Even with such a danger as a siege imminent, it was recognised that the enemy’s task was very great. His object was obviously to push on to Paris as rapidly as possible in order to disturb the preparations for the defence of the city. M. Millerand, however, from the first day of taking office, ordered Paris to be got ready for immediate defence; while General Gallieni, an excellent commander and administrator, lost no time, and the work of preparing the defences proceeded without intermission, day and night. As the Paris correspondent of the _Daily Telegraph_ said:— Only an army of two million men could invest the entrenched camp of Paris with its outlying forts. The very worst eventuality to be considered is a successful raid of the vanguard of what may be left of the German advancing column into Paris. The German advance has undoubtedly been very strong, and has not been withstood with success anywhere up till now. The rush may at this moment have been stopped. Should it not be, and should the desperate onrush of a certain number of German army corps break through the French army, the enemy would come up against the forts surrounding Paris. Should the German advance column reach these forts, it will arrive there already to some extent spent, and certainly with its line of communication cut off. If there is a battle outside the forts of Paris it will be a desperate encounter, and it is not likely that the German force engaged will live to tell the tale. [Illustration: THE FORTS AROUND PARIS] In describing the fortifications of Paris, he says:— The defensive works forming the almost impregnable perimeter of forts and earthworks around Paris would be nearly impossible to invest by an invading army with a field army in opposition, or would require an enormous army for the purpose. There are three lines of defences round Paris—the first is the belt of old fortification encircling the city, and built under the premiership of M. Thiers in the reign of Louis Philippe, and these old walls and earthworks were of little use in 1870. Since 1878 a second ring of fortified positions was built, though it does not form a continuous circumference of defensive positions, but several separate fortresses. The threatened approach to Paris lies to the north, therefore these may be described first. A number of very strong positions lie between the Oise and the Seine—the middle of these powerful lines resting mostly on hilly eminences in the Forest of Montmorency. The backbone, so to speak, of these defensive works is composed of a number of forts.