All down the Meuse the French destroyed the bridges; this informant said thirty-three bridges had been blown up, and he was given a vivid picture of one of the scenes which followed the destruction of the means of crossing the river. This was at Charleville, an important position on the Meuse, quite close to the fortified town of Mézières, and within a field gun’s call from Sedan. Here the French tactics of Sedan were reversed. The _trou_ of Sedan is engraven on the memory of every French soldier, and the danger of being caught in a hollow is ever present to officers. The Germans, bound up by military history, and confident that what happened in 1870 would occur again, fell into a trap which cost them dear. Last Tuesday (August 25), he said, the French decided to evacuate Charleville, and sent round to the inhabitants to clear out. Trains took away many civilians, but a number had to travel on foot, and the roads in the early morning were covered with a long line of stragglers toiling under the burden of the few household treasures they had saved from the threatened destruction. As the civil population left, a small party of French riflemen marched into the town to play a part worthy of the traditions of their army. I did not realise until the action developed that their duty involved enormous risk and that it was almost in the nature of a forlorn hope. They were sent to occupy a few houses which controlled the roads through the town, and though these houses were marked out to the French artillery when the guns began to bark, the lives of the members of this party were always in danger. If any survive they will have earned any decoration for bravery, for their ambush assisted in the complete destruction of a considerable German force of cavalry and infantry. Around Charleville is a semi-circular sweep of hills. On these the French artillery was posted, the guns being dug in and hidden from the eyes of German scouts. The Germans were seen coming over the three bridges leading into the town. They were not opposed for a long time, and their numbers grew rapidly. Suddenly the three bridges were blown up, and the retreat was cut off. The destruction of the bridges was the signal to the guns on the high ground to begin, while the riflemen in ambush poured a terrible fire into an enemy who had a moment before believed they were occupying a deserted town. They were also raked by an awful fire from half a dozen batteries.