Once on the southern bank of the Marne, the German masses, augmented by numbers of machine gunners, proceeded to force the Americans farther back toward Condé. They had succeeded in landing a force estimated at 15,000 men in the river sector abandoned by the Americans. This force promptly started to fight its way south, having a point about nine miles distant as its objective. The Americans and French held up this advance to such an extent that two hours after the time set by the enemy for reaching his objective, he was still far away from it. The Germans specially suffered heavy losses in the woods forming the triangle from Fossoy to Mézy and Crezancy. There the Americans were overwhelmed by such large numbers that the line could not hold; but nevertheless they refused to retreat where they could possibly hold a place in the woods. This sent the German advance sweeping over large numbers of nests which sheltered ten, five, or two Americans, and sometimes one, who held on while the Germans passed by and then opened fire on them. It was manifest that the advance could not be allowed to continue. The enemy by noon had driven forward over two miles on a front of about three and a half miles south of the Marne through the American positions; but he got no farther. Even while fighting in the open continued, the Americans organized a counterattack in the region of Condé, below Fossoy, about the time the German advance had apparently eliminated the salient. There, because of their heavy losses, they seemed content to stand, and there they remained for four hours. Meantime American reenforcements came up. Light artillery was hurried into position. It concentrated a heavy fire at short range, and when this fire ceased, the augmented American infantry dashed from cover. Machine gunners moved forward, and, lying on the ground, poured a stream of bullets into the enemy. The fierceness of the fire brought the Germans up short. They would not face the steel, and, retiring, hesitatingly at first, finally broke and fell back.