[20] The military history of Lille, is curious. See _Lille_, by General Percin (Paris: Grasset). M. Engerand, in his chapter on “The Abandonment of Lille,” says that a third of the cannon had been removed earlier in the year, but that on August 21, when General Herment took command, there remained 446 pieces with enough ammunition and 25,000 men, not counting the neighbouring Territorial divisions of General d’Amade. Though Lille had been virtually declassed on the eve of the war, General Percin, the Governor (afterwards cruelly traduced on the subject) and General Herment were anxious, and had begun preparations, to defend it. The municipal and other local authorities protested to the Government against any such effort being made; and at the last moment, on the afternoon of August 24, when the retreat from the Sambre had begun, the Minister of War ordered the abandonment of the town and the evacuation of the region. German patrols entered the city two days later, but it was only occupied at the beginning of October. It has been argued that, with Lille and Maubeuge held on their flanks, and the Scarpe, Scheldt, and Rhonelle valleys flooded, the Allied forces might have delayed the enemy long enough to permit of a definite stand on the line Amiens——La Fère-–Laon-–Rheims. General Berthaut rejects any such idea, and says that inundations would have required forty days. [21] French’s _1914_. [22] See _La Grande Guerre sur le Front Occidental_, especially vol. iv., by General Palat (Paris: Chapelot, 1918–19). M. HANOTAUX AND THE B.E.F. [23] For details, see Hanotaux, _Histoire General_ and _L’Enigme de Charleroi_ (Paris, 1917); Maurice, Thomasson, Engerand, _loc. cit._; Sir John French’s _Dispatches_ and _1914_; Lord Ernest Hamilton, _The First Seven Divisions_; _La Campagne de l’Armée Belge_, from official documents (Paris: Bloud et Gay, 1915); _L’Action de l’Armée Belge_, also official; Van der Essen, _L’Invasion Allemande_. For some information in this chapter and the subsequent note with regard to the British Army, I am indebted to the military authorities.