Every year, commemorative ceremonies take place at Meaux and on the neighbouring battlefields, particularly at the monument of the Quatre-Routes. The view opposite was taken in September 1916. The bishop of Arras Mgr. Lobbedey, who some hours earlier preached a touching sermon from Bossuet's pulpit in the Cathedral of Meaux, is here seen placing the tricolour flag at the foot of the monument. _At the crossing of the Quatre-Routes, the tourist coming from Penchard continues straight on to Chambry_, which is seen a little further on in a hollow (_see photograph below_). =Chambry= (22 km.) is one of the points of the French right where the fighting was fiercest. It was taken and retaken during the days of September 6, 7 and 8. Alternately bombarded by the French 75's (which at Penchard and Monthyon had taken the place of the German 77's, driven from their first line), and by the light and heavy artillery that the Germans had established on the heights of Vareddes and Gué-à-Tresmes, Chambry, as shown by the great number of new roofs, suffered heavily. The Germans were thrown back from the western ridge of the hollow into the village, which they were forced to abandon after violent hand-to-hand fighting in the streets. They then entrenched themselves on the east flank and particularly in the cemetery, which is seen in the view below. [Illustration: Cemetery CHAMBRY] [Illustration: TOMB AT CHAMBRY] Driven from the cemetery they fell back on their chief position, visible on the panorama B (pp. 90-91), whence they made obstinate counter-attacks. The soldiers of the 45th and 55th divisions fought for the ground foot by foot, and finally remained masters of it at the cost of heavy losses. Zouaves, Algerian sharp-shooters, and foot-soldiers of the line vied with each other in heroism during these terrible days. _Having entered Chambry we cross the square, leaving the main street on the left, and go straight on._ We thus turn round the village by the east--that is to say, on the front that had to withstand all the German onslaught. The gardens which border the road contain several graves of soldiers who were killed in battle and buried where they fell. The upper photograph shows one of these graves. Some Algerian sharp-shooters fell there, as is indicated by the crescent drawn on the tombstone placed at the head of the grave. The tricolour cockade pinned below is that of "l'Œuvre du Souvenir." On the slope of the road, to the right, the French troops had established a trench and some precarious shelters (_see photograph below_). [Illustration: SHELTERS DURING THE BATTLE] This chance installation at the beginning of the war contrasts oddly with the scientific work that the struggle on fixed positions has now made common. It seems as though it could not have afforded anything more than moral protection against the German artillery, which for three days riddled the position with shells of 77, 105, and even 150 calibre.