midday
By this time we ought to have gained at least three or four miles of ground ; in that case we might have been through the Prussian lines before sunset . Every hour in these short days is of importance . '' Presently the roll of musketry showed that the French skirmishers were engaged with the German outposts . The Franc-tireurs had by this time moved down close to the bridge ; but it was not until midday that they were able to cross ; then the colonel , taking advantage of a short delay on the part of one of the regiments to come up to the bridge , pushed the men across , and leaving the road took them forward at the double . By this time the roar of battle was unbroken . The batteries along the heights behind them , the forts , and the field-guns in advance were all hard at work , the shell flying over the heads of the advancing troops and bursting in the villages held by the Germans . In front , the rattle of musketry was deafening .