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In the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778, the rearguard of the Frankish army, under the command of Roland, was obliterated due to an ambush by the Basque army, an event made famous in La Chanson de Roland.
(A) In the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778, the rearguard of the Frankish army, under the command of Roland, was obliterated due to an ambush by the Basque army, an event made famous in La Chanson de Roland
(B) In the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778, the Basque army ambushed the Frankish army, the rearguard of the Frankish army, under the command of Roland, was obliterated, and the event was made famous in La Chanson de Roland
(C) La Chanson de Roland made famous the obliteration, due to an ambush by the Basque army, of the rearguard of the Frankish army, under the command of Roland, at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778
(D) In La Chanson de Roland, the Basque army ambushed the rearguard of the Frankish army, under the command of Roland, and obliterated them, and this event was famous at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778
(E) In the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778, the rearguard of the Frankish army, under the command of Roland, ambushed and obliterated by the Basque army, an event made famous in La Chanson de RolandThis question discusses the legendary
Battle of Roncevaux Pass, one of the only defeats of
Charlemagne's long career, and it mentions that gorgeously beautiful medieval French poem,
La Chanson de Roland.
This question, among other things, explores the "
due to" structure. When is this structure correct or incorrect? You can see a full discussion of this point, as well as the OE for this difficult question, at this blog:
GMAT Sentence Correction: the “Due To” MistakeMike

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778, the rearguard of the Frankish army, which was under the command of Roland, was obliterated due to an ambush by the Basque army, and this obliteration was later made famous in
La Chanson de Roland.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Grammatical Construction + Verb Forms + Idioms• In a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• Semicolons and the “comma + conjunction” construction are used to link two independent clauses; commas are used to link an independent clause with a dependent one; comma cannot be used to join two independent clauses.
• Collective nouns are always singular.
A: This answer choice incorrectly uses "due to" to refer to the verb "was obliterated"; remember, "due to" is used to modify nouns, and "because of" is used to modify verbs and clauses. Further, Option A incorrectly modifies "an ambush by the Basque army" with "an event made famous in La Chanson de Roland", incorrectly implying that the
ambush was made famous by
La Chanson de Roland; the intended meaning is that the
obliteration was made famous by
La Chanson de Roland; remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.
B: This answer choice incorrectly uses a comma to join the independent clauses "the Basque army ambushed the Frankish army" and "the rearguard of the Frankish army...was obliterated"; remember, semicolons and the “comma + conjunction” construction are used to link two independent clauses; commas are used to link an independent clause with a dependent one; comma cannot be used to join two independent clauses.
C: Correct. This answer choice acts upon the subject noun "
La Chanson de Roland" with the active verb "made famous" to produce a complete thought, leading to a complete sentence. Further, Option C uses the phrase "made famous the obliteration...at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778", conveying the intended meaning - that the obliteration of the rearguard of the Frankish army
happened at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778, and this obliteration
was made famous by the poem[/b][/i]
La Chanson de Roland. Moreover, Option C avoids the modifier error seen in Option A, as it does not use the “noun + comma + phrase” construction. Additionally, Option C avoids the pronoun error seen in Option D, as it uses no pronouns. Besides, Option C avoids the grammatical construction error seen in Option B, as it includes only one independent clause. Option C also correctly uses "due to" to refer to the noun "obliteration.
D: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun phrase "rearguard of the Frankish army" with the plural pronoun "them"; remember, collective nouns are always singular. Further, Option D alters the meaning of the sentence through the clause "this event was famous at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that
within the poem La Chanson de Roland the obliteration of the rearguard of the Frankish army was famous
when at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 occurred; the intended meaning is that the obliteration of the rearguard of the Frankish army
happened at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778, and this obliteration
was made famous by the poem [/i]
La Chanson de Roland.
E: This answer choice fails to form a complete sentence; as "ambushed", "obliterated", and "made famous" are all past participles acting as modifiers, there is no active verb to act upon the subject noun "the rearguard of the Frankish army".
Hence, C is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):
To understand the concept of "Comma Splices and Run Ons" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~5 minutes):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team