Page:America Fallen!.djvu/206

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194
America Fallen

defeat. The little army was strongly entrenched; but in field artillery it was sadly deficient, having only 180 field-guns, where it should have had 350. There was a similar shortage in machine-gun batteries.

Against the Americans was deployed an army which, in spite of the engagements in crossing the mountains, still numbered 145,000 men of all arms. It was completely equipped, and of the 7.7 centimeter field-gun it possessed over 850, besides several batteries of 8.2-inch field howitzers.

It is not within the scope of this narrative to attempt any description of the Battle of Braddock. Thanks to the skill with which the American position was chosen, the admirable advantage that was taken of the terrain in laying out the trenches and emplacing the batteries, and above all the matchless courage and endurance with which the American Army clung to its