[Illustration: ITINERARY OF THE SECOND DAY--70 MILES.] 2nd day.--CHÂTEAU-THIERRY--SOISSONS. The following itinerary will enable the tourist to follow, step by step, the course of the battle for the straightening out of the Château-Thierry salient. It will also enable him to form a correct idea of the German offensive of May 27, with its alternations of advance and retreat around Soissons, the northern pivot of the battle. _Leave by the Avenue du Maréchal Joffre, take the second street on the right_ (_Rue Gare-des-Chesneaux_), whence there is a =fine view= of the town and castle. _Do not cross the railway by the level crossing on the right of the station, but continue straight ahead, leaving on the right the street which leads to the entrance of the Castle (photo below). Pass the “Octroi,” turn to the left about 100 yards further on_, under the ruined bridge. The hospital on the left was badly damaged by shell-fire, as were also the neighbouring embankment and houses. [Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE OLD CASTLE OF CHÂTEAU-THIERRY. _The itinerary follows_ the road on the left.] _Follow the G. C. 15_, to the left of which, hollowed out in the sloping sides, are many ammunition shelters. _Pass under another_ damaged railway bridge. Near the bridge over the small river which flows in front of the village of =Verdilly= are numerous shell-holes and large heaps of ammunition and rubbish. _Pass through Verdilly, which was not severely damaged._ The Castle and park on the left received numerous shells. In Barbillon Wood, on the right, huge quantities of abandoned shells were collected. Further on, opposite the Breteuil Farm, were other ammunition dumps. In the wood which borders the road, a little further on, are gun limbers and artillery shelters. Before coming to Epieds there is an American cemetery on the left of the road. =Epieds.=--This village was retaken by the Americans during their advance in the middle of July, 1918. On July 22 a company of the 26th American Division entered the village, after fierce hand-to-hand fighting, but was unable to hold it, as the Germans counter-attacked in force on the 23rd and 24th. After two days’ fighting, the Americans finally captured the village and Trugny Wood to the south-east, with many prisoners. During this fighting, Epieds was taken and lost five times by the Americans. [Illustration: AMERICAN CEMETERY AT EPIEDS. In the background: the Village.] _In Epieds, turn to the right, and on leaving the village, take I. C. 30 on the left, which follows the left-hand side of the rive._ On the other side of the river, on the hill-side, to the right, is Moucheton Castle (photo below). A road, lined with poplar-trees, leads there. The Castle, which was used as headquarters, first by the Germans and afterwards by the Americans, dates from the 18th century. It has been carefully restored in recent times. In the wood, to the right of the road, were ammunition shelters.