_Leave Châlons by the Faubourg de Marne, taken on arrival there. At the end of the Faubourg, turn to the left into the Avenue de Paris, then to the right into_ N. 77 _in the direction of =Vatry= (18 km.). In this village, leave the "route nationale" in order to take, on the left_, G. C. 12 _going towards =Bussy-Lettrée=, reached after having crossed a level-crossing. Enter the village as far as the middle; there, turn to the right, then to the left, leaving the church on the left (20½ km.). The road next leads to =Dommartin-Lettrée= (26 km.)_ and passes before the quaint church reproduced above. Its two doorways are interesting; the western one which faces the road is reproduced on p. 215; the southern one may be remarked under the porch in the general view of the church. _Continue straight on, arrive at =Soudé=, pass through it, turning to the right in the Square, and come out into_ N. 34 _(30 km.). Turn to the left in it, then leave it almost immediately to take, on the right_, G. C. 12, _which continues as far as =Sompuis= (38 km.), after passing under the railway embankment._ We are entering the field of operations of the extreme left of Langle de Cary's Army. Several graves have been made in the embankment; one of them, visible in the photo on p. 214, marks the place where, on September 10, the same shell killed General Barbade and Colonel Hamon, who were commanding the two Brigades of the 23rd Division, as well as their aides-de-camp. The body of General Barbade is buried in the cemetery. On the right of the road, closing in the horizon, are the wooded heights on which the Germans had organised strong positions. They were taken from the Saxons on September 9-10 by the 21st Corps. _Cross straight through =Sompuis=, passing before the church, which is surrounded by a graveyard (see p. 214)._ [Illustration: DOORWAY OF DOMMARTIN CHURCH] On the evening of September 6 the Germans entered the village unopposed, a fact which did not prevent them from setting fire to several houses, or from taking a number of hostages under various pretexts. One of them, M. Arnould, was taken because he had set up on the roof of his house a chimney-pot to replace one destroyed during the bombardment. Some soldiers passing at this very moment saw in this humble domestic task an attempt to signal to the French troops. Abbé Oudin, Rector of Sompuis, aged 73 years, and his servant, aged 67 years, were also arrested, the installation of electric bells in the rectory causing suspicion. They were shut up in their cellar, where several other hostages were soon sent to join them. Here they were left without any food until the afternoon of September 8. The abbé had been taken out for a short period in the morning in order to assist at the celebration of Mass in his church, where Abbé Prince Max of Saxe officiated.