Throughout the war, the German gunners made a constant target of the cathedral tower. In June 1915, large calibre shells caused the collapse of the great mullion separating the two bays on the west front, which fell to the ground, a large breach in the upper part of the tower laying bare the framework of the belfry (_photo above_). The same collapse caused the fall of almost all the gables of the lower gallery, the left bay of which had previously been struck by several shells. [Illustration: THE TOWER IN MARCH 1919.] Until 1918, no further damage of importance was done to the façade, but in August of that year, some days after the French had retaken Soissons, three sides of the tower (north, south and east) and the interior framework of the belfry were entirely destroyed by the numerous German shells. In September 1918, all that remained of the tower were the two buttresses at the north-west and south-west corners. By a miracle they remain poised, but loosened stones keep constantly crashing to the ground (_photo above_). All the arches of the gallery above the large rose-window were also destroyed in August 1918. Interior of the Cathedral. The cathedral, over 300 feet in length, comprises: A Nave with seven bays and double side-aisles, with chapels of a later date added to the last four bays. A Transept, the south arm of which ends in a semi-circle, and the north arm in a straight wall. A Choir with four bays and a semi-circular Apse surrounded by an ambulatory, off which open eight rectangular chapels, and, at the apse, five radial polygonal chapels. [Illustration: PLAN OF THE CATHEDRAL. A.—Pillar of the Nave broken in 1915. B.—Gallery of the old Cathedral Cloister. C.—Chapel in the South Arm. D.—Vestry Passage (statue of Virgin and Child). E.—St. Ruffin’s Chapel (17th century statue of the saint). F.—St. Valère’s Chapel (17th century statue of the saint). ] The Nave before the Bombardments. Completed about 1230, the Nave—now entirely destroyed—was regarded before the war as one of the best examples of the harmonious simplicity of early 13th century Gothic architecture. The central vault was about 103 feet in height. The bays were divided by columns flanked on the side facing the grand nave by a small engaged shaft. On their fine capitals, decorated with four rows of crockets or foliage, rested the large arches of the ground floor, and the groups of five small columns which supported the springing of the pointed arches of the vault. The large arcades were surmounted by a shallow triforium and high double windows with dividing mullions. The wide, lofty aisles with windows gave additional light to the body of the church. Their vaulting was pointed and terminated at the last bays in chapels built for the most part in the 18th century.