intrenchments at Gidy and Cercottes on the following day, if only to
keep open their way of retreat through Orleans. Prince Frederick Charles
therefore ordered the Grand Duke's Detachment and the IXth Corps to make
an encompassing attack on both points on the 4th. The IIIrd Corps was to
advance from Loury on Orleans, and the Xth, again forming the reserve,
was to follow to Chevilly.
General d'Aurelle had retired to Saran on the evening of the 3rd. Here
he saw the 2nd Division of the XVth Corps fleeing by in utter rout, and
heard also that the 1st had failed to make a stand at Chilleurs. The
Corps of his right wing were altogether shattered as regarded their
internal cohesion by the battle of Beaune, and those of his left no less
by the fight at Loigny. The French General could not but dread being
driven on the Loire with undisciplined masses, and the consequent block
of the only passage of the river at Orleans. He decided therefore on an
eccentric retreat. Only the XVth Corps was to retire by Orleans; General
Crouzat was to cross the Loire at Gien, General Chanzy at Beaugency. The
reassemblage remained to be attempted behind the Sauldre. The necessary
dispositions were made during the night, and communicated to the
Government. From the Board of Green Cloth at Tours, counter orders of
course came next morning to maintain the Orleans position, which
practically was already wrecked; but the General adhered firmly to his
own determination.
On December 4th the IIIrd Army Corps marched out of Loury in two columns
by the high road and the tracks through Vennecy. Both bodies reached
Boigny by noon, having met only stragglers. A detachment was sent to the
right to Neuville, which made prize of seven derelict guns and many
rifles. To the left, another detachment occupied Chezy on the Loire.
After a short rest the main columns advanced, and by two o'clock the 6th
Division reached Vaumainbert, which was occupied by detachments of the
French XVth Corps. Although the country was not open enough to allow of
the employment of artillery, the place was taken by the Brandenburgers
in spite of the stout resistance of the French Marine Infantry, and the
fire of the batteries on the heights to the north of St. Loup could now
be directed on the suburb of Orleans.
The 5th Division had meanwhile come up behind the 6th and took part in
the fight.
The XXth French Corps, which was still at Chambon, in the eastern part
of the forest opposite Beaune la Rolande, had received orders at four in
the morning from Tours direct, to march on Orleans. Contrary orders had
previously arrived from General d'Aurelle, but nothing subsequently came
to hand. General Crouzat had, as a precaution, sent his train across the
Loire by way of Jargeau, and then marched in the prescribed direction.
When, at half-past two he met at Pont aux Moines the German detachment
despatched to Chezy, he determined to cut his way through by force of
arms; but as General von Stuelpnagel reinforced his two battalions with
the rest of his Division, the French general gave up that attempt and
retreated across the river, making the passage at Jargeau.
On the German side the attack on St. Loup[53] was unsuccessful; and
since from the locality of the fighting on the part of the other Corps
no tidings reached him, and darkness was approaching, General von
Alvensleben postponed any further attack on the city till the following
day.
North of Orleans the IXth Army Corps advanced from La Croix Briquet on
the intrenched position of Cercottes. At about one o'clock the foremost
detachments of infantry entered the place. The 2nd Division of the
French XVth Corps was driven back by the fire of the artillery into the
vineyards in front of the city. Here the infantry alone could continue
the struggle. The French defended every tenable spot, and especially in
the railway station close to Orleans held their own with great
persistency. It and the adjacent deep road-cutting were fortified with
barricades and rifle-pits, and armed with naval guns. It was not till
nightfall, about half-past five, that these posts were abandoned, but
the contest was continued further back. To avoid street-fighting in the
dark, General von Manstein broke off the fight for the day at about
seven o'clock.
The advanced guard of the 17th Division of the Grand Duke's Detachment
had found Gidy intrenched and strongly occupied. But at the approach of
the IXth Corps the French about eleven o'clock thought proper to abandon
the position, leaving behind eight guns. The German Division, to avoid
the wood, now moved in a westerly direction on Boulay, whither the 22nd
and the 2nd Cavalry Division followed as a reserve.
Here the Bavarian Corps and the 4th Cavalry Division were already
engaged in a fight, having previously driven the French out of Bricy and
Janvry. When the artillery had for some time been in action, General von
der Tann passed to the assault at about twelve o'clock. But the French
did not wait for this; they beat a hasty retreat, leaving some of their
guns in the defences.
The 2nd Cavalry Division took up the pursuit. The 4th Hussars of the 5th
Brigade, trotting forward through Montaigu, charged a dismounted French
battery and seized all its guns; another near Ormes was left to be
carried off by the horse battery. From thence a strong body of French
horse suddenly appeared on the left flank of the 4th Brigade as it was
crossing the Chateaudun road. But the Bluecher Hussars, promptly wheeling
into line, drove the enemy back through the village on Ingre.
The 4th Cavalry Division was placed on observation on the right flank of
the Detachment; and the Hussars of the 2nd Life Regiment here rode down
250 men forming the escort of a waggon column escaping by the road to
Chateaudun, and captured the convoy.
While the Germans were thus converging on Orleans from the east and
north, in the west the XVIIth French Corps and the 1st Division of the
XVIth were still in the field about Patay and St. Peravy. General Chanzy
had assembled the latter about Coinces, and, to protect himself against
its threatened attack on his flank, General von der Tann formed front at
Bricy with his 3rd Infantry Brigade, the Cuirassiers, and the artillery
reserve. The 4th Cavalry Division marched on Coinces, where General von
Bernhardi, clearing a wide ditch with four squadrons of Uhlans, drove a
body of French horse back on St. Peravy without its having been able to
do more than fire one carbine-volley. Other squadrons of the 9th Brigade
rode down the French tirailleurs, and pursued the cavalry till it
reached the protection of strong bodies of infantry. The 8th Brigade was
in observation toward Patay, and after that place had come under the
fire of a battery and been abandoned, General Chanzy gave up all further
attack and retired behind the forest of Montpipeau.
The 2nd Cavalry Division now made for the Loire immediately below
Orleans. Its artillery destroyed a bridge at Chapelle over which a
baggage-train was passing, and compelled the French troops, which were
marching towards Clery along the further bank, to flee back to Orleans.
Two military railway-trains from thence were not to be stopped by the
firing, but a train coming from Tours, in which, as it happened, was
Gambetta himself, returned thither with all speed.
The Bavarian Corps meanwhile was advancing by the high road, and the
22nd Division, in touch with the IXth Corps, on the old Chateaudun road;
the 17th Division between the two on La Borde. This last Division at
about 3.30 had to carry on its way the strongly defended village of
Heurdy; and when the Bavarians from Ormes turned to the right on Ingre,
it proceeded by the high road towards St. Jean de la Ruelle. Having
overcome all opposition there too, the head of the Division reached the
gates of Orleans at about six o'clock.
General von Tresckow entered into negotiations with the military
authorities there for the orderly occupation of the town. An agreement
was arrived at by ten o'clock, and shortly after midnight the Grand Duke
marched in with the 17th Division, promptly followed by the 2nd Bavarian
Brigade. The bridge over the Loire, which the French had not found time
to blow up, was secured with all speed. The rest of the troops found
quarters for the night, to the west and north of the city.
The peremptory orders from the Government to hold Orleans had shaken
General d'Aurelle's original determination. When the mass of the XVth
Corps arrived there in the forenoon, he was anxious to make a final
stand. But the necessary orders could not be transmitted to the Corps of
the right wing, nor carried out by those of the left; and by five
o'clock the General in command was convinced of the futility of any
further resistance. The artillery of the XVth Corps was in the first
instance forwarded to La Ferte St. Aubin; the infantry followed. The
XXth Corps, as we have seen, was at Jargeau; the XVIIIth recrossed the
Loire at Sully; the XVIth and XVIIth moved off westward in the direction
of Beaugency, but remained on the right bank of the river.
The two days' battle had cost the Germans 1700 men; the French lost
20,000, of whom 1800 were taken prisoners. Their large army lately
massed before Orleans, was now split up into three separate bodies.
FOOTNOTES:
[52] Commanding Artillery of IXth Corps.
[53] The northern suburb of Orleans.
OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS SOUTH, EAST, AND WEST.
The troops were too much exhausted for immediate pursuit in any of these
three directions.
It was ordered that only the 6th Cavalry Division, reinforced by an
infantry detachment of the 18th Division, should follow up the enemy
making to the southward, ascertain his whereabouts, and destroy the
concentration of the railways from Bourges, Orleans and Tours at the
Vierzon junction. This Cavalry was in quarters to the north of the city;
the French XVth Corps had a considerable start of it, and the main body
of the latter had reached Salbris, when, on December 6th, two days after
the battle, General von Schmidt (commanding 14th Brigade, 6th Cavalry
Division) arrived by a forced march at La Ferte St. Aubin. Here he found
a detachment of the 18th Division, which had already driven the French
rear-guard back on La Motte Beuvron, but was now recalled to the Loiret.
Only two companies of the 36th Regiment and one of pioneers joined the
further advance, and followed the cavalry partly in waggons and partly
on gun-limbers.
On the 7th, under direct orders from Tours, the French Corps left the
high road to the south, and made a flank march of twenty miles in an
easterly direction to Aubigny Ville. The cavalry, supported to the best
of their power by its artillery and the small infantry detachment, had a
sharp fight with the French rear-guard at Nouan le Fuzelier, and again
in the evening at Salbris, in which the French finally had the best of
it. The neighbourhood being very thinly populated, the Division had to
return in the night to Nouan, to find shelter from the bitter winter
weather.
Long before daybreak on the 8th, the French rear-guard evacuated Salbris
to avoid a further encounter with the enemy, whose strength was greatly
overestimated. After some slight skirmishes the Cavalry Division reached
Vierzon that evening. The telegraph wires were cut and the railway line
torn up in several places, 70 goods vans were made prize of, the
direction of the enemy's retreat was ascertained, and any offensive
movement on the part of the French from that side for the time was
reckoned very improbable.
The Division had fulfilled its task; it was now ordered to leave one
brigade in observation, and to advance in the direction of Blois with
the rest. General (Count) von der Groeben (commanding 14th Cavalry
Brigade) maintained his positions at Vierzon and Salbris till the 14th.
The winter marches of the 6th Cavalry Division were exceptionally
arduous. It was almost impossible to travel excepting by the high roads,
and they were so slippery with ice that it was often necessary to
dismount and lead the horses. The inhabitants of the Sologne were
extremely hostile, and troopers patrolling in advance were fired upon in
every village. The French forces, on the other hand, made but a feeble
resistance. Numerous prisoners and large quantities of abandoned war
materiel bore witness to a hasty retreat, in many cases indicated
panic-flight. Nevertheless, in spite of much desultory marching and
counter-marching, the Corps on December 13th finally succeeded in
joining the right wing of the Army of Orleans at Bourges. The plight in
which it arrived there may be gathered from the telegraphic
_Correspondance Urgente_ of the Tours Government with General Bourbaki,
who, when General d'Aurelle was dismissed from the command in chief, had
assumed command of the three Corps.
The delegate Freycinet, who was no doubt kept well informed by the
country people, assured General Bourbaki that he had only a weak force
of cavalry in his front, and called upon him repeatedly, and in the most
urgent terms, to advance against Blois. The General retorted that if he
were to undertake that operation, not a gun, not a man of his three
Corps would ever be seen again. His intention was to retreat without
delay from Bourges on St. Amand, and if necessary yet further; all he
dreaded was lest he should be attacked before he could accomplish this,
and so be involved in overwhelming disaster.
The Minister of War himself went to Bourges, but he too renounced all
idea of a serious offensive movement when he saw the disorder of the
troops; "I have never seen anything so wretched." It was with difficulty
that he carried his point that the Corps should not retreat, but should
await events under cover of one of them pushed forward towards Vierzon.
On the day when General von Schmidt entered Vierzon, the XVth Corps was
in the vicinity of Henrichemont, at about an equal distance with himself
from Bourges. The XVIIIth and XXth Corps were at Aubigny Ville and
Cernay, from two to three marches away. It can scarcely be doubted that
if the 18th Division had followed the advance of the 6th Cavalry
Division, possession would have been obtained of Bourges and of the vast
military establishments there.
To the east of Orleans the IIIrd German Corps marched up the river
through Chateauneuf. It met only stragglers, till on the 7th two
Divisions of the XVIIIth French Corps attempted to cross to the right
bank of the Loire at Gien. There came about an advanced-guard fight at
Nevoy, with the result that these Divisions retreated across the bridge
in the night, and continued their march on Bourges.
FIGHTING OF THE GRAND DUKE OF MECKLENBURG.
(December 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th.)
The Grand Duke's Detachment stood westward, close to the retreating left
wing of the enemy. In contrast to the disorder of the right wing,
General Chanzy, probably the most capable of all the leaders whom the
Germans had to encounter in the battle-field, had very rapidly in so
great measure restored the discipline and spirit of his defeated troops,
that they were able not only to make a stand, but even to take the
offensive. They had, it is true, been considerably reinforced by the
newly formed XXIst Corps and by Camo's Division. The latter formed the
advanced guard at Meung; behind it were the XVIth Corps at Beaugency,
the XVIIth at Cravant, and the XXIst at St. Laurent on the edge of the
forest of Marchenoir.
On the day after the fight the troops of the Grand Duke were given a
rest-day; only the cavalry pursued the French. The 4th Cavalry Division
reached Ouzouer; the 2nd came upon considerable masses of infantry
behind Meung.
On the 7th, the Grand Duke's forces advanced on a very wide front. The
17th Division, on the left wing, marched on Meung, where its artillery
opened a combat with that of the enemy. The French held possession of
the narrow lanes of the village, which further westward was pierced by
the main road to Beaugency. Towards four o'clock a Mecklenburg battalion
carried Langlochere by storm, but found itself threatened on both sides
by the approach of hostile columns. On the left Foinard was presently
occupied, and a gun captured there, while on the right the 1st Bavarian
Brigade advanced on La Bourie. Here, almost at the same moment, the 2nd
Cavalry Division came up by by-roads from Renardiere, having driven the
enemy out of Le Bardon by the fire of its guns. The Bavarians had now to
march out to meet a hostile mass advancing from Grand Chatre. Supported
by the horse batteries, they maintained till nightfall a stubborn fight,
which ended in the retreat of the French on Beaumont.
During this conflict on the left wing of the Detachment, the 1st
Bavarian Division, considerably on the right, were marching on Baccon,
the 22nd on Ouzouer; and finding that the French were offering a
determined resistance, the Grand Duke decided on closing in his forces
to the left.
_December 8th._--To this end the 22nd Division moved southward from
Ouzouer through Villermain. After repulsing the swarms of tirailleurs
which attacked its left flank under cover of a thick fog, General von
Wittich directed his march on Cravant, to effect a junction with the
right wing of the 1st Bavarian Division already engaged in a hot
struggle. They had repulsed an attack of the enemy pushed forward from
Villechaumont, and the 2nd (Bavarian) Division advanced by the road from
Cravant to Beaugency; but when three French Divisions came on afresh, it
retreated on Beaumont. Here it found support from the 1st (Bavarian
Division) and 17 batteries were gradually brought up into the fighting
line. Their fire and an impetuous attack from three Bavarian brigades at
last forced the enemy to fall back, and the position on the high road
was recovered.
The French now, on their side, brought up a strong force of artillery,
and prepared to advance on Cravant with their XVIIth Corps. But the 22nd
German Division having taken Beauvert and Layes by the way, had already
reached Cravant at about one o'clock, and was in position there with the
4th Cavalry Division on its right and the 2nd on its left. So when, at
about three o'clock, dense French columns advanced on Cravant, they were
repulsed by a powerful counter-stroke delivered by the 44th Brigade, in
conjunction with the Bavarians, and were soon driven out of Layes, which
they had entered while advancing. The five batteries nearest to Cravant
had suffered so severely meanwhile that they had to be withdrawn. When
finally at about four o'clock the Bavarian battalions advanced to storm
the height in their front, they were met by fresh troops of the enemy,
and after losing a great part of their officers were compelled to
retreat on the artillery position at Beaumont. Later, however, the
French abandoned Villechaumont.
On the left wing of the Detachment the 17th Division pursued the
retreating French through Vallees and Villeneuve, and then at about noon
made an attack on Messas. The defence was obstinate, and it was not till
dusk that it succeeded in gaining full possession of the place. The
artillery directed its fire on dense masses showing about Vernon, the
infantry stormed the height of Beaugency, and finally forced its way
into the town itself, where a French battery fell into its hand. Camo's
Division then retired on Tavers, and at midnight General von Tresckow
fell upon Vernon, whence the French, taken entirely by surprise, fled to
Bonvalet.
The Headquarter of the IInd Army had determined to set in march on
Bourges the IIIrd, Xth, and IXth Corps, from Gien, from Orleans, and
also from Blois. But the Detachment in its advance on Blois by the right
bank of the Loire had met with unexpected resistance lasting for two
days. In the supreme Headquarter at Versailles it was regarded as
indispensable that the Grand Duke should immediately be reinforced by at
least one Division. Telegraphic orders to that effect arrived at ten
o'clock on December 9th. The IXth Corps, which was already on the march
along the left bank and had found no enemy in its front, could not give
the requisite support, since all the bridges over the river had been
blown up. The IIIrd Corps was therefore ordered to leave only a
detachment in observation at Gien, and to turn back to Orleans. The Xth
Corps was to call in its detachments standing eastward of the city and
march forward to Meung. Meanwhile on the 9th the Detachment remained
still quite unsupported while actually confronting with four Infantry
Divisions, eleven French Divisions. And early on that morning General
Chanzy took the offensive.
_December 9th._--The two Prussian Divisions at Beauvert and Messas stood
firmly awaiting the hostile onslaught. The two Bavarian Divisions,
because of their severe losses, were held in reserve at Cravant, but
soon had to come up into the fighting line, when at seven o'clock strong
columns of the enemy advanced on Le Mee.
Dense swarms of tirailleurs were repulsed both there and before Vernon,
and were later shattered by the fire of the devoted German artillery,
which silenced the French guns and then directed its fire on Villorceau.
In spite of a stout defence, this village was carried and occupied about
half-past ten by the Bavarian infantry. The French advance on
Villechaumont in greatly superior force was also repulsed, with the
assistance of three battalions and two batteries of the 22nd Division.
The Thueringers[54] then stormed Cernay, where 200 French laid down their
arms, and one of their batteries lost its teams and limbers.
On the right wing of the Detachment, in consequence of a
misunderstanding, the Germans evacuated Layes and Beauvert, and the
French occupied these villages. However, with the assistance of the 2nd
Bavarian Brigade, the 44th (Brigade) drove them out again from both
places. Further to the north, the 4th Cavalry Division was in
observation of a French detachment approaching Villermain.
The French made renewed efforts, advancing again at mid-day on Cravant
in strong columns; but this movement General Tresckow took in flank from
Messas. He left only a weak detachment in Beaugency, and secured
himself towards Tavers in the villages on his left. The main body of the
17th Division advanced on Bonvalet, reinforced the hardly-pressed
Bavarians in Villorceau, and occupied itself Villemarceau in front of
that place. Here the Division had to maintain a severe struggle, at
about three o'clock, with close columns of the French XVIth and XVIIth
Corps. The infantry rushing on the enemy with cheers succeeded, however,
in repulsing him and holding its ground in spite of a hot fire. At the
same time three Bavarian battalions, accompanied by cavalry and
artillery, marched up from Cravant and drove the French out of
Villejouan. Yet further to the right a battalion of the 32nd Regiment
took possession of Ourcelle. A line from thence to Tavers defined the
section of terrain laboriously wrung from the enemy.
The fight ended with the retreat of the enemy on Josnes and Dugny.
On this day the IIIrd Corps was still on the march to Orleans. The IXth
from its position on the left bank, could only take part in the fighting
by the fire of its artillery on Meung and Beaugency. It was not till
near Blois that it met French detachments. Fifty men of one of the
Hessian battalions carried the defended chateau of Chambord lying
rightward of the line of march, and there took 200 prisoners and made
prize of twelve ammunition waggons with their teams.
Of the Xth Corps only the head of its infantry reached Meung, but it
sent forward a regiment of Hussars with eight batteries, which arrived
at Grand Chatre by about three o'clock in the afternoon.
By order of the Headquarter of the IInd Army the Bavarian Corps was now
to retire to Orleans, to recruit after its heavy losses. But even after
the arrival of the Xth Corps the Grand Duke had still in his front an
enemy double his strength, and instead of engaging in a pursuit he had
rather to study how to maintain himself on the defensive.
_December 10th._--At dawn General Chanzy renewed his attack, which even
the Bavarians were presently required to join in repulsing.
At seven o'clock the French XVIIth Corps rushed in dense masses on
Origny, took there 150 prisoners, and forced its way into Villejouan.
This advance was met directly in front by the 43rd Brigade at Cernay,
and by the 4th Bavarian Brigade with six batteries at Villechaumont;
while on the right flank General von Tresckow pushed forward on
Villorceau and Villemarceau. In this latter village two of his
battalions, supported by four batteries, resisted every onslaught of the
French from Origny and Toupenay. At noon the main body of the 17th
Division advanced to the recapture of Villejouan. Here the French made
an obstinate stand. An embittered and bloody fight in the streets and
houses was prolonged till four o'clock, and then fresh troops of the
enemy came up to recover the post the Germans still held in one detached
farmstead. The artillery mass of the Prussian Division had, however,
deployed to the south of Villemarceau; it was joined by two horse
batteries of the Xth Corps, and the batteries of the 22nd Division also
came into action from Cernay. The concentric fire of this body of
artillery wrecked the subsequent attacks of the XVIIth French Corps.
Beaugency was now occupied by part of the Xth Corps. During the previous
days the left flank of the German fighting position had a secure point
d'appui on the Loire, but on the right such a support had been wholly
lacking. The French had nevertheless hitherto made no attempt to take
advantage of their superiority by a wider extension of their front. For
the first time on this day did they come in on the unprotected left
flank of their enemy. The greater part of the XXIst Corps deployed
opposite to it, between Poisly and Mezieres, and at half-past ten
strong columns advanced on Villermain. The Bavarians were compelled to
take up with their 2nd Brigade the "hook" formation from Jouy to
Coudray. Seven batteries were brought up into that line, and on its
right flank the 4th Cavalry Division stood in readiness to act. By two
o'clock two more horse batteries, and from Cravant four batteries of the
Xth Corps arrived, which massed there with three brigades as a reserve.
The fire of over a hundred German guns compelled the French to hurry
their artillery out of action at three o'clock, and weak independent
attacks by their infantry were repulsed without difficulty by the
Germans persevering staunchly on the defence.
The French losses in this four days' battle are unknown. The Detachment
lost 3400 men, of whom the larger half belonged to the two Bavarian
Divisions.
The Grand Duke had succeeded in holding his own against three Corps of
the enemy till the arrival of the first reinforcement, and this he owed
to the bravery of all his troops, and not least to the exertions of the
artillery. This arm alone lost 255 men and 356 horses. Its material was
tasked to the utmost, so that finally almost all the steel guns of the
light batteries of the 22nd Division, and most of the Bavarian, were
rendered useless by the burning out of their vent-pieces.
The IIIrd Corps had on this day just arrived at St. Denis, and the IXth
at Vienne opposite Blois; but here, too, the bridge over the Loire was
found to be blown up.
On the French side, General Chanzy had learnt from the telegraphic
correspondence of the Government at Tours with General Bourbaki, that
nothing had come of that commander's attempt to divert part of the
German IInd Army upon himself. The long delay gave General Chanzy the
daily apprehension of an attack by it with its full strength; and he
therefore decided on a retreat, which resulted in the removal of the
Assembly from Tours to Bordeaux.
In the Grand Duke's Head-quarter the renewed offensive had been decided
on for December 11th. The villages in his front remained strongly
occupied, and it was only at noon of that day that the enemy's retreat
became known. He was at once pursued on the left by the Xth Corps, and
on the right, south of the forest of Marchenoir, by the Detachment. On
the north, the 4th Cavalry Division took up the scouting.
A thaw had followed the hard frost, making the march equally difficult
for friend and foe. The Germans found the roads littered with abandoned
waggons and cast-away arms; the bodies of men and horses lay unburied in
the fields, and in the villages were hundreds of wounded uncared for.
Several thousands of stragglers were captured.
The directions[55] of the Chief of the General Staff from Versailles
suggested an immediate pursuit, which should render the enemy incapable
of further action for some time to come; but not to be maintained beyond
Tours. The IInd Army was then to assemble at Orleans and the Detachment
at Chartres, and the troops were to obtain the rest they needed. From
the former point constant and strict watch could be kept on General
Bourbaki's army, and to this end a connection was to be made with
General von Zastrow, who with the VIIth Corps was to reach Chatillon sur
Seine on the 13th. But the operations in this quarter were not to extend
beyond Bourges and Nevers.
The IInd Army was accordingly in the first instance marched toward the
Loir, and on the 13th reached the line Oucques--Conan--Blois, which last
town was found evacuated.
On the 14th the 17th Division marched to Moree, and reached the Loir at
Freteval. A fight occurred at both these points. Though the French had
yielded thus far, they seemed resolved to make a firm stand on the Loir,
and had occupied Cloyes and Vendome in great strength.
In order to attack with success, Prince Frederick Charles first
proceeded to concentrate all his forces. The IIIrd Corps, which was
hurrying after the army by forced marches, was in the first instance to
come up into the interval between the Detachment and the Xth Corps,
which was to march from Blois and Herbault on Vendome.
But when, on the 15th, the Xth Corps was moving in the prescribed
direction, its main body encountered so determined a resistance close in
front of Vendome that it could not be overcome before dark. The troops
therefore retired to quarters in the rear of Ste. Anne. A left-flank
detachment had found St. Amand occupied by heavy masses, and halted at
Gombergean. The IIIrd Corps had advanced in the course of the day on
Coulommiers, in the vicinity of Vendome, had fought the French at Bel
Essert, driven them back across the Loir and established connection with
the Xth. The Grand Duke, in compliance with instructions, stood
meanwhile on the defensive. The IXth Corps, after the restoration of the
bridge of Blois, was at last able to follow the army, leaving a brigade
in occupation of Blois.
A greatly superior force was now assembled opposite the enemy's
position, and a general attack was decided on; but to give the wearied
troops some rest it was postponed till the 17th, and meanwhile, on the
16th, General Chanzy withdrew.
It had certainly been his intention to make a longer stand in the Loir
angle; but his Generals convinced him that the condition of the troops
did not permit the prolongation of active hostilities. He accordingly
gave the order for the retreat of the army at daybreak by way of
Montoire, St. Calais, and Vibraye to Le Mans.
Thus in the early morning (of the 17th) the Xth Corps found the French
position in front of Vendome abandoned, and it entered the city without
opposition. On the French left wing only, where the marching orders had
not yet arrived, General Jaures made an attack on Freteval, but in the
evening he followed the other Corps.
FOOTNOTES:
[54] In the 22nd Division of the XIth Corps--a Corps of a curiously
composite character, there were three Thueringian regiments. The 43rd
Brigade was wholly Thueringian, consisting as it did of the 32nd and 95th
regiments (2nd and 6th Thueringers), and in the 44th Brigade was the 94th
(5th Thueringers). It was the 2nd battalion of this last regiment which
is referred to in the text.
[55] The expression "Directiven" in the text cannot be succinctly
translated. It was rarely, except when actually himself in the field,
that the Chief of the General Staff issued actual "orders" to the higher
commanders. His communications for the most part consisted of
"Directiven"--messages of general suggestions as to the appropriate line
of action to be pursued, leaving a wide discretion to the commanders to
whom they were addressed, and refraining almost entirely from details. A
collection of Moltke's "Directiven" would be perhaps the finest tribute
to his military genius.
INTERRUPTION OF IMPORTANT OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS IN DECEMBER.
On the 17th of December general directions were issued from Versailles
to the Armies both to the north and south of Paris.
Now that General von Manteuffel was across the Somme, and Prince
Frederick Charles had advanced to the Loir, the Germans held possession
of almost a third of France. The enemy was everywhere driven back; and
that the German forces should not be split up, it was thought advisable
that they should be concentrated into three principal groups. The Ist
Army was therefore to assemble at Beauvais, the Detachment at Chartres,
the IInd Army near Orleans, where the troops were to have the needful
rest, and their full efficiency was to be re-established by the arrival
of reservists and equipment. If the French should engage in any new
enterprises, they were to be allowed to approach within striking
distance, and then were to be driven back by a vigorous offensive.
For the IInd Army there was but little prospect at present of overtaking
the enemy beyond the Loir; and the reports from the Upper Loire now
necessitated the bestowal of increased attention in that direction. News
came from Gien that the posts left there had been driven back to Ouzouer
sur Loire; and it seemed not unlikely that General Bourbaki would take
the opportunity of advancing by Montargis towards Paris, or at least
towards Orleans, which for the moment was occupied only by part of the
Ist Bavarian Corps.
Prince Frederick Charles had got quit of his enemy probably for some
considerable time, and he decided, in accordance with directions from
Versailles, to assemble his forces at Orleans and maintain a waiting
attitude. Only the Xth Corps was to remain behind in observation on the
Loir. To secure immediate support for the Bavarian Corps in any event,
the IXth Corps, on its arrival from Blois at La Chapelle Vendomoise on
the 16th December, was ordered to march to Beaugency that same day, and
to Orleans on the morrow. It covered nearly 52 miles in twenty-four
hours, notwithstanding the badness of the weather. The IIIrd Corps
followed it.
However, it was soon known that the enemy's detachment which had been
seen at Gien did not form part of a large body of troops, and was
intrenching itself at Briare for its own safety. So the Germans retired
into comfortable rest-quarters, the Ist Bavarian Corps at Orleans, the
IIIrd there and along to Beaugency, the IXth in the plain of the Loire
up as far as Chateauneuf, with a strong post at Montargis.
The Bavarian Corps was later transferred to Etampes, to recover at its
leisure, to recruit its numbers, and refit as to its clothing and
equipment. Nor was the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg's detachment in a
condition to follow General Chanzy beyond the Loir. Six weeks of daily
marching and fighting had tried the troops to the utmost. The dreadful
weather and the state of the roads had reduced their clothing and
foot-gear to a miserable state. A reconnoissance beyond the Loir showed
that the French could be overtaken by only long and rapid marches. So
the Grand Duke allowed his troops a long rest, from the 18th, in the
villages on the left bank of the river.
Of the IIIrd Army, General von Rheinbaben, on the other hand, occupied
with the three Brigades of the 5th Cavalry Division Courtlain, Brou, and
Chartres, strengthened by five battalions of Guard Landwehr and four
batteries. A letter from the Chief of the General Staff at Versailles
had pointed out that this cavalry might probably be employed with great
success in attacking the flank and rear of the enemy's retreating
columns, and the Crown Prince had already given orders that it should
push forward by way of Brou in full strength on the 15th. Contrary to
these orders, the Division obeyed a subsequent order which reached it on
the 16th from the Grand Duke, under whose command the Division had not
been placed, to take up a position on the Yeres.
On this day patrols had found the roads open to Montmirail and
Mondoubleau, except for French infantry in front of Cloyes, which
retired after a short fray. On the left, a connection was opened with
the 4th Cavalry Division. On the 17th, the 12th Cavalry Brigade entered
Cloyes, already evacuated by the French; on the 13th it advanced on
Arrou, and only General von Barby (commanding the 11th Cavalry Brigade)
marched on Droue with a force of all arms, where he surprised the French
at their cooking, and carried off much booty.
On the 18th, the 12th Brigade did make prisoners of a few stragglers
there, but the other two brigades only made a short march to the
westward to La Bazoche Gouet and Arville, whence the enemy had quite
disappeared. To the south of Arville a battalion of the Guard Landwehr
drove the French infantry out of St. Agil.
With this the pursuit ended on the 19th. The Division retired on Nogent
le Rotrou by the Grand Duke's desire, and subsequently undertook the
observation of the left bank of the Seine at Vernon and Dreux.
The Grand Duke's Detachment left its quarters on the Loir on the 21st.
The 22nd Division occupied Nogent le Roi, and the 17th Chartres, till the
24th. The 4th Bavarian Brigade rejoined its own Corps at Orleans.
During the remainder of December only the Xth Corps had any fighting, it
having been detailed to keep watch beyond the Loir from Blois and
Vendome.
Two brigades were set on march towards Tours on the 20th. On the further
side of Monnaie they met the newly-formed troops of General
Ferri-Pisani, 10,000 to 15,000 strong, which were advancing from Angers
and had passed through Tours.
The soaked ground made the deployment of the artillery and cavalry
exceedingly difficult. The cavalry, indeed, could only pursue the
retreating French in deep columns along the high roads, thus suffering
severely from the enemy's fire delivered at very short range.
On the following day General von Woyna (commanding 39th Infantry
Brigade) advanced unopposed with six battalions on the bridge at Tours.
A light battery was brought up on the bank of the river and dispersed
the rabble firing from the opposite shore, but it would have cost too
many lives to storm the city, which, since the removal of the seat of
Government, had ceased to be of any great importance. The detachment was
withdrawn to Monnaie, and the Xth Corps went into quarters, the 19th
Division at Blois, the 20th at Herbault and Vendome.
From the latter place on the 27th, a detachment of two battalions, one
squadron, and two guns marched through Montoire on Souge on the Braye,
and there met a greatly superior force. General Chanzy had in fact
marched a Division of his XVIIth Corps towards Vendome in order to draw
the Prussians away from Tours. Behind St. Quentin the weak Prussian
detachment found itself hemmed in between the river and the cliff,
enclosed on every side, and under heavy fire. Lieutenant-Colonel von
Boltenstern succeeded, however, in cutting his way through. Without
firing a shot the two Hanoverian battalions hurled themselves on the
dense body of tirailleurs blocking their retreat, and fought their way
out fighting hand to hand. Through the gap thus made the guns dashed
after firing one round of grape-shot, and notwithstanding losses to the
teams they ultimately got back safely to Montoire. The squadron also
charged through two lines of riflemen and rejoined the infantry.
As a result of this incident General von Kraatz Koschlau (commanding
20th Division) brought up the remainder of his Division from Herbault,
determined to clear up the situation by a fresh reconnoissance. Four
battalions were to advance from Vendome, and the 1st Cavalry Brigade
from Freteval was to scout towards Epuisay. On this same day, however,
General de Jouffroy was marching with two Divisions to the attack of
Vendome.
When, at about ten o'clock, the reconnoitring force from Vendome reached
the Azay, it came under a hot fire from the further slope of the valley.
Soon after six hostile battalions attacked its flank from the south, and
repeated notice was brought in that considerable forces of the enemy
were marching on Vendome direct, from north of Azay by Espereuse.
General von Kraatz perceived that he would have to face a planned attack
made by very superior numbers, and determined to restrict himself to the
local defence of Vendome. Under cover of a battalion firmly maintaining
its position at Huchepie, he accomplished in perfect order the retreat
of the detachment, which then took up a position on the railway
embankment to the west of the city.
Further to the north the hostile columns, advancing over Espereuse, had
already reached Bel Air. A battalion hastening up from Vendome
re-occupied the chateau, but being outflanked on the right by a superior
force withdrew, and likewise took up a position behind the railway. At
about two o'clock the French attacked this position in dense swarms of
sharpshooters, but came under the quick-fire of six batteries in
position on the heights behind Vendome, which caused their right wing to
give way. A column of the enemy advanced along the left bank of the Loir
from Varennes against this artillery position, but hastily retreated out
of range of the fire from it.
The attacks directed against the railway from Bel Air and Tuileries were
more serious; but eight companies posted there repelled them. At four
o'clock the French once more advanced in strength; fortune wavered for
some time, and at length, as darkness fell, they retired.
The 1st Cavalry Brigade, accompanied by two companies and a horse
battery, marched on this day on Danze. Captain Spitz, with a handful of
his Westphalian Fusiliers fell on two batteries halted there, and
captured two guns and three limbers. With these and fifty prisoners
General von Luederitz (commanding 1st Cavalry Brigade) returned to
Freteval by about one o'clock, after pursuing the enemy as far as
Epuisay.
The attempt of the French on Vendome had utterly failed, and they now
retreated to a greater distance. General von Kraatz, however, was
ordered, in the prospect of a greater enterprise to be described later,
to remain meanwhile in waiting on the Loir.
THE XIVTH CORPS IN DECEMBER.
In the south-eastern theatre of war the French had at last decided on
some definite action.
Garibaldi's Corps, assembled at Autun, advanced toward Dijon on the
24th (November); its detachments closed up by Sombernon and St. Seine,
with various skirmishes, and subjected to night surprises. Cremer's
Division advanced as far as Gevrey from the south. But as soon as
reinforcements reached Dijon from Gray and Is sur Tille, the enemy was
driven back, and now General von Werder on his part ordered the 1st
Brigade of his Corps to march on Autun. General Keller (commanding 3rd
Infantry Brigade, Baden Division), arrived in front of the town on
December 1st, driving the hostile detachments before him. The
preparations had been made to attack on the following day, when orders
came for a rapid retreat. Fresh troops had become necessary at
Chatillon, to replace the posts which had been stationed to protect the
railway and which had been surprised at Gray, to cope with sorties by
the garrison of Besancon and also to observe Langres.
The Prussian Brigade (26th) marched on Langres, along with two cavalry
regiments and three batteries, and on the 16th it met the French in the
vicinity of Longeau, in number about 2000. They were repulsed, losing
200 wounded, fifty prisoners, two guns, and two ammunition waggons.
General von der Goltz (commanding the Brigade) in the next few days
surrounded Langres, drove the Gardes-Mobiles posted outside into the
fortress, and occupied a position opposite the northern front for the
protection of the railways.
In the country south of Dijon fresh assemblages of French troops had
also now been observed. To disperse these General von Werder advanced on
the 18th with two Baden Brigades on Nuits. In Boncourt, close to the
town on the east, the advanced guard met with lively opposition, but
carried the place by noon. The French, aided by their batteries posted
on the heights west of Nuits, offered an obstinate defence in the deep
railway cutting and at the Meuzin brook. When the main body of the
Brigade came up at two o'clock, General von Gluemer (commanding Baden
Division) ordered a general attack. With heavy losses, especially in
superior officers, the infantry now rushed across the open plain at the
double against the enemy, who was under cover, and who, after
maintaining a fire at short range, was driven back on Nuits so late as
four o'clock in the course of a hand-to-hand struggle. At five o'clock
he abandoned the place before the on-coming battalions.
The Germans had had to do with Cremer's Division, 10,000 strong, which
lost 1700 men, among them 650 unwounded prisoners. The Baden Division
had lost 900 men. It encamped for the night on the market-place of the
town and in the villages to the eastward. Next morning the French were
found to have retreated still further, but the Germans were not strong
enough for pursuit. The XIVth Corps had already been obliged to spare
seven battalions for the investment of Belfort. General von Werder
therefore returned to Dijon, where he assembled all the forces still
left to him with those of General von der Goltz from Langres, and waited
to see whether the enemy would again advance against him. But the month
of December ended without any further disturbance.
THE IST ARMY IN DECEMBER.
While the IInd Army was fighting on the Loire, General von Manteuffel,
after the victory of Amiens, marched on Rouen.
General Farre was indeed at Arras, in the rear of this movement, but the
disorder in which his troops had retired after the battle made it
probable that he would do nothing, at any rate for the present. The 3rd
Brigade, too, was left in Amiens, with two cavalry regiments and three
batteries, to occupy the place and protect the important line of railway
to Laon.
The outlook to the west was more serious than to the north, for from
thence at this juncture hostile forces threatened to interfere with the
investment of Paris. General Briand was at Rouen with some 20,000 men,
and had advanced his leading troops up to the Epte, where at Beauvais
and Gisors he came in contact with the Guard Dragoon regiment and the
Saxon Cavalry Division detached from the Army of the Meuse. The
detachment of infantry which accompanied the latter had lost 150 men and
a gun in a night surprise.
When the Ist Army reached the Epte on December 3rd, both bodies of
cavalry joined its further march, and the French retired behind the
Andelles. The VIIIth Corps reached the vicinity of Rouen after petty
skirmishes by the way, and found an intrenched position abandoned at
Isneauville; and on December 5th General von Goeben entered the chief
city of Normandy. The 29th Brigade advanced on Pont Audemer, the Ist
Corps crossed the Seine higher up at Les Andelys and Pont de l'Arche.
Vernon and Evreux were occupied, whence numbers of Gardes-Mobiles had
retreated by railway to Liseux. On the northern bank the Guard Dragoon
Regiment reconnoitred as far as Bolbec, and the Uhlan Brigade found no
enemy in Dieppe.
The French had retired to Havre, and a considerable force had been
conveyed in ships that were in readiness, to Honfleur on the other bank
of the Seine. The 16th Division continued its march on Havre, reaching
Bolbec and Lillebonne on the 11th.
The already-mentioned directions from Versailles had been communicated
in advance by the Chief of the General Staff, and in accordance with
them General Manteuffel now decided on leaving only the Ist Corps on the
Lower Seine, and returning with the VIIIth to the Somme, where the
French in Arras were now becoming active.
Besides making this evident by various small encounters, on December 9th
they had attacked a company detailed to protect the reconstruction of
the railway at Ham, surprising it at night, and taking most of the men
prisoners; while on the 11th several French battalions advanced as far
as La Fere.
To check their further progress, the Army of the Meuse had meantime sent
detachments to Soissons and Compiegne. General Count von der Groeben[56]
(commanding 3rd Cavalry Division) took up a position at Roye with part
of the garrison of Amiens, and on the 16th met the 15th Division at
Montdidier, which immediately moved up to the Somme.
Only the citadel of Amiens now remained in German occupation; but
General von Manteuffel, who had not approved of the evacuation of the
city, ordered its immediate reoccupation. The inhabitants had, however,
remained peaceable, and on the 20th the 16th Division, which had given
up the attack on Havre, arrived by way of Dieppe.
A reconnoissance fight near Querrieux made it certain that great numbers
of French were drawn up on the Hallue, and General von Manteuffel now
drew in the whole (VIIIth) Corps on Amiens. Reinforcements were shortly
to be expected, for the 3rd Reserve Division was on the march, and had
already reached St. Quentin. The Ist Corps was also ordered to send a
brigade from Rouen to Amiens by railway, and the Commanding General
determined to take the offensive at once with 22,600 men, all his
available force at the moment.
General Faidherbe had assembled two Corps, the XXIInd and XXIIIrd. His
advance on Ham and La Fere, intended to divert the Prussians from
attacking Havre, had succeeded. He next turned toward Amiens, advanced
to within nine miles of the city, and now stood, with 43,000 men and
eighty-two guns, fronting to the west behind the Hallue. Two Divisions
held the left bank of this stream for about seven miles, from its
confluence at Daours up to Contay, two standing further back, at Corbie
and Fravillers. The Somme secured the left flank.
On December 23rd General von Manteuffel, with the VIIIth Corps, advanced
on the road to Albert. The 3rd Brigade of the Ist Corps formed his
reserve. His design was to keep the French engaged by the 15th Division
on their front and left wing, and with the 16th Division to outflank
their right. The unexpected extension of the French right wing prevented
this, and it became a frontal battle along the whole line. The greater
height of the eastern bank afforded the French a commanding artillery
position, and the villages lying at the foot had in every instance to be
stormed.
The French had drawn in their advanced posts to this line when at eleven
o'clock the head of the 15th Division reached the grove of Querrieux,
and brought up a battery. Two battalions of the 29th Brigade took the
village at mid-day at the first onslaught, crossed the stream, and drove
the French on the further bank out of Noyelles; but they now found
themselves overwhelmed by an artillery and infantry fire from all sides.
The East Prussians[57] stormed the acclivity at about four o'clock, and
took two guns which were in action, but were forced to fall back into
the village before the advancing French masses.
Soon after mid-day Fechencourt was won on the left, and Bussy on the
right; and the enemy after a feeble resistance was driven back across
the stream. On the other hand, the German Artillery could at first do
nothing against the strong and well-posted batteries of the enemy.
Vecquemont, however, was stormed, though stoutly defended, and a bitter
street-fight lasted till the afternoon.
The 15th Division, against the intention of General Manteuffel, had
become involved in fighting before the 16th, engaged further to the
left, could afford it any assistance. Not till four o'clock did the 31st
Brigade arrive in front of Behencourt, when, crossing the river by
flying bridges, it threw the enemy back into the village, where he
maintained a stout resistance, but had ultimately to give way. The 32nd
Brigade, on the extreme left, crossed the Hallue and entered
Bavelincourt.
Thus all the hamlets on the river were in German possession; but the
short December day was closing in, and further progress had to be
postponed till the morrow. Even in the dark the French made several
attempts to recover the positions they had lost, especially about
Contay, where they outflanked the German position. But their attacks
were repulsed both there and at Noyelles. They succeeded, indeed, in
getting into Vecquemont, but were driven out again, and were lost to the
Prussians now following across the stream, who even seized Daours, so
that ultimately the Germans held dominion over every passage of the
Hallue.
The battle was over by six o'clock. The troops moved into alarm-quarters
in the captured villages, their foreposts standing close in front of the
outlets.
The attack had cost the Germans 900 men; the defence had cost the French
about 1000, besides 1000 unwounded prisoners who were taken into Amiens.
At daybreak on the 24th the French opened fire on General Manteuffel's
position in the angle bounded by the Hallue and the Somme.
It having been ascertained that the enemy's strength was almost double
that of the Germans, it was decided this day on the latter side to
remain on the defensive, pending the arrival of reinforcements, and to
strengthen the defence of the positions gained. The Army-Reserve was
pushed forward to Corbie to threaten the left flank of the French.
But at two o'clock in the afternoon General Faidherbe took up his
retreat. His insufficiently-equipped troops had suffered fearfully
through the bitter winter night, and were much shaken by the
unfavourable issue of the fighting of the previous day. He therefore
drew them back within the area of the covering fortresses. When on the
25th the two Prussian Divisions and the cavalry pursued beyond Albert,
and then close up to Arras and as far as Cambrai, they found no formed
bodies at all in front of those places, and only captured some hundreds
of stragglers.
When General Manteuffel had thus disposed of the enemy, he sent General
von Mirus (commanding 6th Cavalry Brigade) to invest Peronne, while he
himself returned to Rouen.
Since it had detached to Amiens six battalions as a reinforcement, the
Ist Army Corps (at Rouen) now remained only two brigades strong. The
French had 10,000 men on the right bank, and 12,000 on the left bank of
the lower Seine. And these forces had come very close to Rouen;
particularly on the south side within nine miles. Meanwhile, however,
the Commanding-General had ordered back the 2nd Brigade from Amiens, and
on its arrival the hostile bodies were once more driven back.
FOOTNOTES:
[56] Lieut.-General, not to be confounded with Major-General of same
name commanding 14th Cavalry Brigade.
[57] Men of the 2nd battalion 33rd Regiment (East Prussian Fusiliers),
belonging to the VIIIth Corps, whose territory is the Rhine Provinces.
It would be interesting to know how an East Prussian Regiment came to be
incorporated into the Rhineland Corps. The Ist is the East Prussian
Corps, and it was also under General v. Manteuffel, who had been the
Corps Commander until the beginning of December, when its command passed
to General v. Bentheim.
THE REDUCTION OF MEZIERES.
(1st January, 1871.)
In the northern section of hostilities, before the end of the year, the
siege of Mezieres was brought to an end. After the battle of Sedan the
Commandant had contributed supplies from the magazines of the fortress
for the maintenance of the great mass of prisoners, and it had remained,
therefore, for the time exempt from attack. Later the place precluded
the use of the railroad; still it was only kept under provisional
observation till the 19th of December, when, after the fall of Montmedy,
the 14th Division moved up before Mezieres.
The garrison numbered only 2000 men, but it was effectively assisted by
bands of volunteers outside, who displayed extraordinary activity in
this broken and wooded country. The place was not completely invested
till the 25th.
Mezieres stands on a mountain-spur which is surrounded on three sides by
the Moselle,[58] but it is hemmed by a ring of heights. The character of
the defences, which had been strengthened by Vauban, with their numerous
salient angles, was not calculated to resist modern long-range
artillery. The place exposed an isolated rampart of masonry in a
circumference of from 2160 to 3250 yards, and although the long delay
had been utilized in repairing the weak points by throwing up
earthworks, a bombardment could not fail to be destructive to the
defenders.
When Verdun had surrendered, heavy siege guns were brought by rail from
Clermont to a position close in front of the southern face of the
fortress. The only hindrance to the erection of the batteries was the
state of the soil, frozen to a depth of twenty inches; and at a quarter
past eight on the morning of the 31st of December 68 siege guns and 8
field-pieces opened fire. At first the fortress replied vigorously, but
by the afternoon its artillery was utterly silenced, and the white flag
was hoisted next day. The garrison were taken prisoners; considerable
stores and 132 guns fell into the hands of the besiegers. But the chief
advantage gained was the opening of a new line of railway to Paris.
FOOTNOTE:
[58] Slip of pen for "Meuse."
PARIS IN DECEMBER.
In Paris General Ducrot had been busily employed in making good the
losses sustained in the battle of Villiers. A part of the greatly
reduced Ist Corps had to be consigned to the reserve; the IInd Army was
reorganized. A projected sortie by way of the peninsula of Gennevillers
and the heights of Franconville had not been approved by the government.
There was the confident expectation of seeing the Army of Orleans appear
within a short time before the capital, and steps were being taken to
reach it the hand, when on the 6th December a letter from General von
Moltke announced the defeat of General d'Aurelle and the occupation of
Orleans. A sortie to the south would thenceforth be aimless, and after
long deliberation it was at length decided to break through the enemy's
lines in a northern direction by a sortie in great force.
It was true that the Moree brook afforded the besiegers some cover on
that side, but only so long as the ice would not bear. And there were
but three German corps of the gross strength of 81,200, extended over a
front of about twenty-seven miles.[59]
By way of preparation earthworks were begun to be thrown up on the 13th,
between Bondy and Courneuve, the forts of the north front were furnished
with a heavier artillery equipment, and the plateau of Mont Avron was
occupied by batteries. Ninety rounds of ammunition were served out to
each man, with six days' rations; and four days' fodder for the horses.
Packs were not to be carried, but rolled tent-pieces were to be worn as
breast-protection. December 19th was the day first set for the
enterprise, but there was a postponement to the 21st.
Thus, during the larger half of December the investing army had remained
almost wholly undisturbed by the defenders. Regular food, warm winter
clothing, and abundant supplies of comforts which the exertions of the
postal service afforded, had maintained the troops in a thoroughly
satisfactory condition.
The preparations which the garrison was making for a new effort did not
escape the notice of the besieging forces. Deserters brought in reports
of an imminent sortie. On the 20th information came from the posts of
observation that large masses of troops were assembling about Merlan and
Noisy le Sec; and early on the 21st the 2nd Guard Division, by order of
the Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the Meuse, stood in readiness at
the passages of the Moree. Part of the 1st Division remained in reserve
at Gonesse; the other portion was to be relieved by the 7th Division,
and made available for action. On the right wing the Guard Landwehr
Division occupied the section from Chatou to Carrieres St. Denis; on the
left a brigade of the Saxon Corps held Sevran. The 4th Infantry Division
of the IInd Corps moved to Malnoue to support, in case of need, the
Wuertembergers, to whom was allotted the task of holding resolutely the
advanced position of Joinville opposite the French.
To divert the attention of the Germans from the true point of attack, a
brisk fire was to be opened in early morning from Fort Valerien; strong
bodies were to assail the right wing of the Guard Corps, General Vinoy
was to lead the IIIrd Army against the Saxons, and Admiral de la
Ronciere was to fall upon Le Bourget with his Army Corps. This latter
post, projecting as it did so prominently, it was essential to seize
first of all, and not till then was General Ducrot, with the IInd Paris
Army, to cross the Moree near Blanc Mesnil and Aulnay.
(COMBAT OF LE BOURGET, 21ST DECEMBER.)--Le Bourget was held by only four
companies of the Queen Elizabeth Regiment, and one Guard Rifle
battalion. When the mist rose at a quarter to eight, there was rained on
the garrison a heavy fire from the guns of the forts and many batteries,
as well as from armour-clad railway trucks. Half an hour later closed
hostile columns marched on the place from east and west. In the former
direction its outskirts were successfully defended for some time against
seven French battalions, and on the opposite side five more were brought
to a halt by the quick fire of the defenders in front of the
cemetery[60]; but a detachment of marine fusiliers penetrated unhindered
into the village by its northern entrance. Pressed upon on all sides by
overwhelming numbers, the defenders were compelled to fall back into the
southern part of the village. The garrison of the cemetery also strove
to force its way thither, but part of it fell into the enemy's hands.
The French advanced only step by step, suffering heavy loss in bloody
street-fighting, but they did not succeed in obtaining possession of the
buildings or glass-factory. Five fresh battalions of the French reserve
marched up from St. Denis on the gas-works, and battered down the
garden-wall with cannon-fire, but still could not crush there the steady
resistance of the Germans.
At nine o'clock the latter were reinforced by one company, and at ten
o'clock by seven more companies, which in a bloody hand-to-hand
struggle, fought their way to the cemetery and glass-factory. By eleven
the last bodies of assailants were driven out, and Le Bourget, in
expectation of a renewed attack, was occupied by fifteen companies. Two
batteries of field artillery, which had been in brisk action on the
Moree, were brought up to the village.
General Ducrot had meanwhile waited in vain for the signal which was to
have announced the capture of Le Bourget. He had pushed forward the
heads of his columns beyond Bondy and Drancy, when he was warned by the
disastrous issue of the struggle on his left to abandon his intended
attack on the line of the Moree.
The anticipated important enterprise lapsed into a mere cannonade, to
which the German field-guns did their best to reply. In the afternoon
the French retired from the field.
They had lost, by their own account, about 600 men. The troops of the
Prussian Guard Corps lost 400, but 360 prisoners remained in their
hands. In the evening the outposts resumed their previous positions.
The various feigned attacks of the Parisian garrison were without
effect, and produced no alteration in the dispositions made on the
German side. An advance from St. Denis against Stains was repulsed, and
two gunboats on the Seine had to go about in consequence of the fire of
four field batteries on Orgemont. The trivial sortie on Chatou was
scarcely heeded. General Vinoy indeed led forward a large force along
the right bank of the Marne, but that was not till the afternoon, when
the fight at Le Bourget was over. The Saxon outposts retired into the
fighting position near Le Chenay. One of the battalions massed there
drove the enemy out of Maison Blanche that same evening, another made a
grasp at Ville Evrart, where fighting went on till midnight; it lost
seventy men, but brought in 600 prisoners. Next morning the French
abandoned Ville Evrart, under heavy fire from the German artillery on
the heights on the opposite side of the river.
Paris had now been invested for three months. The always distasteful
expedient of a bombardment of a place so extensive could not of itself
bring about a decisive result; and on the German side there was the full
conviction that only a regular siege could accomplish the wished-for
end. But the operations of the engineers had to be delayed till the
artillery should be in a position to co-operate with them.
It has already been shown that the siege-artillery had been first
employed against those fortified places which interrupted the rearward
communications of the army. There were indeed 235 heavy pieces standing
ready at Villacoublay; but it had proved impossible as yet to bring up
the necessary ammunition for the attack which, once begun, must on no
account be interrupted.
By the end of November, railway communication had been restored up to
Chelles, but the greater part of the ammunition had meanwhile been
deposited at Lagny, and from thence would now have to be carried forward
by the country roads. The ordinary two-wheeled country carts proved
totally unfit for the transport of shells, and only 2000 four-wheeled
waggons had been collected by requisitions made over a wide area. There
were brought up from Metz 960 more with horses sent from Germany, and
even the teams of the IIIrd Army were taken into the service, though
they were almost indispensable just then to contribute towards the
efficiency of the army fighting on the Loire. Finally, all the draught
horses of the pontoon columns, of the field-bridge trains, and of the
trench-tool columns were brought into the ammunition-transport service.
A new difficulty arose when the breaking-up of the ice necessitated the
removal of the pontoon bridges over the Seine. The roads were so bad
that it took the waggons nine days to get from Nanteuil to Villacoublay
and back. Many broke down under their loads, and the drivers constantly
took to flight. And moreover, at the instance of the Chief of the Staff
there was now laid upon the artillery yet an additional task to be
carried out forthwith.
Though the besieged had not hitherto succeeded in forcing their way
through the enemy's lines, they now set about widening their elbow room,
with intent that by their counter-approaches the ring of investment
should be further and yet further pushed back, until at last it should
reach the breaking point. On the south side the French entrenchments
already extended beyond Vitry and Villejuif to the Seine; and on the
north, between Drancy and Fort de l'Est, there was an extensive system
of trenches and batteries reaching to within 1100 yards of Le Bourget,
which in part might in a manner be dignified with the title of a regular
engineer-attack. The hard frost had indeed hindered the further progress
of these works, but they were armed with artillery and occupied by the
IInd Army. And further, a singularly favourable point of support for a
sortie to the east as well as to the north, was afforded to the French
in the commanding eminence of Mont Avron, which, armed with seventy
heavy guns, projected into the Marne valley like a wedge between the
northern and southern investing lines.
(BOMBARDMENT OF MONT AVRON, DECEMBER 27TH.)--In order to expel the
French from this position fifty heavy guns from Germany, and twenty-six
from before La Fere were brought up under the command of Colonel
Bartsch. By the exertions of a whole battalion as a working party, two
groups of battery emplacements were erected in spite of the severe frost
on the western slope of the heights behind Raincy and Gagny, and on the
left upland of the Marne Valley near Noisy le Grand, thus encompassing
Mont Avron on two sides at a distance of from 2160 to 3250 feet.
At half-past eight on the morning of 27th December those seventy-six
guns opened fire. A heavy snowstorm interfered with accurate aim, and
prevented any observation of the execution done. Mont Avron and Forts
Nogent and Rosny replied rapidly and heavily.
The German batteries lost two officers and twenty-five gunners, several
gun-carriages broke down under their own fire, and everything pointed to
the prospect that no definite result would be obtained on that day.
But the batteries had fired more effectually than had been supposed. The
clear weather of the 28th allowed of greater precision; the Prussian
fire proved most telling, making fearful havoc in the numerous and
exposed French infantry garrison. Mont Avron was silenced, and only the
forts kept up a feeble fire. General Trochu, who was present in person,
ordered the abandonment of the position, which was so effectually
accomplished in the night by the energetic commander, Colonel Stoffel,
that only one disabled gun was left behind.
On the 29th the French fire was silent, and the hill was found deserted.
The Germans had no intention of continuing to occupy the position. Their
batteries now turned their fire on the forts, which suffered severely,
and on the earthworks near Bondy.
By the end of the year the besiegers had succeeded in collecting the
most indispensable ammunition in Villacoublay. The engineer operations
were entrusted to General Kameke; the artillery was under the command of
General Prince Hohenlohe.[61] The battery emplacements had long been
finished, and with the dawn of the new year 100 guns of the largest
calibres stood ready to open fire on the south front of Paris.
FOOTNOTES:
[59] Viz., the section of the investment line on the northern side, from
the Marne above, to the Seine below Paris, held by the Army of the
Meuse, consisting of the IVth, the Guard, and XIIth (Saxon) Corps.
[60] "Kirchhof" seems to stand in German not only for our "churchyard,"
but also for our "graveyard," in which latter there need be no church.
In the case of Le Bourget the church stands in the village street--the
reader will remember de Neuville's striking picture--and the graveyard
lies outside the shabby village, and has the aspect of the modern
"cemetery." That term has therefore been used.
[61] Details as to the personnel of the artillery and engineer commands
of the siege operations will be found on a later page.
THE ARMY OF THE EAST UNDER GENERAL BOURBAKI.
While the French forces were engaged in constant fighting, in the north
on the Seine and the Somme, in the south on the Loire and the Saone,
General Bourbaki's army had nowhere made itself prominent. Since the 8th
of December, when the 6th Cavalry Division had reported its presence at
Vierzon, all trace of it had been lost. It was of course of the greatest
importance to the supreme Command that it should know the whereabouts of
so large an army; only the IInd German Army could acquire this
information, and on the 22nd it received instructions to obtain the
required enlightenment by means of reconnaissances.
On this errand General von Rantzau (commanding 25th Cavalry Brigade) set
out from Montargis by the right bank of the Loire towards Briare, where
he found that the French had abandoned their position on the 25th; in
the course of the next few days he met them, and was defeated.
The Hessian detachment was reinforced to a strength of three battalions,
four squadrons and six guns, but was nevertheless driven back to Gien on
the 1st of January. The French had displayed a force of several thousand
Gardes-Mobiles, twelve guns, and a body of marine infantry. A noticeable
fact was that some of the prisoners brought in belonged to the XVIIIth
French Corps, which formed part of the Ist Army of the Loire.
A regiment of the 6th Cavalry Division sent out to reconnoitre into the
Sologne, returned with the report that strong hostile columns were
marching on Aubigny Ville. On the other hand, two waggon-drivers who had
been taken prisoners declared that the French troops had been already
moved from Bourges by rail, and the newspaper reports also pointed to
the same conclusion; still, too much weight could not be attached to
mere rumour as against circumstantial intelligence. It was therefore
assumed at Versailles that the Ist Army of the Loire was still about
Bourges, and that General Bourbaki, when again in a condition to fight,
would act in concert with General Chanzy.
The two armies might attack the Germans at Orleans from opposite sides,
or one might engage and detain them there, while the other marched to
relieve the capital.
This, in fact, was what General Chanzy had in view. Since the 21st of
December he had been resting in quarters in and about Le Mans, where
railways from four directions facilitated the bringing up of new levies.
His troops had no doubt great hardships to contend with there. In lack
of shelter for such great masses part had to camp out under canvas in
the snow, and suffered severely from the intense cold. The hospitals
were crammed with wounded and small-pox patients. On the other hand,
this close concentration was favourable to the reorganization of the
details and the restoration of discipline; and the news from Paris urged
the General to renewed action.
General Trochu had sent word that Paris unaided could not accomplish her
freedom. Even if a sortie should prove successful, the necessary
supplies for the maintenance of an army could not be carried with it,
and therefore nothing but the simultaneous appearance of an army from
without could meet the case. Now General Chanzy was quite ready to march
on Paris, but it was indispensable that he should first know exactly
what Generals Bourbaki and Faidherbe were doing.
It was clearly evident that concerted action on the part of three great
Army Corps could only be devised and controlled by the chief power. The
General therefore sent an officer of his Staff on the 23rd of December
to Gambetta at Lyons, to express his conviction that only a combined and
prompt advance could avert the fall of the capital. But the Minister
believed that he knew better. The first news of a quite different
disposition of Bourbaki's army only reached General Chanzy on the 29th,
when it was already entered upon. Nor in other respects did Gambetta's
reply convey either distinct orders or sufficient information. "You have
decimated the Mecklenburgers," wrote Gambetta, "the Bavarians no longer
exist, the rest of the German Army is a prey to disquietude and
exhaustion. Let us persevere, and we shall drive these hordes from our
soil with empty hands." The plan of the Provisional Government was to be
the one "which would most demoralize the German army."[62]
Under instructions so obscure from the chief authority General Chanzy,
relying on his own strength, determined to make his way to Paris without
other assistance; but he soon found himself in serious difficulties.
On the German side there was no time to be lost in utilizing their
position between the two hostile armies, advantageous as it was so long
as those armies were not too near. The simultaneous attacks on the 31st
December at Vendome on the Loir, and at Briare on the Loire, seemed to
indicate that the two were already acting on a concerted plan.
On New Year's day Prince Frederick Charles received telegraphic
instructions to re-cross the Loir without delay, and strike at General
Chanzy, as being the nearest and most imminently dangerous enemy. With
this object the IInd Army was strengthened by the addition of the XIIIth
Corps of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg (17th and 22nd Divisions) and the
2nd and 4th Divisions of Cavalry. And in addition the 5th Cavalry
Division was detailed to the duty of covering the right flank of the
advance.
Only the 25th (Hessian) Division was to be left in Orleans as a possible
check on General Bourbaki, and to maintain observation on Gien. But as a
further provision, in case of need against a possible advance of the
IInd Army of the Loire, General von Zastrow was ordered to the Armancon
with the VIIth Corps;[63] and further the IInd Corps from the besieging
lines was set in march to Montargis.
Prince Frederick Charles' arrangement was to have his three corps
assembled on the line Vendome--Moree by 6th January, and to order the
XIIIth from Chartres on Brou.
FOOTNOTES:
[62] "Qui demoralisera le plus l'armee Allemande."
[63] In effect, with only the Corps-headquarter and the 13th
Division--the 14th Division being still in the north-east.
THE ADVANCE OF THE IIND ARMY TO LE MANS.
The Germans had hoped to strike the enemy in his winter quarters; but
General Chanzy had provided against surprise by a cordon of strong
advanced positions. Nogent le Rotrou on his left was held by Rousseau's
Division, and numerous bands of volunteers; from thence strong
detachments were posted through Vibraye and St. Calais up to the Braye
brook, where General Jouffroy had made a halt after the last attack on
Vendome; and on the right were General Barry at La Chartre and de
Curten's Division at Chateau Renault.
Both wings of the German army came into collision with these forces on
the 5th of January.
General Baumgarth (commanding 2nd Cavalry Brigade), on the German left,
had assembled at St. Amand three battalions, two cavalry regiments and
two batteries. The 57th regiment stormed Villeporcher in the direction
of Chateau Renault, evacuated it in face of an attack by four French
battalions, and finally recaptured and held it. This much, at any rate,
was thus ascertained, that a not inconsiderable force of the enemy was
assembled in front of the left wing of the German army now marching
westward. While this movement was in prosecution General Baumgarth was
thenceforth to undertake its protection, and with this object he was
reinforced by the addition of the 6th Cavalry Division and the 1st
Cavalry Brigade.
On the right wing the 44th Brigade, in its advance on Nogent le Rotrou,
also had had a sharp encounter. It carried the enemy's position at La
Fourche, and captured three guns, with a large number of prisoners. The
main body of the Corps (the XIIIth) reached Beaumont les Autels and
Brou, but the cavalry failed to penetrate the woods to the north of
Nogent.
_January 6th._--At six in the morning the advanced guard of General
Baumgarth's detachment started on march to Prunay, but the main body
could not follow, since it was attacked in force at about half-past
nine. With the object of observing the enemy, the infantry had been
scattered in detached posts in a wide extension from Ambloy to
Villeporcher, and only a small reserve remained at La Noue. The fight
soon assumed greater expansion, and the defence with difficulty
maintained the line Les Haies--Pias, the turning of the German left
flank being seriously threatened, upon which the 6th Cavalry Division
moved up, but could only enter the fight with one horse battery. The
reserve, however, moved up along the high road to Chateau Renault and
repulsed the enemy, who had already forced his way into Les Haies. But
when he renewed the attack in strong columns and developed four
batteries against the place, the reserve was obliged to retire behind
the Brenne.
Meanwhile the 16th Regiment, which had already reached Ambloy on its
march to Vendome, turned back to St. Amand in support, and the just
assembled 38th Infantry Brigade deployed between Neuve St. Amand and St.
Amand with a strong force of cavalry on its flanks. But as by some
mistake St. Amand was evacuated, Duke William of Mecklenburg (commanding
6th Cavalry Division) ordered a further retreat. The infantry, however,
had already come to a halt at Huisseau and took quarters there. The
advanced guard turned into Ambloy; the cavalry fell back partly on that
place and partly on Villeromain.
During the engagement about St. Amand the Xth Corps itself advanced on
Montoire in two columns along the left bank of the Loire, leaving on its
right a battalion in front of Vendome to secure the debouche of the
IIIrd Corps through that place.
When the 20th Division reached St. Rimay at about one o'clock, it found
the heights on the opposite side of the Loir occupied by General Barry's
troops. The massed German batteries were brought up to the southern
ridge of the valley and soon drove the French off the broad flats; but
the defile of Les Roches in the front remained quite unassailable. The
broken bridge at Lavardin, lower down the stream, was therefore made
practicable by the pioneers. The 19th Division having meanwhile reached
that place, several battalions crossed from the south side to attack Les
Roches, and easily dislodged the French. As darkness came on, preventing
any further advance, the Corps found quarters in and about Montoire.
The Commander of the IIIrd Corps had intended to make a halt on this day
before Vendome, and only push forward his advanced guard as far as the
Azay brook; but this detachment soon met with so stout opposition, that
the main force was compelled to advance to its assistance. General de
Jouffroy, with intent to disengage General de Curten, had renewed the
attack on Vendome, and so the advanced guard of the 5th Division,
approaching Villiers at about half-past one, found the 10th Jaeger
Battalion, which had accompanied the march of its Corps along the right
bank of the Loir, engaged at that place in a sharp fight which had
already lasted four hours. The advanced guard brought up its two
batteries on to the plateau north of the village, and the 48th Regiment
made its way forward to the slope of the lower Azay valley, the broad
flat meadows of which were commanded by the French long-range rifles and
completely swept by the fire of the artillery. And here then the enemy
came over to the attack in dense swarms of sharp-shooters.
The 8th Regiment presently came up in support, and after a short fight
took possession of Le Gue du Loir on its left flank; then the further
reinforcement arrived of the 10th Infantry Brigade, and by degrees the
number of Prussian guns increased to thirty-six. The French artillery
could not endure their fire, and within half an hour it was possible to
turn it on the hostile infantry. At about half-past four the German
battalions crossed the valley, made themselves masters of the vineyards
and farms on the opposite heights, and finally stormed Mazange. Under
cover of the darkness the French retired to Lunay.
Further to the right the advance guard of the 6th Division, having left
Vendome at eleven o'clock, found the battalion left by the Xth Corps at
Courtiras fighting hard against a very superior force of the French. The
11th Brigade advanced on the Azay ravine, though not without heavy loss,
and when at about half-past three the 12th also came up, and the
artillery went to work vigorously, Azay was successfully stormed and the
force established itself firmly on the heights beyond. Repeated
counterstrokes of the enemy were repulsed in succession, and by five
o'clock the fighting ended with the retirement of the French.
The IIIrd Army Corps took up quarters between the Azay stream and the
Loir. A detachment occupied Danze, higher up the river. The Corps lost
thirty-nine officers and above 400 men, but captured 400 prisoners.
In the course of the day the IXth Corps crossed the upper Loir about
Freteval and St. Hilaire, without opposition, and advanced along the
high road to St. Calais, as far as Busloup. The XIIIth remained at
Unverre, Beaumont, and La Fourche.
Prince Frederick Charles had not been led into any change of purpose by
the attack at St. Amand and the obstinate resistance at Azay. The XIIIth
Corps was expected to reach Montmirail, and the XIth Epuisay, both on
the 7th; the IIIrd was to continue the attack on the deep-cut channel of
the Braye brook. But after the reverse experienced at St. Amand, the
presence of a strong hostile force on the left flank could not be
suffered to remain unregarded. Duke William had already been given
verbal orders at the Head-quarter in Vendome, to turn back forthwith to
St. Amand with the 6th Cavalry Division, and in addition General von
Voigts-Rhetz was ordered to support General Baumgarth if necessary with
his whole Corps.
The country between the Loir and the Sarthe through which the Germans
had to march, presents peculiar difficulties to an invading force, and
affords marked advantages to the defence.
All the roads leading to Le Mans intersect at right angles, stream after
stream flowing through broad and deeply cut meadow-valleys. Groves,
villages, and chateaux with walled parks cover the highly cultivated
upland; vineyards, orchards and gardens are enclosed by hedges, ditches
or fences.
Hence almost the whole burthen of the impending fighting would have to
be borne by the infantry; nowhere was there space for the deployment of
cavalry, and the use of artillery needs must be extremely limited, since
in a country so greatly enclosed guns could only singly be brought into
action. The enemy's central position could be approached by only four
main roads, and the communications between the marching columns,
starting at the least some thirty miles apart, would be confined to the
cross roads, almost impassable from the severity of the season and the
hostility of the inhabitants. Any lateral mutual support was at first
quite out of the question.
Under such conditions the movements could only be guided by general
instructions, and even the leaders of lower grades had to be left free
to act at their own individual discretion. Specific orders for each day,
though they would of course be issued, could not in many cases be
possibly carried out. In the Army Headquarter it could not be foreseen
in what situation each individual corps might find itself after a day's
fighting. Reports could only come in very late at night, and the orders
drawn up however early would often arrive only after the troops, because
of the shortness of the day, had already set out on the march.
_January 7th._--In obedience to orders from the Army Headquarter,
General Voigts-Rhetz on the 7th sent the part of the 19th Division which
had already reached Vendome, back to St. Amand in reinforcement. The
38th Brigade had again entered that place early in the day, and General
von Hartmann, taking over its command, advanced along the Chateau
Renault high road, the cavalry moving on both flanks.
The column first struck the enemy near Villechauve at mid-day. A thick
fog prevented the employment of the artillery, and it was at the cost of
heavy loss that Villechauve, Pias, and various other farmsteads were
captured. Villeporcher and the adjacent villages remained in possession
of the French, who at about two o'clock advanced by the high road to the
attack with several battalions. The weather had cleared, and it was soon
evident that this offensive was only intended to mask the beginning of
the enemy's retreat to the westward. The troops took quarters where they
stood, and the reinforcements forwarded to them remained at St. Amand.
The Xth Corps, awaiting the return of the latter, remained in its
quarters about La Chartre; only the 14th Cavalry Brigade went on up to
La Richardiere to establish connection with the IIIrd Corps. But it did
not succeed in taking the village with dismounted troopers.
General von Alvensleben[64] hoped to overtake the French on the hither
side of the glen of Braye, and by turning their left wing to drive them
on to the Xth Corps, whose co-operation had been promised. The IIIrd
Corps advanced in the direction of Epuisay, leaving one brigade to
garrison Mazange, and when tidings reached it on the march that the
French had evacuated Lunay and Fortan, that brigade also followed by way
of the latter village.
Epuisay was found to be strongly held, and in the meantime the advanced
guard of the IXth Corps, advancing from Busloup, also arrived there. But
it was not till half-past one that the French were expelled from the
little town, which they had strongly barricaded; and on the hither side
of the Braye they renewed their resistance in the numerous hamlets and
farmsteads. A long fire fight was kept up in the thick fog; but at
length, at about four o'clock, the 12th Brigade pushed forward to the
edge of the valley. The 9th Brigade took possession of Savigny without
meeting any serious opposition, and Sarge was stormed in the dusk.
The IIIrd Corps had lost forty-five men and had taken 200 prisoners. It
found quarters behind the Braye, but threw forward outposts on its
western bank. The IXth Corps found shelter in and about Epuisay, and
thus, as a matter of fact, two corps were now crowded on one of the few
available roads. The 2nd Cavalry Division went to the right, towards
Mondoubleau, to make connection with the XIIIth Corps. The French
retreated to St. Calais.
The order from the Army Head-quarter that the XIIIth Corps was to march
to Montmirail, had been issued on the presumption that it would have
reached Nogent le Rotrou on the 6th, whereas in fact, as has been
shown, it had remained at La Fourche, Beaumont, and Unverre. The Grand
Duke, who expected to experience a stout resistance, did not pass to the
attack of Nogent till the 7th. When the 22nd Division arrived there, it
found all the villages deserted in the Upper Huisne valley and was able
to enter Nogent without any fighting at two o'clock. It took up quarters
there, the 4th Cavalry Division at Thirion Gardais; and only an advanced
guard followed the enemy. It found the wood near Le Gibet strongly
occupied, and did not succeed in forcing it till after nightfall.
The French had retired to La Ferte Bernard.
The 17th Division had at first followed in reserve. But at one o'clock,
in consequence of the reports brought in, the Grand Duke detached it
southward to Authon; and in order to follow the Head-quarter
instructions as closely as possible he did at least push a detachment of
two battalions, two cavalry regiments, and one battery towards
Montmirail, under the command of General von Rauch.
_January 8th._--Finding on the morning of the 8th that the enemy was not
advancing to the attack of St. Amand, General von Hartmann at nine
o'clock sent back the troops which had crossed the river to his support.
At ten o'clock also he received instructions to join the Xth Corps; but
the French still continued to hold Villeporcher and the forest lying
behind it, and were also drawn up across the Chateau Renault high road
in a very advantageous position behind the Brenne. The General
recognized the necessity of making a decisive stand here, and took the
best means to that end by acting himself on the offensive. Supported by
the fire of his battery, and accompanied by the cavalry on either flank,
six companies of the 60th Regiment marched on Villeporcher, drove back
its defenders in flight into the forest of Chateau Renault, and took 100
prisoners. On the left the 9th Uhlans drove the Chasseurs d'Afrique
before them. Not till darkness had set in did General von Hartmann
proceed in the direction of Montoire.
General von Voigts-Rhetz had already set out from thence very early in
the day. The night's frost had covered the roads with ice, which cruelly
impeded all movements of troops. The road on the right bank of the Loir
was in many places broken up. It passed through a succession of narrow
defiles, and on emerging from these the advanced guard found itself face
to face with a force of about 1000 Gardes-Mobiles, who had taken up a
position in front of La Chartre. Their mitrailleuses were soon forced to
a hasty retreat by the fire of two field-guns, but it was only after a
prolonged struggle that the infantry, moving with difficulty, succeeded
at 4 o'clock in entering the town, where it took up quarters. Two
battalions which were sent further on the road, had to fight for their
night's shelter, and all through the night were exchanging shots with
the enemy at close quarters, of whom 230 were taken prisoners.
The 39th Brigade, which left Ambloy in the morning, could follow the
corps only as far as Souge.
General von Schmidt with the 14th Cavalry Brigade was sent to the right,
to try to make connection with the IIIrd Corps. He was received at Vance
with a sharp fire. The leading squadron made way for the horse battery,
and a volley of grape-shot from the foremost gun drove the dismounted
hostile Cuirassiers behind the hedges. When two more guns were brought
up into position, their shell fire dispersed in every direction a long
column of cavalry.
Colonel von Alvensleben pursued the French cavalry with the 15th Uhlan
Regiment till he came upon a body of infantry guarding the Etang-fort
brook. The brigade halted at Vance, after putting about 100 French _hors
de combat_.
Of the IIIrd Corps the 6th Division had moved forward through St.
Calais. The French tried to hold the cuttings on the greatly broken up
roads; but they nowhere awaited a serious attack, and made off, for the
most part in carts which were in waiting. The 5th Division, proceeding
on a parallel front on the left, met with no opposition; but the state
of the roads made the march extremely difficult. The corps halted on the
hither side of Bouloire. The IXth Corps came up behind it into St.
Calais.
The Grand Duke had moved both Divisions of the XIIIth Corps on La Ferte
Bernard. On their way they came across none but stragglers, but they
found the roads so utterly cut up that not till four in the afternoon
did they reach the place, where they took up quarters. The French had
retired to Connerre. The 4th Cavalry Division was to secure the right
flank on the further advance, but could not get as far forward as
Belleme; on the other hand, General von Rauch's (commanding 15th Cavalry
Division) detachment despatched leftward towards Montmirail, surprised
the French in Vibraye, and took possession of the bridge over the Braye.
By the evening of this day the two flank Corps of the German Army were
at an equal distance from Le Mans, both on the same high road which
crosses the district of the Quere from La Ferte Bernard in a southerly
direction through St. Calais and La Chartre; the IIIrd Corps was further
in advance, separated from each of them by the interval of a long march.
A closer concentration of the forces could be attained only by a further
advance along the converging highways. Prince Frederick Charles
therefore issued an order at ten o'clock that evening, for the Xth Corps
to march next day to Parigne l'Eveque, the IIIrd to Ardenay, and the
XIIIth on to the heights of Montfort, the advanced guard of each to be
pushed forward beyond these respective points. The IXth, in the centre,
was to follow, while General von Hartmann was to protect Vendome with
the 38th Brigade and the 1st Division of Cavalry.
But the distances prevented the flanking corps advancing from La Chartre
and La Ferte from reaching their respective destinations, and, on the
9th of January, snow-storms, ice-bound roads, and thick fog further
combined to make their progress arduous beyond conception.
_January 9th._--General von Hartmann marched the 38th Infantry Brigade
on Chateau Renault, and entered the town at one o'clock, to find that
Curten's French Division had started early in the morning for St.
Laurent.
The incomplete Xth Corps moved this day in two columns; the detachment
of General von Woyna (commanding 39th Infantry Brigade) was to march
from Pont de Braye by Vance, the remainder of the corps from La Chartre
by way of Brives to Grand Luce.
The 20th Division had scarcely set out by this route from L'Homme, when
it encountered shell and mitrailleuse-fire. Here there happened for once
to be room for three batteries to advance, but in the heavy snow-fall
aim was out of the question. The infantry, however, by degrees drove the
enemy out of sundry hamlets and farmsteads, and back across the Brives.
To pursue him beyond that stream a makeshift bridge needed first to be
thrown across with some loss of time, and then Chahaignes was to be
seized. But in the narrow valley which had to be now traversed a
vigorous resistance was to be counted on. The state of the road was such
that the artillerymen and cavalry had to dismount and lead their horses.
The General in command rode on a gun-carriage; his staff went on foot.
Some horses which had fallen in front presently stopped the way for the
whole column; and it therefore became necessary to send back all the
Corps-artillery, which was to try next day to come on by way of Vance.
To facilitate the march of the 20th Division, General von Woyna had
been instructed to deviate from his direct road and attack the enemy's
left. When he approached the valley the fighting had fallen silent, and
the detachment turned back to Vance; but at Brives at about half-past
three the main column met with fresh resistance, being received with a
brisk fire from the heights north-east of the village. Not even the
infantry could move outside of the high road, so there was no
alternative to a frontal advance along it. A closed attack by the 39th
Brigade broke up and routed the enemy. At half-past six in the evening,
when quite dark, Colonel von Valentini set out for St. Pierre with four
battalions, and took there 100 French prisoners and a loaded train of
100 waggons. The Xth Corps spent the night with only its advance in
Brives and Vance, but its quarters reached back nearly to the valley of
the Loir. Nor had the 14th Brigade of Cavalry been able to make any
further headway.
Of the IIIrd Corps the 6th Division had marched by the high road through
Bouloire, with the artillery corps; the 5th on the left along the
by-roads. The advanced guard of the 6th Division, after a lively
fire-fight, expelled the enemy from his positions in front of Ardenay,
but there at two o'clock had to encounter a determined resistance. After
General de Jouffroy had withdrawn from St. Calais to the southward,
General Chanzy pushed forward Paris' Division to secure the high road
leading from thence to Le Mans. It had taken up a position near Ardenay,
occupying the chateau on the right, and on the left posting four guns
and two mitrailleuses near La Butte. To oppose these there was only room
on the road for two German guns, which, however, in the course of half
an hour silenced the mitrailleuses, and carried on the unequal contest
with the greatest obstinacy. At about four o'clock five companies of the
12th Brigade stormed the chateau of Ardenay, while others, crossing the
meadowland to the right, forced their way through a patch of wood
towards La Butte. As night came on the French tried to effect a general
attack along the chaussee; but this was repulsed, and the
Brandenburgers[65] plunged through the heavy fire of the defenders, and
without firing a shot took La Butte and Ardenay with a rush and a cheer.
The French were thrown back into the valley of the Narais, losing many
prisoners.
On the right a detachment of one battalion, two squadrons, and two guns,
accompanied the 6th Division. It drove before it franctireur bodies, but
at La Belle Inutile met with more serious resistance. The post was,
however, carried by the 24th Regiment, which made prize of a large
ammunition and provision train, and took above 100 unwounded prisoners.
Count zu Lynar moved into the village for its defence.
The 5th Division met with no opposition, but the state of the roads
caused extreme delay to its progress. It was not till the afternoon that
its head reached the Narais at Gue de l'Aune and took up quarters there
and rearward to St. Mars de Locquenay. Its advanced guard went on,
however, to La Buzardiere, thus forming the absolute head of the whole
army. Parigne l'Eveque, on its left flank, was found to be held by the
enemy.
The IXth Corps followed the IIIrd to Bouloire.
Orders from head-quarters had not yet reached La Ferte when, at nine in
the morning, the Grand Duke set the XIIIth Corps in motion on Connerre.
Soon after midday the 17th Division came upon the French near Sceaux,
and in a struggle wherein it slowly gained ground, drove them first out
of the village precincts and then off the road. The French, who had
retreated to Connerre by a forced night march, lost above 500 prisoners
in this small affair. But the short day was closing in, and the advanced
guard halted at dusk at Duneau. A detachment going further forward found
Connerre occupied by the French, and many watch-fires blazing in the
valley of the Due. The main body of the infantry found quarters in and
about Sceaux.
Rauch's detachment, ordered to rejoin the Corps, took possession of Le
Croset and of the bridge over the Due in front of that village, and also
expelled the French from Thorigne.
The French stayed in Connerre only till the evening; then, leaving a
company in occupation, they continued their retreat. This necessarily
led from the left bank of the Huisne through the quarters taken up by
the IIIrd German Corps, which was disturbed all night by wandering
detachments of the enemy, even at Nuille, where the Divisional
headquarters lay.
On the extreme right the 4th Cavalry Division occupied Belleme, after
driving out the French battalion which had been in occupation there.
Thus on this day the centre of the IInd Army had fought its way to
within about nine miles of Le Mans; while the two wings were still some
distance behind. As it was probable that the French would accept battle
in a prepared position behind the Huisne, it seemed advisable to await
the arrival of the Xth and XIIIth Corps; but on the other hand, this
would also give the enemy time to strengthen himself. Were an immediate
attack determined on, the two Divisions which had been delayed
respectively at Chateau Renault and Le Chartre, could scarcely reach Le
Mans in time, and the rest of the army would be involved everywhere in a
disadvantageous contest with the hostile bodies which were being driven
back concentrically on that place. Prince Frederick Charles therefore
ordered the IIIrd Corps to push on through Ardenay; the Xth was to
advance to Parigne, and the XIIIth on St. Mars la Bruyere, though these
points could scarcely be reached from the positions actually occupied by
the respective Corps this same evening (9th).
As we have seen, the French army now assembled about Le Mans had been
acting on the offensive on January 6th, when General Jouffroy had
advanced on Vendome, and de Curten on St. Amand. But so early as the 7th
the French found themselves reduced to the defensive along their whole
front, some 50 miles in length. General Rousseau, on the left wing, had
evacuated Nogent le Rotrou, and, without being pressed, began his
retreat by a night march to Connerre. In the centre, the trough of the
Braye was wrested from General Jouffroy; he quitted St. Calais, not
rearward on Le Mans, but southward to join General Barry. On the right,
General Curten had abandoned Chateau Renault, and set out, unpursued, on
the line through Chateau du Loir. To effect some concert in the
operations of the three Divisions of his right wing, General Chanzy
placed them under the superior orders of Admiral Jaureguiberry. He
pushed forward the Division Paris on Ardenay by the high road General
Jouffroy had uncovered, and on the left wing he reinforced General
Rousseau by stationing three Divisions more on either side of his line
of retreat. General Jouffroy was to retire to Parigne l'Eveque, and a
Division was sent to meet him there and at Change.
General de Curten succeeded on the 9th in checking the progress of the
German left wing for some time about Chahaignes; but the Division Paris
was driven back through Ardenay, and General Rousseau, thus beset in
Connerre, evacuated that village the same evening. The two Divisions of
the right wing were behind as far as Jupilles and Neuille Pont Pierre.
Under these circumstances General Chanzy ordered that on the 10th the
Division Jouffroy should fall back on Parigne l'Eveque, but that the
Division Paris should once more move forward on Ardenay. He sent the
remaining three Divisions of the XXIst Corps to meet General Rousseau,
with instructions that he was to retake Connerre and Thorigne.
The offensive movements thus planned by both sides developed into the
fierce battle which, on the German side, was fought out single-handed by
the IIIrd Corps.
FOOTNOTES:
[64] Lieut.-General Alvensleben II, commanding IIIrd Army Corps, not to
be confounded with Infantry-General Alvensleben I, commanding IVth
Corps.
[65] Brandenburg is the territorial province of the IIIrd Army Corps. It
was the nucleus of the Prussian monarchy, and the Hohenzollerns were
Margraves and then Electors of Brandenburg for 300 years before they
became Kings of Prussia. The IIIrd is unquestionably the most
distinguished Corps of the Prussian line. The late Prince Frederick
Charles long commanded it.
BATTLE IN FRONT OF LE MANS.
(10th, 11th, and 12th of January.)
_January 10th._--_The Fighting about Parigne and Change._--Owing to the
peculiar nature of the country, deep columns could not deploy without
great loss of time. General von Alvensleben therefore advanced in the
centre with the 9th and 11th Infantry Brigades on Change from Gue de
l'Aune and Ardenay, moving on a broad front in comparatively small
separate bodies. On the right the 12th marched by the high road to Le
Mans; on the left the 10th was to start from Volnay when Parigne should
be found abandoned by the French, and leaving that place on its left,
was also to converge on Change.
Parigne had, in fact, been deserted by the French, but had been
reoccupied before daybreak by a brigade of the Division Deplanque; and
even before the German troops had started, the far-advanced outposts
towards the forest of Loudon were smartly attacked. The greater part of
the 9th Brigade had to be deployed by degrees between Blinieres and the
point of the forest, but only seven guns could be brought into action
against the numerous French artillery. General von Stuelpnagel decided to
reserve his strength for the struggle at Change, and to carry on merely
a stationary fight here, which must be inevitably decided as soon as
the 10th Brigade should make its appearance on the left.
That brigade, delayed by the badness of the roads, did not arrive by way
of Challes till noon; but it brought two batteries to reinforce the
German artillery strength, which now vigorously prepared the infantry
attack on the high-lying Parigne. Half an hour later the battalions
rushed on the place with shouts of "Hurrah Brandenburg!" taking a gun
which the enemy had abandoned, and two mitrailleuses still in action.
When the French returned to try to recover them they were again
repulsed, and sacrificed another gun, two colours, and several waggons.
After losing 2150 prisoners they fled to the shelter of the forest of
Ruaudin. General von Stuelpnagel left two battalions at Parigne to
maintain observation in that quarter, and hurried on to Change in two
columns. In front of this village, at about three o'clock, the 11th
Brigade met with a violent resistance at the Gue Perray brook from the
other brigade of Deplanque's Division. The 2nd Battalion of the 35th
Regiment lost nine officers and above 100 men in a severe struggle at
Les Gars. The General in command, who was on the spot, dislodged both
flanks of the enemy from his strong position, and on the left two
companies succeeded in crossing the stream at La Goudriere.
These at four o'clock now fell in with the advanced guard of the 9th
Brigade, which Colonel Count von der Groeben was bringing up from
Parigne, having taken possession of the Chateau of Girardrie on the way.
When the companies of the 11th Brigade sent to the right reached Auvigne
simultaneously, the "General Advance" was sounded. Auvigne was stormed,
the bridge north of Gue la Hart was crossed, and that village carried
after a hard fight. Over 1000 prisoners more were taken from the flying
French.
It was already dark, but Change, the goal of the struggle, was not yet
reached. But when a barricade outside the village had been won it was
found that the 10th Brigade was already in possession. This brigade, on
its way along the high road from Parigne, had met with resistance at the
Chateaux Chef Raison and Paillerie. Having only two guns, it failed to
silence the French artillery, but General von Stuelpnagel left there only
a battalion in observation, and hurried forward with part of the brigade
to reinforce the fight at Gue la Hart; the other portion was directed
against Change. Here the French had already been for the most part
dismissed to quarters, but they soon assembled and made a prompt and
determined resistance. There ensued an embittered street-fight, which
ended in about an hour's time in the surrender of the whole garrison of
800 men, who had been crowded together into the market-place.
The 12th Brigade had at last left Ardenay at eleven o'clock; it advanced
along the high road without opposition as far as St. Hubert, where an
abandoned commissariat train was seized. Having there aligned itself
with the rest of the Corps it halted for a while, but after one o'clock
was fired upon by French artillery; and the enemy again advancing along
the highway, General von Buddenbrock[66] on his part passed to the
attack, and drove back the enemy out of Champagne, in part across the
Huisne, and in part to the heights behind the village. Two guns
successfully dealt with the fire of the French artillery near Lune
d'Auvours, and then the infantry expelled the French from that shelter
also.
Further to the right a German battalion had taken St. Mars la Bruyere
after a slight skirmish, and was subsequently joined there by General
Count zu Lynar's detachment.
Fighting thus with equal skill and success the IIIrd Corps had indeed
already lost 450 men; but it had brought in more than 5000 prisoners,
and had won many trophies of which it had a right to be proud.
The Xth Corps had started this day from Vance and Brives, and
unobstructed indeed by the enemy, but along very heavy roads, reached
Grand Luce at two o'clock. Here it took up quarters.
The IXth Corps remained at Nuille.
Of the XIIIth Corps the 17th Division had continued its advance along
the left bank of the Huisne, and found Connerre already deserted by the
French. But on the further side of the river the heights of Cohernieres,
the railway station, and the wood to the north, were occupied by the 2nd
Division of the French XXIst Corps. General von Rauch led two battalions
to the attack from the south, in which shared the 22nd Division from the
east, having crossed the Huisne at Sceaux and taken the direction of
Beille by the right bank. A stubborn resistance was encountered, and the
fight swayed to and fro till darkness fell. The Chateau of Couleon,
indeed, and several villages at the foot of the wooded heights were
taken, but the French maintained their hold on the heights and their
position at Cohernieres.
The 17th Division had meanwhile continued its advance along roads frozen
as smooth as glass, and reached La Belle Inutile; the 22nd passed the
night at Beille.
This division had in the morning sent a detachment sideward to
Bonnetable, whither the 4th Cavalry Division now proceeded. The 12th
Cavalry Brigade followed to Belleme. Colonel von Beckedorff then
continued his advance to Chanteloup, whence he drove out the French in
spite of an obstinate defence.
General Chanzy had determined to risk a decisive battle in front of Le
Mans. Curten's Division had not yet reached him, and only a part of
Barry's had come up, but on the other hand the army from the camp of
Conlie, in strength some 10,000 men, had arrived. The right wing of the
French position rested its flank on the Sarthe near Arnaye[67]; it
extended for more than four miles along the Chemin aux Boeufs, and
continued in a slight curve leftward to the Huisne. Barry's Division,
already weakened by previous reverses, and General Lalande's National
Guards--undisciplined and badly armed troops--were posted on the extreme
right which was the least threatened. Deplanque's and Roquebrune's
Divisions, Desmaison's Brigade and Jouffroy's Division, held the centre
and left, the last body in the first instance opposite to General von
Alvensleben. Behind this line Bouedec's Division and Colonel Marty's
detachment constituted a reserve. In all from 50,000 to 60,000 men under
the command of Admiral Jaureguiberry, with full ranks and well
commanded, crowded the entrenched front of the most important section of
the line--that between the two rivers (Sarthe and Huisne). Five
Divisions more, under the command of General de Colomb, lined the right
bank of the Huisne for a distance of about eight and a half miles, the
Division Paris was at Yvre; Gougeard's Division, also holding the
heights of Auvours on the hither side, was northward of Champagne; then
came Rousseau's Division at Montfort and Pont de Gesnes, and finally,
Collin's Division in hook-formation about Lombron. Besides these
Villeneuve's Division, quite on the flank, fronted toward Chanteloup.
_January 11th._--On this day the IIIrd German Army Corps was directly
opposed to the main body of the French forces. It could not for the
present hope for any assistance from the corps of the flanks, and had
before it the certainty of an arduous struggle.
On the left, the Xth Corps was still this morning at Grand Luce, and on
the right the XIIIth Corps had been detained on the previous day by the
obstinate resistance of the French, who had held their own between Les
Cohernieres and La Chapelle, and occupied Le Chene in their front.
The troops of the 22nd Division had necessarily lost their formations
and become mixed up in the course of the struggle in the wood, and it
was not till they had been re-formed and the enemy's position had been
reconnoitred by both the Divisional Commanders that the attack was
renewed at about eleven o'clock.
Two battalions of the 17th Division and one battery were left in
observation in front of Pont de Gesnes, on the southern bank of the
Huisne; on the northern side, the Mecklenburg battalions stormed
Cohernieres in the afternoon after a sharp contest, and in conjunction
with the Hessians forced their way westward up to the Gue and on towards
Lombron about four o'clock.
Further to the right two companies of the 90th Regiment (22nd Division)
meanwhile took Le Chene by a closed attack on the obstinate defenders;
the 83rd Regiment, after a sharp fire fight, stormed the farmsteads of
Flouret and La Grande Metairie. Colonel von Beckedorff, on being
relieved at Chanteloup by the 4th Cavalry Division, had driven the
French out of St. Celerin, and he then advanced to La Chapelle-St. Remy
on the right of the Division, which occupied wide quarters behind the
points it had seized.
The Mecklenburg Grenadiers had held their own for a long time at Le Gue
and La Brosse against superior numbers attacking from Pont de Gesnes;
but the main body of the 17th Division was retired in the evening
further back to Connerre.
The more completely that General von Alvensleben had to rely solely on
his own command, the more essential it was to keep the troops composing
it closely concentrated. But a strong force of the enemy was now on his
flank, almost indeed in his rear, on the heights of Auvours, where it
was only kept at bay by his 12th Brigade, which therefore for the
present was not free to advance.
And here it was that the battle first really began. The French had
repossessed themselves of Champagne, and had deployed artillery on the
heights behind it. When their fire had been subdued by four guns of the
brigade, two battalions advanced to an attack on the village. It was not
till after an obstinate street-fight, that the enemy at eleven o'clock
was driven back to the heights, and the bridge over the Huisne carried.
General von Buddenbrock now let the two battalions remain in
observation, sent a third to Lune d'Auvours, and at noon started with
the rest of the brigade to rejoin the Corps.
Meanwhile the conflict had been raging with such fury all along the
front of the latter that at twelve o'clock Prince Frederick Charles sent
orders from St. Hubert to General Voigts-Rhetz, to hurry forward by the
shortest roads to the battle-field with the Xth Corps; and at the same
time General von Manstein was instructed to seize the heights of Auvours
with the IXth.
It was already one o'clock when the advanced guard of the IXth climbed
up the hollow way, deep in snow, followed by two battalions of the 12th
Brigade, and by two batteries straining every nerve. The infantry
plunged forward through the wood, strongly held as it was by the enemy,
straight on Villiers; the skirmishers of the Fusilier battalion of the
11th Regiment seized three mitrailleuses in action, and when the French
had abandoned the village, turned them against the wood.
Further to the left, at about three o'clock, two battalions of the 85th
Regiment from the main body of the 18th Division, were directed on the
western end of the ridge, supported by the Jaegers and two batteries
which were brought up near Les Hetres. To cover them two companies moved
on La Lune, and baulked for the moment the hostile rush along the high
road. But against these movements the French opened a heavy fire from
their commanding batteries behind Yvre. Regardless thereof the
Holsteiners[68] on the left charged on a hostile battery and seized
three of its guns. On the right they took possession of the neighbouring
farmsteads; and soon after five the French abandoned the whole plateau
as far as its western edge.
Over it, however, a strong counter-attack was delivered in the evening,
when part of Gougeard's Division charged up the slope from Yvre. Its
further advance was arrested; but the French could not be prevented from
remaining there during the evening and night. Nevertheless, this
offensive struggle on the part of the 18th Division had relieved the
pressure on the rear and flank of the IIIrd Corps. It received the
further order in the evening to secure the passage over the Huisne for
use next day. Three battalions and one battery immediately crossed over
to the northern bank and drove from the bridge the hostile detachments
in its vicinity. The Division lost 275 men.
General von Alvensleben had delayed the advance of the IIIrd Corps till
eleven o'clock, in anticipation of the arrival of the 12th Brigade.
During the night (10--11th) the French had completed their entrenchments
on the skirts of the wood and had taken up their position there; they
also lined the heights on the further side of the river with numerous
batteries. Thus a frontal attack must involve heavy loss, and it was
impossible to out-flank lines so extensive. General von Alvensleben
therefore decided on advancing at first only against the enemy's left
wing, and assigned to that task the 11th Brigade. The 10th and 9th
remained in reserve for the present about Change and Gue la Hart. The
12th, released at Mont-Auvours, was indeed marching up, but on
circuitous ways, because the high road was everywhere entirely commanded
by the batteries on the heights.
The 11th Brigade, scarcely 3000 strong, followed the course of the Gue
Perray streamlet up to the northern end of the wood. To protect it
against the French columns threatening it from the heights, the 35th
Regiment had to form front towards the brook and also occupied the
Chateau of Les Arches. The 20th Regiment tried to get forward by the
cattle-path, and while holding firmly the Chateau of Les Noyers and the
bridge there over the Huisnes, drove back the enemy by sheer hard
fighting to Les Granges. But he presently returned so considerably
reinforced that the whole brigade had to be gradually brought up into
the fighting line. Les Granges was lost and retaken several times with
heavy loss, particularly of officers; but the Brandenburgers fought on
staunchly.
On the left of the 11th the 10th Brigade now made its appearance, coming
up from Change at one o'clock. After an hour-long bloody struggle the
52nd Regiment made itself master of the farm of Le Pavillon, of the
wooded slope in front, and the farm of Grand Anneau. Strong columns
advancing from Pontlieue were driven back, two batteries dashed up into
the Chassepot fire to within 800 paces of Le Tertre; yet the 12th
Regiment did not succeed in getting into the farmstead till two
battalions of the 9th Brigade from Change had come up to its assistance.
The farmstead whose possession was so obstinately disputed was taken by
storm at about five o'clock, with the co-operation of the Grenadiers of
the 8th Life-Regiment.