He caught a single glimpse of the colonel's broad shoulders and then the long column of horsemen rode by.

There was no military pomp about them now.

Their gray uniforms were worn and stained and many of the men sagged in their saddles with weariness.

Not a few showed wounds barely healed.
The cavalry were followed by infantry, and batteries of guns so heavy that often the wheels sank in the paved road.

Sometimes the troops sang, pouring forth the mighty rolling choruses of the German national songs and hymns.