_The first French soldiers to enter Soissons on August 2, 1918, «pillaged» a German kitchen-garden, in which a notice signed by the Kommandantur prohibited the entry of troops other than the 3rd. Co. of the 43rd regt of Field Artillery._] The offensive was stayed for a moment in front of the strong hill positions on the north bank of the Aisne, where the Germans had entrenched themselves. An intense bombardment then completed the city’s ruin. The French advance began again at the end of August. On the 30th and 31st, Cuffies and Crouy were retaken while on the following days the battle continued furiously on the heights north and east of Soissons. General Mangin’s Army succeeded in advancing as far as the plains of Vauxaillon, Laffaux and Vregny, whence it soon dislodged the enemy. [Illustration: THE ENEMY’S LAST EFFORTS AT RESISTANCE. _German barricade at the exit of the Pont des Anglais in the faubourg Saint-Waast, August 1918_.] THE BOMBARDMENTS OF SOISSONS As soon as they were driven out of Soissons in September 1914, the enemy proceeded to bombard the city. During the latter part of September, the cannonade was incessant, the fire being directed successively on all the different quarters and public buildings, including the hospital filled with wounded. [Illustration: MASS IN THE CATHEDRAL 1917.] After a short lull, the bombardment continued with great violence throughout January 1915. On January 8, the Palais-de-Justice was set on fire, and on the 9th, the Cathedral was struck by 42 shells. On January 14, the shelling lasted all day, and until the end of February, the firing continued with the same intensity and almost without pause. The Cathedral was systematically aimed at, as is proved by the note book belonging to the Kommandant of the “Ringkanonenbatterie” posted north-east of Soissons on Hill 132, which fell into the Allies’ hands. [Illustration: IN THE CENTRE OF THE TOWN.] On January 31, he wrote: “The battery fired nineteen rounds of percussion and fuze shells at the Cathedral. The tower and nave were hit several times, and the beginning of a fire was noticed in the nave. So far, we have not been able to do much damage to the tower ...” On February 2, a battery fired twenty-nine rounds of shrapnel at the Cathedral, and in particular at the tower, sixteen of which hit the mark. On February 25, twenty-one shells were fired at the same target. As for the town itself, another 200 rounds were fired into it on February 28. The bombardment slackened later, but began again at intervals, without any apparent reason and with varying intensity. It was continued until the middle of March 1917, when the German withdrawal from the Somme to the Aisne freed Soissons, which could now only be reached by the long-range guns. However aeroplanes frequently dropped incendiary bombs on the city. [Illustration: TRENCH IN THE BOULEVARD JEANNE-D’ARC.] LIFE IN SOISSONS FROM 1914 TO 1917 A thirty-months’ Siege.