78 The Great War at least. Operations to the north toward Tongres also confirmed the Belgian assertion that the Ger- man Army of the Meuse had been compelled to turn north to face Belgian troops coming from Brus- sels and Antwerp. Had the Germans taken Liege, they could rely upon its forts to defend their flank and resume their march south. The Army of the Meuse, then, was delayed. What, then, had happened to the Army of the Moselle? Its position in Luxemburg was reported at regular intervals. It seems on August 9 to have stretched out toward France, taking the little town of Longuyon on the road to Verdun and well across the French frontier. But the delay of the Army of the Meuse increased the difficulty of its task very gravely. Not only had it now to cross the Meuse in the face of a French army, but its flank toward the lower Meuse, where the Liege army should have been, was exposed. In this situation the German General Staff had to decide whether to abandon the sharp thrust into France or strongly to reenforce the Army of the Mo- selle. There was evidence immediately available to prove that it chose the latter course. French sol- diers operating in Lorraine east of Nancy having penetrated many miles reported that they saw no trace of German forces. Again, the temporary suc- cess of the French dash Into Alsace disclosed a sim- ilar fact. Finally, the bringing up of Austrian soldiers in Alsace was a further indication that