Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: LAON. (plate vi.) Laon, a town of 10,500 inhabitants, is situated on an isolated hill about 80 metres (262 feet) high, which commands the Ardon, an affluent of the Ailette. It is at the junction of four railways, of which two come from the north-east and the south-east, from Belgium and from Rheims ; while the other two lead on to the westward, to Tergnier (for Namur, Amiens, and Paris), and to Soissons (for Paris). Besides this, the roads from Montcornet, Vervins, Crecy sur Serre, Crepy, Chauny, Coucy, Vailly, Fismes, and Rethel all meet in Laon, so that it is one of the most important points for an army operating against Paris. Laon might have been a rendezvous for the gardes nationales and gardes mobiles, and from it they could have continually disturbed our communications with the rear. It is situated at a distance of 140 kilometres (87 English miles) from Paris by the Soissons road, and 158 kilometres (98 English miles) by Tergnier. The isolated hill on which Laon is situated is shaped like a half-moon, with the horns to the east. The citadel, which was strengthened under Louis Philippe, is on the eastern point of the hill, and commands in part the railway station (the only one) on the north of the town, near the suburb of St. Marcel, and to a less extent the suburbs of La Neuville and Semilly, lying to the westward and southward; but more especially the ground lying opposite to the east front, with the suburbs of Vaux and d'Ardon. A section of the 15th (ulan) regiment had summoned the commandant of the garrison of Laon to surrender on the 8th September, and he had asked for time for consideration till 4 o'clock in the afternoon. When the news of this reached the 6th cavalry diTision, Colonel von Alvensleben was sent to Laon with the 15th cavalry brigade and a ...