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violently attacked all along the line by the superior forces of the XIV. and XV. German Corps. It held its ground till night- fall, and counter-attacking drove back the enemy on Rixheim and the He Napoleon, but was eventually forced to break off the action under cover of darkness to avoid envelopment. The artillery got away in good order, and despite the difficulty of disengaging the infantry in the darkness and in the enclosed country the withdrawal westwards was successfully effected without interference from the enemy. On the icth order was established in the units of the VII. Corps, which on the morrow took up a position on the frontier behind the St. Nicholas.

If the French general staff had acted very imprudently by taking such an early offensive in the Sundgau that it could not keep it up, the German general staff showed singular indecision in not profiting by their superior numbers to follow up and over- whelm the French corps, as early as Aug. 10, and to attack Belfort during the confusion following its defeat. It held strictly to its plan of operations, and, having prepared a massed attack on Luxemburg and Belgium, provided for a strict defen- sive between Switzerland and the Donon. The XIV. and XV. Corps rejoined the army of von Heeringen on the loth, and the defense of Upper Alsace was given over to Gen. von Gaede, who received for that purpose the command of four brigades of Landwehr. The organization of this detachment took time, and when the Landwehr at length undertook a tardy pursuit they had lost touch with the VII. Corps. Instead of marching towards the W. they advanced to the S., in the hope, doubtless, of being able to force the defile which formed the easiest approach to Belfort. But they had been forestalled in this direction by the garrison of Belfort (57th Div., Gen. Bernard), which on Aug. 13 checked their advance before Montreux-Vieux. Having lost during the day 1,800 to 2, coo men, the Germans suspended their counter-offensive, and fell back rapidly towards the E., abandoning arms, equipment, and munitions.

The Operations of the Army of Alsace. As early as Aug. 10, however, Gen. Joffre, wishing to react against the effects of the repulse of Mulhouse, had decided to form an Alsatian army in the vicinity of Belfort under the command of Gen. Pau, which was to renew the advance in greater strength. It had also the mission of covering the right flank of the I. Army, which under the orders of Gen. Dubail, was to operate in the direction of the Donon, and the Bruche valley.

The Army of Alsace comprised the 8th Cavalry Div., five detachments of Chasseurs Alpins, the VII. Army Corps, the 44th Infantry Div. consisting of the troops from Africa, the 58th, &3rd and 66th Reserve Divs. from the centre and the S. of France, and the 57th Reserve Div. with two heavy batteries detached from the Belfort garrison.

Before all these formations had arrived the army took the offensive on the left; and the five battalions of Chasseurs cross- ing the passes of Bussang and Schlucht, which the Germans had abandoned at the beginning of August, descended towards Thann, Cernay and Colmar. The main body of the army advanced on the i6th, the advance being methodically executed with the idea first of cutting off the enemy's retreat to the N., then driving him back beyond Mulhouse, and either hemming him in against the Swiss frontier or forcing him back to the other side of the Rhine.

Disconcerted by a counter-offensive which they had not ex- pected so soon, and by the superior numbers of their adversaries, the Germans under von Gaede fell back rapidly everywhere, offering little resistance. In three days all the territory to the S. of the Vosges was cleared, and at 10 A.M. on the loth the main body of the Army of Alsace attacked the enemy forces concen- trated before Mulhouse, their right at Lutterbach and Pfastatt, their centre at Dornach, their left towards Brunstatt. Fight- ing continued during the afternoon, being particularly severe around Dornach. The eventual capture of this village by the French decided the day, and the defeated Germans fell back towards the Harth and the Rhine, leaving behind them 24 guns and i ,000 prisoners. At 4 P.M., for the second time in a fortnight, the victorious French entered Mulhouse. They were again warmly

greeted by their brethren of Alsace, who were inspired by this rapid return to hope that this time they were definitely freed from the yoke of the oppressor. In the joy of triumph they refrained from further advance, and the conquered Germans were able to fall back unmolested when a vigorous pursuit might have turned their defeat into an irreparable rout.

A second battle, without any definite connexion with that of Dornach, took place on the same day, Aug. 19, some distance to the S. of Mulhouse. The 44th Div., which covered the right flank of the Army of Alsace, was attacked, between Leum- schwiller and Tagsdorff, by a German division which had been brought over from the other side of the Rhine. This division was beaten off and obliged to beat a hasty retreat; but the French division, which had paid dearly for its victory, had to be withdrawn in order to refit. On the 2ist it was relieved by the S7th Div. which occupied Altkirch with advance posts on the right bank. The i4th Bde. of Dragoons, supported by two battalions at Hirsengen and Hirtzbach, extended the line to the right and completed the screen covering the Army of Alsace.

Fortune for the moment seemed to smile upon the French, but suddenly the situation underwent a change, and their hopes were dashed to the ground by the disasters of Sarrebourg, Morhauge and Charleroi. The withdrawal of the XI. Army had an immediate repercussion on the situation of the I. Army, which had to conform to the retreat of its left-hand neighbour. The Army of Alsace was in its turn affected by the general with- drawal, and by orders from G.H.Q. was broken up in order that its various elements might be allotted to other formations.

The 44th Div. was the first to leave on Aug. 22 to rejoin the I. Army. On Aug. 24 the 57th Div. was again placed at the disposal of the governor of Belfort, and had to abandon its position at Altkirch and fall back first to Dannemarie, and thence to the line Montreux-Vieux-Foursemagne-Fontaine. On the 25th Mulhouse was evacuated, and the VII. Corps together with the 63rd Div. was entrained in order to form the nucleus of the VI. Army, of which Gen. Maunoury was to take command. On the 26th, the 66th Div. was sent to Montbeliard with the i4th Bde. of Dragoons. The s8th Div. fell back to the Upper Thur valley, one of its brigades being left to occupy the mouth of the defile at Thann.

The Chasseurs battalions and the 8th Dragoon Bde. marched by Miinster road to the crest of the Vosges. The bridges of 111- furth and of Aspach were destroyed, the canal sluices between the Rhone and the Rhine were blown up, and the two large viaducts on either side of Dannemarie station were cut. The disbandment of the Army of Alsace thus left the Sundgau once more clear of French troops, and abandoned to the mercy of the Germans. At the same time Belfort was left exposed and open to hostile attack.

Renewed Offensive of the Belfort Garrison. The role assigned to Belfort in the French defensive scheme was to support the right wing of the armies resting on the Swiss frontier, and to command the gap by which the enemy might endeavour to penetrate between the Vosges and the Jura, in order to gain a decisive advantage by taking the French armies in reverse. It was a vitally important role, since if the Germans once secured the gap they might penetrate into the heart of France by Besancon and Dijon.

A vast amount of work had been done in the last 40 years in constructing, on the basis of the small fortress of 1870, the great stronghold of 1014. Much, however, remained to be completed. The work necessitated by the invention of armour-piercing shells dragged on endlessly, hindered by the want of funds and by manufacturing delays in the workshops, to which must be added the alterations caused by the progress of armament lead- ing to a constant modification of the plans. The result was thus a miscellaneous array of old works and new forts with others still in the course of construction.

The forts Roppe, Bessancourt, Veselois, Fourgerais, and Bois D'Oye were splendid modern or modernized works. On the other hand, the construction of the forts of Giromagny and Salbert had not even been begun; and La Chaux and Mont-