junction Avith the main Ehcinis- 
Eethel-Mezicres line at Bazancourt and is prolonged 
to the other side of the Argonne. This radAvay Avas 
obviously of the first value to the Gennan Army Avhen 
it undertook the count^r-offensiA'C and began to move- 
south, for it runs parallel to the line this advance 
would take, and can serve the whole of it with 
ammunition and food. On the other hand, this 
raihvay is not prolonged eastward across the Meuso, 
and does not help dii-ectly to feed the main German 
armies from theii* depots in Lorraine, or thi'ough the- 
Belgian lines. 
SECTION IV.— THE FIRST, OR LEFT, 
PORTION OF THE EASTERN LIMB. 
What happened here in the week since the 
Gennans took up theii* general defensive line on the 
Simday before last (September 13th) is a strong aud 
partially successful counter-offensive undertaken b}' 
the Germans, Avith the object of recaptu.ring the city 
of Eheims, and, at the same time, of breaking the 
French line. It is in connection with this partially 
successful counter-offensive that there took place in 
the latter pai-t of the week, upon the Saturday and 
the Sunday, the 19th and the 20th, the bombardment 
of the toAvn of Eheims, in Avhich grievous damage 
to the cathedral was inflicted by shell fire. 
Of all the five sections of the defensive position, 
this fourth section in the centre is the most critical 
to the Allies, as the first on the western AA'ing is the 
most critical to the Germans. AVe have seen hov\', 
when, in the fii'st section, the Gennan right is turned, 
the Avhole German defensive position must be lost ; 
but, as against this, the Germans have made a very 
violent effort to break the French in this fourth, or 
centra], section; that is, in the field round Eheims. 
They liaA'e here secured so considerable an advance- 
that they actually occupy at the moment of Avriting a 
dangerous salient, and not only liaA'e they secm-ed this 
advance, but they have estaljlished positions upon the 
heights east and north of Eheims, Avhence they have 
been able (especially from the cast) to bombard 
the city. 
The original defensive position as I described it 
last week is that SAvell of land i-unning from the Aisne 
eastward parallel to and north of the Suippe Elver, a 
muddy little streani. But more than a Aveek ago 
the Germans Avcre able to get well to the south of 
this, up to a second defensive position nearer Eheims 
and lying npon the f lu-thcr side of the Suippe and on 
the edge of the plain on the fiu-thcr side of Avhich 
Eheims stands. They did more. They took the 
heights of Brimont, an isolated hiU to the north of 
8* 
