Norwich bulletin., 1914-09-30
THE WAR PRIMER By National Geographic Society

Suwalki-A town of Russian Poland.
 the capital of the government of the
 same name, 65 miles by rail north
 west of Grodno and IS miles from the
 East Prussian border. Its population
 is approximately 30,000. It has a trade
 in timber. grain, woolen cloth and
 other manufactured goods. Bee-keep-
 ing is one of the industries of the
 district.
 Argonne-A rockq. forest t-c1ad pla-
 taeu, extending along the borders of
 Lorraine, Germany, and Champagne,
 France. It has length of about 63
 miles. an average breadth of 19 miles,
 and an average height of 1,150 feet.
 There are few good roads in this dis
 trict, and it is hard territory through
 which to carry on military operations of large proportions. It lies between
 the valley of the Aisne on the west
 and the valley of the Mouse on the
 east. and is one of the natural bull
 warks between Germany and France.
 both the east and the west slopes of
 the plateau, the chief of them being
 that of Argonne, extending for 25 miles
 between the Aire and the Aisne
 Amiens-L aon- Reims-The country between Amiens and Reims, within earshot of the greater portion of the fighting armies in France today, is populous and contains many of the most prosperous of the mediums sized towns in France. Ten miles east of Amiens is Villers- -Bretonneau, an in- dustrial town with about 5000 inhab- itants. which was the scene of one of the main engagements in the battle of Amiens. in which the French northern army was routed by the Germans in 1870. The route now takes one through the fertile district Of Santerre. Ham, with a. population of approximately $500, stands in marsh district 3S miles from Amiens. Its castle, now used as barrack. has frequently been used as state prison, and has held
 many of the most noted people of France. The list of those incarcerated there includes Joan of Arc, Louis of Bourbon, and Louis Napoleon The latter. after having been a prisoner for six years escaped in the disguise of a workman. La Fere, 16 miles in 1870. has one of the oldest schools of artillery in the world. It was founded in 1719. Laon, 15 miles be- yond La Fere, situated on an isolated ridge some 330 feet above the sur- | rounding plain, forms with La Fere and Reims a triangle of important Actresses. Napoleon tried in vain to d1slodge Butcher from the town in 1914. Between Laon and Reims the
 Asne and the Suippe are crossed.
 Paris -Soissons- Reims- CharIeville = | The route from Paris to Charleville, by way of Soissons and Reims, takes one through territory rich in his- | torical and present-day interest. Six I miles out from Paris is found Le
 Bourget. where the Germans repulsed the French in the sanguinary strug- gles of 1870. Twenty miles further on. in the park of the chateau of Erme- ! nonville. is the original tomb of Jean l Jacques Rousseau, whose remains were 1 removed to the pantheon at Paris in 1794. Creepy -en-Valois, the ancient Capital of a district which belonged i fro mthe 14th century to a younger l branch of the royal family of France, | and with a present day population of l about 1000. lies Is miles to the north. Villers-C -Cotterets, with about 5000 in- habitants, S'12 miles away, was the birthplace of Alexandre Dumas the Elder. A little further on is Long
 pont, which has a ruined abby dat
 ing from the 18th century. Sixty five
 miles from Paris, Soissons. an ancient | town formerly fortified, with a popu-
 lation of about 15,000, is reached. Here l is the Abbaye Notre-Dame, now used l as barrack, founded originally in S60. In s5S it contained no fewer than 216 nuns, who possessed a. val
 uanie collection of sacred relics. in l cluding a shoe and a girdle of the Ma donna The route from Soissons to
 Reims takes one up the valley of the Aisne and its tributary, the Veles. | Reims is one of the most interesting cities of France. Christianity was
 preached here in the fourth century.
 About 20 miles out of Reims. half way
 to Charleville, is Bethel, an industrial | town, with about 7,500 inhabitants, sit
 uated on a hill to the right of the
 Aisne. Three miles further on is
 Amagne, a railway Junction with a
 large sugar factory as it's principal | industry. A few miles on, the road enters the wooded and mountainous
 district of the Ardennes, and the seen
 cry increases in beauty. To the right
 is Boulzioourt, with its large powder factory, and at Mohon. another vil- lage, are large workshops. Two miles
 further on is CharleviIle, an uninter-
 esting town, with about 10000 inhab-
 itants and nail-making, pe-founding and hardware goods factories