COAST ARTILLERY, JOURNAL - Air Defense Artillery

538 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOUfu"lAL
German armies (the IV, VI, XVII, II, XVIII, and VII) echeloned
between the Dutch frontier and the Meuse. From that time on, the continuation
of the battle became extremely difficult for our adversaries,
who only possessed two rocade lines-the fourth and the fifth.
The fourth rocade line, passing through Brussels, Namur, Thionville,
and Sarreguemines, although being about four hundred kilo-
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FIe. 2. ROCADE LI:'\ES LOST :ay THE GER:\fA~ ~-\.R",IIES FROY JLLY 15 TO 'XOTI::!.!BER II., A.....""iD- THE
RUCADE. LIXES S-rILL HELD EY THE~{ AT 'IlIE D.'''ffi OF "'iHE ARllIS'IlCE
meters in length, was still relatively short, while the fifth rocade line
followed a course of more than seven hundred kilometers. The movements
of troops by rail could, therefore, be exeeuted only with extreme
slov.'1lcss. "Cnder these conditions, even supposing that the Germans
might still ha...-ebeen able to dispose of important reserves, the lack
of sufficient means of communication rendered them henceforth utilizable
only with difficulty.