As a fort, or as anything resembling a fort, it had ceased to be, absolutely.

The inner works of it--the redan and the underground barracks, and the magazines, and all--were built after the style .followed by military engineers back in 1883, having revetments faced up with brick and stone; but only a little while ago--in the summer of 1913, to be exact--the job of inclosing the original works with a glacis of a newer type had been completed.

So when the Germans came along in the first week of September it was in most respects made over into a modern fort.

No doubt the re-enforcements of reserves that hurried into it to strengthen the regular garrison counted themselves lucky men to have so massive and stout a shelter from which to fight an enemy who must work in the open against them.

Poor devils, their hopes crumbled along with their walls when the Germans brought up the forty-twos.
We entered in through a breach in the first parapet and crossed, one at a time, on a tottery wooden bridge which was propped across a fosse half full of rubble, and so came to what had been the heart of the fort of Des Sarts.