_1871. MARCH. ENEMIES WITHIN PARIS_
German troops enter--“Occupation” ended--Troubles within--Officier
de la Légion d’Honneur--Destruction by war--Visit to Versailles--
Review by German Emperor--Railway ambulance--Communists on
Montmartre--Mission ended.
The representative statues in the Place de la Concorde were enshrouded;
guards placed on either side of positions to be occupied by the
Germans. On the morning of March 1, the head of a dense column of
troops was seen approaching the Arc de Triomphe; that monument
passed, the “Army of Occupation” steadily made its way downwards
along the Champs Elysées. In front of all rode a young officer, fair
in complexion, his face pale, lips compressed, expression grave and
resolute; his name, as we subsequently learned, Bershardy, lieutenant
in the 14th Prussian Hussars. Some signs of disturbance were shown
among French onlookers; they were quickly suppressed; all knew that
the guns of Mont Valérien pointed towards the city; that by them stood
German gunners. All through the morning troops _poured_ in, until
30,000 men--the number agreed upon--were within their assigned places;
among them the Leib Regiment of Bavaria, the losses of which in the war
exceeded numerically its strength when leaving Germany. It was now that
the striking contrast in physique, _tenue_, and discipline presented by
the newly-arrived forces, as compared with those to whom we had been so
long accustomed, was strikingly apparent to all spectators; doubtless
to Parisians themselves.
Forty-eight hours, including one entire day, was the period mutually
agreed upon as that during which the German forces were to remain
within Paris. Precautions against collision between them and the
populace were so successfully taken that crowds looked on and quietly
listened to the foreign bands within their precincts. In other parts of
the city, however, signs of restiveness were visible. Among the German
troops, on the contrary, all was orderly and soldierlike. Early on the
morning of the 3rd, “evacuation” of the city began, and within a few
hours was completed. Not until the rear column had passed the Arc de
Triomphe did the mob, that meantime hung upon their flanks, begin to
“demonstrate”; a section of the withdrawing troops faced round; the
demonstrators fled helter-skelter. The work of sweeping and burning
refuse in the great thoroughfares was soon begun; it continued during
the day; by evening Paris looked as if it had not been entered by a
victorious army.
During the following night, internal troubles assumed the first
definite shape of that in which they were soon to culminate. The
National Guards withdrew from the Pare de Monceau some of the guns
entrusted to them, together with their equipment and ammunition,
to arrange them in order on Montmartre; others were taken to the
disaffected quarters, as Belleville and Vilette; while a definite plan
of further action was come to by the Communists. In the emergency so
presented, no apparent action was taken by the responsible authorities;
citizen “soldiers” were permitted to retain arms, the use of which
they had recently learned; with what result was speedily to be seen.
During the next few days scenes of pillage were enacted, wherever
stores, of whatever kind, existed; barricades were thrown up; other
preparations, in various ways, made alike for defence and offence. As
events developed, the commandant appointed to the National Guards was
repudiated by the men; they demanded that they should have the right
to elect their own commander and other officers. Battalions displayed
the red flag; marched to the Place de la Concorde; placed the emblem of
Revolution upon the statues there, and upon public monuments elsewhere.
On the 10th, as the Germans marched from Versailles, the Communists
placed on Montmartre the remaining guns, making a total of 417. Seven
days thereafter the horrors of the Commune began.
While the German army was entering Paris, I had the honour of being
entertained at a _déjeûner_ by the members of the Ambulance de la
Presse, on the occasion of the distinction of Officier de la Légion
d’Honneur[318] being conferred upon me by the Provisional Government.
The venerable Professor Ricord was pleased to make me the subject of a
toast, alluding in kind terms to my association with the French army
and ambulances; then, taking from his own button-hole the rosette of
the Order so highly prized, he placed it in mine.
An excursion to a little distance beyond Montrouge revealed a sad
example of destruction: houses reduced to heaps of rubbish, with here
and there a fragment of cracked wall left standing among them; masses
of charred timbers; furniture and what had been ornamental pieces
strewn about in fragments among débris of various kinds, including dead
animals. From among ruined walls of gardens and conservatories green
young shoots of plants, revived by sunshine of early spring, served, by
contrast with the scene of destruction around, to impress us the more.
Were it possible for crowned heads of Europe to make a similar round,
it might ensure peace for one generation. So thought we as we continued
our walk through miles of devastation.
Making a journey to Versailles, the party of which I was one passed
by the heights beyond Meudon, on which were ranged the guns until
recently employed in bombarding Paris, but now parked preparatory to
being sent back to Germany. Several of them were seriously damaged;
others presented traces of work done by them in “the terrible battery,”
also visited by us; its condition, abandoned to ruin. Thence we looked
towards Vaugirard and vicinity, where greatest destruction by its
shells took place. At Versailles, while dining in the _grande salle_
of the Hôtel des Reservoirs, then filled with Prussian officers, we
saw among them Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern, the nomination of whom
to the Spanish throne was the ostensible cause of the needless war now
ended. Visiting in the Chateau the Galerie of Louis XIV., it was seen
converted into an ambulance ward, its paintings damaged and torn as
a result of wind and weather admitted through windows kept open for
purposes of ventilation. The less severely wounded had been dispatched
to Fatherland; those remaining were too seriously injured to admit
of being removed; in cots, above the heads of which stood canvas
representations of the “glories of France,” shattered frames of recent
conquerors lay in agony.
Under the wing of a _Times_ correspondent, I witnessed on the heights
of Villiers a review by the German Emperor of three _corps d’armée_,
consisting respectively of Bavarians, Saxons, and Wurtembergers, all
under command of the Crown Prince of Prussia, As the troops took
positions assigned to them, it was observed by our friend, who had
accompanied them from Rhine to Seine, that their numbers scarcely
equalled half of those who entered France. An impression was said
to exist among the Bavarians that more frequently than other corps
they were so placed as to bear the first brunt of battle, and thus
exposed to more than was fair of risks in action. It was further said
that considerations of creed and politics had much to do with such an
arrangement; hence some fears were expressed lest unpleasantness might
now occur. All present, therefore, felt a sense of relief when, as the
Emperor, surrounded by his brilliant staff, rode on to the ground, a
cheer burst from all ranks assembled. The inspection over, the troops
marched off, the Crown Prince at their head. Next day the return to
Berlin began, the pride of victory no doubt saddened by memories of
thousands from among them, to be left buried in alien soil.
Being given an opportunity of testing railway arrangements for
transport homewards of German wounded, I embarked at Pantin station
in a train of that description. It was fully occupied by wounded men,
for whose requirements and comfort every arrangement was complete,
including staff and attendants. While in the train I was most
courteously and hospitably received by the staff. The journey taken was
somewhat long, nor did I get back to disturbed Paris till late at night.
A visit to Montmartre enabled me to see the manner of disposal and
position of guns from the Parc de Monceau, now in hands of the Garde
Nationale, who have openly declared for the Commune. My companion[319]
and myself, recognised as foreigners, were courteously escorted, first
to one battery, then to another, comments meanwhile freely made by
those accompanying us in regard to their plan of action. Still, as far
as we were able to understand, no counter-measures were taken by the
authorities; and so the rising flood of revolution increased in volume
and power, to burst disastrously three days thereafter.
In obedience to orders I quitted Paris for England by evening train
on March 14. Early next morning I was with my beloved wife, whose
anxieties and fears during my absence had told upon her health. So
ended the important episode in which I had taken part.