This was therefore
west and a little south of Rheims. But, and herein lies the question
that has so often arisen in the discussion of the comparative strength
of the two armies--especially without the British batteries--the
French lacked heavy long-range artillery. They had no such howitzers
as those of the German forces. Thus the Germans could shell Rheims
to their hearts' content, and the Allies could not silence that
gunfire from their own fortified positions. Once more, then, it
became a battle between infantry and artillery, between men and
machines.
This time, however, the advance was not favorable to the Germans.
Their heavy artillery commanded Rheims, but it did not command the
French line to the west of Rheims. The invaders performed prodigies
of valor. Again and again they hurled themselves against the French
line. But General Foch's troops were well supplied with that terrible
engine of destruction--the French 3-inch fieldpiece, known, as the
75-mm., an extremely powerful gun for its caliber.
In four successive night attacks on September 19-20, 1914, the
heaviest onset was made. Supported by a terrific gunfire, directed
with the long pointing fingers of searchlights, the German infantry,
invigorated by a week's rest; rolled up in gray-clad tidal waves
against the French line. General Foch had known how to post his
defense, and within twenty-four hours he had made the line between
Pouillon and the Mountain of Rheims almost as strong as the German
line between Brimont and Nogent l'Abbesse.
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