Moreover, these walls,
intersected by the ravines and valleys of numerous tributary streams,
are cut up into capes, bastions, and deep hollows. Finally, the cliff
from whose summit the plateau overlooks the valley, and whose average
height is about 150 metres, at times rises steeply from the lowland, and
again is broken up into terraces following the different strata of which
it is composed. Thus, although the topographical elements are simple
enough, they lend themselves to an ever-changing combination of forms,
which gives to the landscape its great charm, and at the same time
offers some formidable advantages of various kinds from a military
standpoint.
[Sidenote: The placid Marne.]
[Sidenote: The Marne easy to cross.]
The bright green ribbon of the Marne winds along the valley bottom. The
placid stream, about a hundred metres wide and broken here and there by
islets, wanders from one bank to the other, lined by poplars and
willows. On either side of its limpid waters are broad fields, whose
delicate greenery frames the sparkling line of the river, which forms a
by no means impassable obstacle. In the days just preceding the German
offensive of July 15, American patrols constantly crossed between
Chateau-Thierry and Mezy, and picked up prisoners and information on the
northern bank. In like manner, during that offensive the attacking
German troops were able without great losses to cross the Marne and
attack the defenders on the southern bank.
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