Lord Kitchener pointed out in his first speech to the House of Lords, on August 25, while the battle was still waging, that European fighting causes greater casualties than the campaigns to which we are accustomed in other parts of the world, but in spite of hard marching the British Force was in the best of spirits. The casualties to the British troops were very heavy, but the losses inflicted on the Germans, who were always on the offensive, were enormous. The battle was beyond all comparison the greatest in which our troops had been engaged; although it is not to be compared in point of duration with the tremendous conflict on the Aisne. No officer or man now with the colours had ever known the sort of warfare as that which was waged on the Belgian and French frontiers. Correspondents found it difficult to obtain from the French descriptions of the recent hard fighting, and Mr. W. T. Massey, of the _Daily Telegraph_ staff, wrote that great care was exercised that wounded should not meet and discuss the situation with civilians. Here and there one finds, he said, a non-commissioned officer or private who has been in the fighting line, but they tell you they really know little of what is going on. A Hussar he talked to said he had not been in any serious fighting, but he regarded the “charge” as the principal _rôle_ of cavalry, because he admitted that he was frequently within rifle shot of the enemy and had been under fire six times for considerable periods. The cavalry, the Hussar said, had kept the Germans in a state of great activity, for directly a cavalry brigade was on the move the enemy seemed instantly to prepare for battle. Over and over again our cavalry would change direction and halt to dig trenches which were never meant to be occupied. The Germans did the same, and tired infantry were continually kept on the move. This Hussar described the German field uniform as very difficult to pick up at long ranges, even with field glasses. The French uniform was a much easier target, and khaki did not blend very well with the green of the French landscape. He had a long talk with a civilian who had been in close touch with one French army corps during the battles in the valley of the Meuse. All through, he was told, it had been a case of fighting against odds, but often bravery and dash overbore superior numbers and caused the German advance to be stayed while a pushed-back line was being strengthened. For instance, at Marville, a French force of 5,000 men of all arms of the 2nd Army Corps not merely stemmed the strong German tide, but rolled back a force of 20,000 men from point to point continuously for twelve hours, and it was not until there was a risk of the French losing touch with their supports that they retired.