The people of Lagny took the destruction of their beautiful bridge in good part. They were too grateful for their deliverance from the Germans to grumble about the wrecked bridge.
GERMAN LOSSES AT THE MARNE
There is no doubt that the German losses in the engagements at the Marne far exceeded those of the Allies and were most severe, in both men and material. The Germans made incredible efforts to cross the Marne. The French having destroyed all the bridges, the Germans tried to construct three bridges of boats. Sixteen times the bridges were on the point of completion, but each time they were reduced to matchwood by the French artillery.
"There is not the slightest doubt," said a reliable correspondent, "that but for the superb handling of the German right by General von Kluck, a large part of Emperor William's forces would have been captured at the Marne. The allied cavalry did wonders, and three or four additional divisions of cavalry could have contributed towards a complete rout of the Germans."
The general direction of the German retirement was northeast, and it was continued for seventy miles, to a line drawn between Soissons, Rheims and Verdun.
A week after the battle the field around Meaux had been cleared of dead and wounded, and only little mounds with tiny crosses, flowers and tricolored flags recalled the terrible struggle.
The inhabitants of neighboring villages soon returned to their homes and resumed their ordinary occupations.
FALL OF MAUBEUGE
While the fighting at the Marne was in progress, German troops achieved some successes in other parts of the theater of war. Thus, the fortified French town of Maubeuge, on the Sambre river midway between Namur in Belgium and St. Quentin, France, fell to the Germans on September 7. The investment began on August 25. More than a thousand shells fell in one night near the railway station and the Rue de France was partially destroyed. The loss of life, however, was comparatively slight.
At 11:50 o'clock on the morning of September 7 a white flag was hoisted on the church tower and trumpets sounded "cease firing," but the firing only ceased at 3:08 o'clock that afternoon. In the meantime the greater part of the garrison succeeded in evacuating the town. The German forces marched in at 7:08 o'clock that evening.