Likewise, the eminence, gentle and gradual as it was, commanded a mile-long stretch of the road, which formed the main line of communication between the front and the base; and these two facts in part explained why the general had made this his abiding place.
Even my layman's mind could sense the reasons for establishing headquarters at such a spot.
As for the general, he and his staff, at the moment of our arrival in their midst, were stationed at the edge of a scanty woodland where telescopes stood and a table with maps and charts on it.

Quite with the manner of men who had nothing to do except to enjoy the sunshine and breathe the fresh air, they strolled back and forth in pairs and trios.
I think it must have been through force of habit that, when they halted to turn about and retrace the route, they stopped always for a moment or two and faced southward.

It was from the southward that there came rolling up to us the sounds of a bellowing chorus of gunfire--a Wagnerian chorus, truly.

That perhaps was as it should be.

Wagner's countrymen were helping to make it.