In the south they came into collision with our troops and the French troops, and were repulsed. In the north, on the other hand, they found an open road, and small portions of them managed to make dashes far afield. In a word, the Germans have taken the measure of our position, but that they should have lost a fortnight in attaining this result is all to the honour of our arms. That may have incalculable consequences for the issues of the operations. The normal development of the latter, according to the plan concerted between the allies, may lead to the carrying out of "manoeuvres," that is to say, to changes of position in order to effect a change in the general situation. We are on the outside wing, where these manoeuvres are nearly always necessitated, either for the direct or indirect protection of the flank. Our army, therefore, must necessarily modify its original positions, and thus carry out completely the first task devolving upon it, which consists in gaining time. There is, consequently, no ground for anxiety if the army makes a movement in such and such a direction, and armchair strategists need not occupy themselves with the arrangements made, but should realise that our army now belongs to a co-ordinated whole, and remember that the strategic conditions have entirely changed since close contact has been established with our allies on our right. The object of the operations as at present going on is not to cover such and such a district or such and such a town, which has now become a matter of only secondary importance. The pursuit of the aim assigned to the Belgian troops in the general plan of campaign preponderates over everything. This object cannot be revealed, and the most well-informed persons are unable to discover it in view of the veil of obscurity which is rightly being spread over all the news allowed to come through regarding the operations. Fighting is going on along the whole front from Bale to Diest. The closer the contact comes between the two armies and the closer one gets to a decisive action, the more one must expect to see an advantage gained at one point while ground is lost at another. That is only to be expected in the case of battles taking place over such immense fronts as those occupied by the great armies of modern times.