to the Marne, and from the Marne to the northern and eastern shores
of the Aisne.

But here the German line held.

The fighting along the Aisne, continuing without cessation, already had
been the bloodiest in the history of wars; and here, the French on one
side of the river, and the Germans on the other, the two great armies had
proceeded to intrench, making themselves as comfortable as possible, and
constructing huts and other substantial shelters against the icy hand of
King Winter, who had come to rule over the battlefield.

The French cabinet, which had fled from Paris to Bordeaux when the German
army drew close to Paris, had returned to the former capital, and affairs
of state were being conducted as before. With several millions of
fighting men at the front, France still had an additional two million to
hurl into the thick of the fray at the psychological moment.

Recruiting in England, slow at first, was now beginning to be more
satisfactory. Lord Kitchener had in the neighborhood of a million and a
half men being trained and prepared for the rigors of war. These, also,
would be hurled into the thick of the fight when the time was ripe.

It was plainly evident, however, that the Allies were content to hold
their present lines. There was little doubt that it was their plan to let
the real fighting be held off till spring, when, by hurling an additional
three million men into the field, they believed they could settle German
militarism once and for all.

Rumors of other countries joining in the great war grew more rife daily.