Into all parts of the town, save in the particular quarter in which the gallant French riflemen were doing their country’s work, there was a tornado of bursting shells, houses falling into the streets, and clouds of dust rising from the shrapnel bullets as they rained in a pitiless mass upon broken plaster and bricks. In a few minutes—ten minutes, I should say—the town was destroyed, and the whole German force must have been annihilated. I can imagine how completely the Germans were taken by surprise. Directly they got across the bridges they must have thought they had, indeed, got a prize. Charleville had been made the depôt for captured German cannon, and in the gun park there were, I am told, ninety-five field guns taken at God knows what sacrifice by the Allies. I saw the guns, but though I cannot vouch for the number, I can say there were very many. Twelve had been added just before the town was evacuated. Of course, the breech blocks and mechanism had been so burred and damaged that the guns, as they stood, were useless, but the recovery of even useless weapons would give encouragement to an enemy, and, no doubt, many German soldiers were contemplating their restoration to their army when the bursting shells cried out, “Not yet.” That scene, so triumphant for French arms, was awful, and I went away before the remnant of the riflemen was collected from the ruined town—that is, if there were any survivors; I devoutly pray there were many—and Charleville and the gun park were left for other German eyes to look upon as an example of what war is. I asked my informant, who expressed a wish that I would say nothing to give a clue to identification, whether he had seen any German prisoners. He replied, “Yes, a large number. They complain that the transport line is mainly occupied with war material, and that the food supply is neglected. All the enemy’s soldiers, they say, are hungry, and some of the men in the firing-lines have been without food for two days. On the other hand, the French soldiers—I have not been with British troops, but have seen their commissariat columns proceeding regularly and quickly backwards and forwards—have always plenty.”