Norwich bulletin., 1914-09-12
THE WAR PRIMER
By National Geographic Society

31 miles southwest of Mez1ereS by rail and 23 miles northwest of Reims, on the right bank of the Aisne and the Ardennes Canal. Wool spinning, the weaving of light woolen fabrics, and the manufacture of farm implements are the principal industries The town is of Roman origin. Its popu- iation is approximately 5000.
 La Fere-A fortified French town, with about 5000 inhabitants. on the Disc River, 13 miles west Of south of St. Quentin, an equal distance from
 Laon, and 65 miles northeast of Paris. It was bombarded and taken by the
 Germans in 1870. A school of artil- lery founded in 1719 is located here. An art collection of five hundred paintings, few of which are of great value and several of which were injured by the bombardment. is | owned by the town.
 Thorn-A fortress town of West Prussia, on the Yistula. 12 miles from the Russian frontier. Its position commanding the passage of the Wis., tula makes it a point of strategic inn portance; it was strongly fortified in 1S18. and in 1878 was converted into a fortress of the first class. The de- fensive works consist of a circle of 13 outlying forts. about two and a half l miles from the center of town. It's population is close to 50,000. Thorn carries on an active trade in grain,
 
 It is famous for it's Pfefferkuchen, kind of gingerbread. Calais-An important port on the north coast of France, and only 22 miles across the Strait from Dover, Eng land. Dover. in turn. is only 65 miles
 northwest of Lillie. The population
 of the city is about 65.0Oo. former | ly Calais was a celebrated fortress.
 It is now defended by four forts, none l of which is of modern construction. It
 also has a citadel, built $50 years ago, | and few modern batteries. The old town stands on an island. hemmed | in by the canal and the harbor basin, | which divide it from the extensive
 manufacturing quarters of St. Pierre. | The city is the principal port for the | trans-continental passenger traffic with England, carried on by the | Southeastern and Chatham and the l Northern of France railways. The average number of passengers carried
 annually was upwards of 300,000 be-
 fore the present war.
 Graudenx-A town in West Prussia | on the right bank of the, Vistula, S7
 miles north by northeast of Thorn and | 30 miles from Russian Poland. It is | an important place in the system of German Notifications, and has a gar r1son of considerable size Its fortress which since 1873 has been used as a
 barracks and military depot, and as l a prison, is situated on a steep em- | thence about one and a half miles north of the town, and outside it's limits. It was completed by Frederick | the Great in 1776 and was rendered famous through it's defence by Cour- biere against the French in 1907. Graudenz is a place of considerab ble
 manufacturing activities. From 1865 11I2 it came into the possession of
 Prussia It has a population of about 10000.
 Dandig-A strong maritime fortress
 and seaport. the capital of West Prussia. on the western bank of the V1stula, 20S miles northeast of Berlin by rail Its population is close to 115,000. The strong Notifications
 which, with rarnparts, bastions and
 watered ditches, formerly entirely
 surrounded the city were removed on the north and west sides in 1Ss5-IS96
 fences remain. with 20 bastions In | the hands of the military authorities,
 the machinery for flooding the sur l rounding country on the eastern side | have been modernized. The western
 side is defended by a cordon of forts | crowning the hills. There are large | establishments for the manufacture of arms and artillery. Vessels of the
 largest size are built in the Danzig
 ship yards. The city suffered se- I
 T7th and 18th centuries. In 1907 it was captured by the Erenrs, a-1 | Napoleon declared 1t. free town. It was given back to Prussia in 1o14. l Bronberg-A city in northeastern Germany, in the province of Posen, seven miles west of the Vistula river and the west Prussian boundary It is located on the Bromberg Canal which connects the Brahe and the Netze rivers and thus establishes com municatfon between the Vistula, the Oder and the Elbe. The population of Brombero is about 6o,0o0. Its in dustries are principally iron-works, machine shops, paper factories and flour mills. Bromberg holds an inn portant strategic position, being one of the defenses along the Vistula river from the frontier town Of Thorn to the Gulf of Danzig. It was Polish prior to 1927. when it was taken by the Germans. It was retaken by the Poles in 134S. and during the centuries that followed it suffered so much from war and pestilence that in 1772. when the Germans again took possession of 1t, it's population had fallen to less than 500 inhabitants. Later 1t was transferred to the duchy of Warsaw, where it remained until occupied by the Russians in 1878. Two years later 1t was restored to Prussia.