five o'clock
Should they turn to the left , toward Autrecourt , and attempt to pass the Meuse at Villers , as had been previously decided ? The general hesitated , fearing to encounter difficulties in crossing there , even if the bridge were not already in possession of the Prussians ; he finally decided to keep straight on through the defile of Harancourt and thus reach Remilly before nightfall . First Mouzon , then Villers , and last Remilly ; they were still pressing on northward , with the tramp of the uhlans on the road behind them . There remained scant four miles for them to accomplish , but it was five o'clock , and the men were sinking with fatigue . They had been under arms since daybreak , twelve hours had been consumed in advancing three short leagues ; they were harassed and fatigued as much by their constant halts and the stress of their emotions as by the actual toil of the march . For the last two nights they had had scarce any sleep ; their hunger had been unappeased since they left Vouziers . In Raucourt the distress was terrible ; men fell in the ranks from sheer inanition .