but the Grenadier battalions pushed further forward on the cattle-path,
where two French guns in action were captured after a bloody melee; and
the enemy's repeated attempts to recover them were steadily frustrated.
A hostile battery which had been brought up westward of the wood was
driven back by quick fire.
As the 35th Regiment had to be brought forward from the Gue Perray brook
to support the 20th, the French had recovered possession of Les Arches.
The 12th Brigade, only three battalions strong, arrived there from
Auvours at two o'clock. The 64th Regiment recaptured the chateau after a
short fight. The overwhelming artillery and musketry fire from the
heights on the further side of the river prevented the German artillery
from coming into action, and it was only with great difficulty and a
heavy sacrifice of gunners that the pieces were brought away again; but
every attack on the chateau by the French from Yvre was steadily
repulsed.
It was now quite dark, and only the fire of the cannon still lasted. The
IIIrd Corps had taken 600 prisoners, but had also lost 500 men. It had
fought its way into the heart of the French position, and its outposts
were in the closest proximity to the enemy's front. And now strong,
though late, reinforcements arrived.
The Xth Corps had marched from Grand Luce to the westward in the
morning, to gain the high road from Tours to Le Mans, but slippery roads
again delayed its march, so that it only reached Teloche in the
afternoon.
The cannon thunder heard to the northward left no doubt that General von
Alvensleben was engaged in arduous fighting. The orders sent at noon
from the Army Headquarter in St. Hubert sped to General Voigts-Rhetz;
but that officer rightly judged that his appearance would now have a
more telling effect on the enemy's flank than on the field where the
IIIrd Corps was engaged. So in spite of the exhausted state of his men,
who had had no opportunity to cook on the way, he at once pushed forward
without halting.
To protect himself against Curten's Division on the watch for him from
Chateau du Loir, he despatched a battalion to Ecommoy. It was received
with firing from the houses, surrounded on all sides in the darkness,
and compelled to withdraw from the place; but it then kept the road
clear in the rear of the corps.
The head of the 20th Division found Mulsanne but feebly defended, and
drove the detachment back beyond the cutting of La Monnerie.
The nature of the country which here had to be traversed greatly
favoured the enemy. Ditches and fences afforded his marksmen complete
cover, farmsteads and copses furnished excellent defensive positions.
Only eight guns could at first be brought to bear against the enemy's
artillery; but nevertheless four Westphalian and Brunswick[69]
battalions steadily repelled the French, and by nightfall reached Point
du Jour. The fight first became stationary on the cattle-path in front
of Les Mortes Aures. Here the French swept the whole foreground with a
continuous rolling fire from tiers of shelter-trenches rising one above
the other.
The fight swayed to and fro for a long time, but finally the German left
gained ground. The 1st Battalion of the 17th Regiment rushed on the
enemy, who delivered his fire at point blank range and then made for the
wood. And when now the 1st Battalion of the 56th Regiment advanced from
Point du Jour, its drums beating the charge, the French carried away
their mitrailleuses and evacuated Les Mortes Aures.
This battalion had received orders from the Commanding General to settle
the business with the bayonet. Captain von Monbart led it on locked up
close at the charging pace; all the detachments at hand joined it, and
in spite of a heavy fire from the wood La Tuilerie was reached by
half-past eight; and here the 40th Brigade deployed, while the 37th
stood ready to support it in front of Mulsanne. The enemy drifted away
in the darkness. The constant roll of wheels, the noise of departing
railway trains and the confusion of cries indicated a retreat. Yet the
prisoners who were constantly being brought in, with one accord reported
that a strong force was still encamped in the forest. Numerous
watch-fires blazed there through the night, and instead of resting, it
seemed evident that the hostile troops were preparing to engage in fresh
attempts. At half-past ten the outposts reported the approach of a
strong force from Pontlieue.
Hitherto it had been only the little-to-be-relied-on National Guards
under General Lalande at this point with whom the German troops in this
quarter of the field had had to deal; but the Admiral now sent Bouedec's
Division against La Tuilerie, and ordered General Roquebrune to support
his advance.
For a full hour the Prussian battalions in first line were scourged with
rifle fire in front and flank, and pelted by a hail-storm of
projectiles, but no serious attack occurred.
According to French reports, the officers strove in vain to bring
forward their troops; but the latter constantly hung back. A later
assault made by Gardes-Mobiles was equally fruitless.
But still there was to be no rest. At two in the morning the din of
fighting again made itself heard on the right. Deplanque's Division had
been disturbed by a flank detachment of the 40th Brigade. This body was
advancing by the road from Ruaudin to Pontlieue, to be at hand in case
of need; without returning the enemy's fire, it had driven out the
holders of Epinettes, and had established itself there close to the
cattle-path.
_January 12th._--For the impending struggle of the following day only
the IIIrd and Xth Corps could be counted on. The other two Corps could
only co-operate indirectly by holding engaged a part of the hostile
forces.
Of the XIIIth Corps the 17th Division was to advance by Lombron to St.
Corneille, without committing itself to a contest with the enemy still
holding the bank of the Huisne; the 22nd was ordered from La Chapelle to
Savigne. The Gue brook was to be lightly held, and part of the artillery
was to remain at Connerre with the 7th Brigade of Cavalry.
On advancing it was found that the enemy had already abandoned Lombron,
Pont de Gesnes, and Montfort. Arms and equipments thrown away betrayed
how hurried had been the flight. Many stragglers were brought in
prisoners, and it was not till reaching the Merdereau brook at noon,
that the 17th Division met with opposition. The Chateau of Hyre and St.
Corneille were won about four o'clock by an enveloping attack, and 500
French were taken prisoners. The enemy was then driven back behind the
Parance brook, where the advanced guard halted at dusk.
Colonel von Beckedorff's detachment of the 22nd Division marched through
Chanteloup from Sille, throwing back the enemy on La Croix, where a
large body of hostile troops made a stand. But when, after a long halt,
the main body of the Division came up, it at once passed to the attack.
Entire formed bodies of French here laid down their arms, and 3000 men
with many officers became prisoners.
An attempt of the cavalry to advance across the Sarthe to break up the
railway on the further side of the river was, however, unsuccessful.
The whole force occupying the heights of Auvours surrendered to the IXth
Corps. The 35th Brigade marched up to Villiers, but patrols sent ahead
soon reported that the French had retired across the Huisne. When the
noise of fighting was heard at mid-day from St. Corneille, the brigade
in question was ordered to proceed northward to support the 17th
Division engaged there. The 84th Regiment, passing through La Commune,
lent efficient assistance in the attack on Chateau Hyre. Outposts were
left on the Parance for the night, but the main body of the 35th Brigade
returned to Fatines, and the 36th took up quarters between Villiers and
St. Mars la Bruyere.
By the battle of the previous day the position of the French before Le
Mans had been forced; but they still stood firm behind the Huisnes, and
as their left wing had been driven in on their centre, the latter
section had been considerably strengthened. There still remained the
stream to be crossed, and the steep slope to be climbed, where every row
of the vineyards in terraced ascent was held by strong firing lines, and
the crest of which was crowned with batteries. The passage of the
Huisnes near Ivre, on the left, was covered by entrenchments with
special carefulness, and the ground in front of the wood of Pontlieue
had been made impassable in many places by abatis. Against such a
position the artillery could be of little and the cavalry of no service,
while deep snow hampered every movement of the infantry. General von
Alvensleben therefore decided on standing for the present on the
defensive with his right wing, while he prepared to support the advance
of General von Voigts-Rhetz with his left.
The troops were roused from their short rest at six in the morning. Two
French companies made their way towards the bridge at Chateau Les Noyers
with powder-bags, but they were compelled to retreat, leaving the
explosives behind them. At eight o'clock the French made a determined
attack on the outposts of the 12th Regiment in the wood, and drove them
in on Le Tertre. Again a combat raged furiously about this farmstead,
which was almost demolished by shell fire. One by one the last
battalions of the 10th Brigade were drawn into the struggle, to replace
bodies which, their ammunition exhausted, had to retire. Only four guns
could be used with effect, but by eleven o'clock the enemy's fire
gradually died away, and he was seen to retire on Pontlieue. The
battalions of the left wing pursued, and came out on the Parigne road in
immediate touch with the Xth Corps.
General von Voigts-Rhetz had left two battalions at Mulsanne, for his
protection from the direction of Ecommoy; the whole Corps, after many
detachments had been unavoidably detailed from it, was assembled by
about half-past seven for a further advance on Pontlieue. The main body
of the 20th Division closed up by the Mulsanne road on La Tuilerie.
Three battalions of the 19th Division massed at Ruaudin to strengthen
the sideward detachments in Epinettes, while two battalions with the
14th Cavalry Brigade and the Corps' artillery, which could find no
opening in the region further to the left, moved up by the roads from
Parigne.
The reinforcement meanwhile arrived from Ruaudin, and General von Woyna
made his way without hindrance through the forest to La Source, where he
halted at one o'clock, his front parallel with that of the 20th
Division. A heavy battery of the latter had already driven away the
French mitrailleuses in front of Pontlieue. On the right a light battery
of the 19th Division was brought up to La Source, and ten
horse-artillery guns on to the road from Parigne. The atmosphere was,
however, so thick that their fire could only be directed by the map.
At two o'clock General von Kraatz advanced in close column on Pontlieue,
whither General von Woyna was now also marching. The southern part of
the village was taken after a slight resistance; but on the further side
of the Huisne the French held the houses along the river-bank, and just
as the Germans approached the bridge it was blown up. The demolition,
however, was not complete, and the foremost battalions got across over
the debris to reach the enemy. Two made their way into the high street
of Pontlieue, one turned left to the railway station, whence were heard
signals for departing trains. Nothing interposed to hinder the railway
bridge here from being blown up, and thus many prisoners were taken,
besides 150 provision waggons and 1000 hundred-weight of flour.
The artillery fire was immediately directed on the town of Le Mans.
Meanwhile the detachments of the IIIrd Corps, which had become mixed up
in the forest fight, had re-formed. After a ration of meat, the first
for three days, had been served out to the troops, the 10th Brigade
resumed its march. The Brandenburg Jaeger Battalion crossed the river by
the paper-mill of L'Epau, and two batteries strengthened from Chateau
Funay the artillery fire directed on Le Mans.
When presently the infantry entered the town, a fierce struggle began in
the streets, which were entirely blocked by the French trains. Entrance
into individual houses had to be cleared by artillery fire; a large
number of French were taken prisoners, and a vast quantity of waggons
were seized. The fighting lasted till nightfall, and then the Xth Corps
and half of the IIIrd took up alarm quarters in the town. The 6th
Division took possession of Yvre, which the enemy had abandoned, and
threw out foreposts to Les Noyers and Les Arches on the further side of
the Huisne.
The actions fought by the French on this day, had been engaged in for
the sole purpose of gaining time for the extrication of the army.
On learning from Admiral Jaureguiberry that every effort to get the
troops to advance had failed, and that the last reserves were shattered,
General Chanzy had at eight in the morning issued orders for a general
retreat on Alencon, where the Minister of War had arranged for the
arrival of two Divisions of the XIXth Corps from Carentan.
The advance of the IInd Army to Le Mans had been a series of seven days'
incessant fighting. It was made at a season when the winter was in
extremest severity. Ice and snow-drifts had rendered every movement one
long struggle. Bivouacking was out of the question; and the troops had
to seek their night shelter often at a distance of some miles in rear;
their reassembling in the morning cost precious hours, and the shortness
of the day then prevented their taking full advantage of their
successes. Whole battalions were employed in guarding the prisoners. The
roads were in such a state that the trains of the army could not be
brought up; officers and men alike marched insufficiently clothed and on
scanty rations. But zeal, endurance, and discipline conquered every
difficulty.
The army had sacrificed in this prolonged struggle 3200 men and 200
officers, the larger half belonging to the IIIrd Corps alone. Many
companies fought under the command of non-commissioned officers.
The French estimated their losses at 6200 men, and 20,000 taken
prisoners; seventeen guns, two colours, and an abundant supply of
materiel remained as trophies in the hands of the victors.
After exertions so severe the troops imperatively needed some rest. The
instructions from the supreme Headquarter were that the operations were
not to be extended beyond a certain limit; and it was possible that the
services of the IInd Army might almost immediately be required on the
Seine and the Loire. Prince Frederick Charles therefore determined to
follow up the retreating enemy with only a small force.
On the French side, that each Corps might have a separate road for the
retreat to Alencon, two Corps had necessarily to draw out westward in
the first instance. On the evening of the last day's fight the XVIth
Corps reached Chauffour on the Laval road, and the XVIIth Conlie on the
road to Mayenne, each covered by its rear-guard. The XXIst was assembled
at Ballon, on the left bank of the Sarthe. From these points all were
to march in a northerly direction. General Chanzy still deluded himself
with the hope of coming up by Evreux to the assistance of the besieged
capital. He would have had thus to make a wide circuit--an arc by moving
on the chord of which the Germans could easily have anticipated him; and
in a country where all arms were available, his army, in the condition
to which it was now reduced, must have inevitably been destroyed.
Ultimately the defeated French army retired in the direction to the
westward of the Sarthe.
After the distribution of rations and forage, General von Schmidt set
forth at mid-day on the 13th with four battalions, eleven squadrons, and
ten guns, and reached Chauffour after some skirmishing. The XIIIth Corps
advanced to the Sarthe, the 17th Division sending its outposts across
the river at Neuville, and the 22nd drove the French out of Ballon,
whence they retired in full flight to Beaumont. The XXIst French Corps
had taken up quarters this day at Sille. The National Guards of Brittany
fled wildly to Coron, and thence made homeward toward their own
province. They were joined by the troops left in camp at Conlie, after
the camp there had been plundered. The XVIIth Corps also went off,
without halting by the Vegre as it had been ordered to do, but
retreating direct on Ste. Suzanne. The XVIth withdrew on Laval, leaving
Barry's Division at Chassille as rear-guard. Numbers of abandoned
waggons and cast-away arms, everywhere testified to the demoralization
of the defeated forces.
On the 14th the French were driven out of Chassille. The XVIth Corps had
by this time almost entirely lost its organization; it retired during
the night to St. Jean sur Erve. In the camp at Conlie were found 8000
stands of arms and 5,000,000 cartridges, as well as various other war
materiel.
The Grand Duke had marched on Alencon along the right bank of the
Sarthe. The French in Beaumont made a feeble resistance to the advanced
guard of the 22nd Division, and lost 1400 prisoners.
On the following day General von Schmidt advanced further on the road to
Laval, but found that the French had concentrated at St. Jean and posted
a strong force of artillery on the heights behind the Erve. The
Oldenburg Regiment[70] forced its way as far as the church of the little
town, and the Brunswickers drove the enemy back on Ste. Suzanne, higher
up the river, but there the pursuit ended.
Barry's and Deplanque's Divisions, according to the French estimate, had
now no more than 6000 fighting men, and Curten's Division had still not
yet come up, but this strength was considerably superior to that of the
weak German detachment confronting it. The rest of the Xth Corps was
moving up in support, but had as yet only reached Chasille. A battalion
advancing from Conlie came into conflict at Sille with the XXIst French
Corps assembled there, and sustained heavy loss. The 22nd Division of
the XIIIth Corps also met with serious opposition before reaching
Alencon, from the National Guards and the volunteers under Lipowski; and
the attack on the town was postponed till next day.
But on the following morning the French positions in Alencon as well as
in Sille and St. Jean were abandoned. Those places were at once occupied
by the Germans, and General von Schmidt marched forward, close up to
Laval. Numerous stragglers from the retreating army were taken
prisoners.
Behind the Mayenne, whither now Curten's Division had arrived, the
remnants of the IInd Army of the Loire re-assembled. Reduced to half its
original strength, and its morale gravely shaken, it could but be unfit
for service for a long time to come, and the object of the German
advance on Le Mans was fully attained.
To the north of Paris, however, the French were meanwhile threatening a
renewed offensive. It was necessary to draw in on the Somme the portions
of the Ist Army which were still on the Lower Seine; and orders came
from the supreme Head-quarter that the XIIIth Corps of the IInd Army
should march on Rouen.
On the Upper Loire also French detachments had advanced against the
Hessian posts about Briare, and had driven them back, on the 14th, to
Ouzouer; while from the Sologne came a report of the advance of a
newly-formed French Army Corps--the XXVth.
The German IXth Corps, after evacuating and destroying the camp at
Conlie, was therefore sent to Orleans in support. The remainder of the
IInd Army, the IIIrd and Xth Corps with the three cavalry divisions--in
a strength of about 27,000 foot, 9000 horse, and 186 guns--was assembled
by Prince Frederick Charles round Le Mans. The cavalry in observation on
the front and flanks had several small skirmishes, but no further
serious hostilities were attempted.
The 4th Cavalry Division held Alencon on the right, and on the left
General von Hartmann entered Tours without any opposition.
FOOTNOTES:
[66] Commanding 6th Division, IIIrd Corps.
[67] "Arnage" on the map and in the _Staff History_.
[68] The "Holsteiners" mentioned in the text were two battalions of the
85th Regiment, which belonged to the 36th Brigade, 18th Division, IXth
Army Corps, whose territorial region consists of Schleswig-Holstein, the
Hanse towns, Mecklenburg, &c.
[69] The 17th and 92nd Regiments comprising the 46th Brigade commanded
by General von Diringshofen.
[70] The 91st Regiment, 37th Brigade, 10th Army Corps, whose recruiting
ground is Hanover, Oldenburg, and Brunswick. The Hanoverian Corps
consists mainly of the regiments of the old Hanoverian army of the
kingdom long ruled by British sovereigns; an army whose valour, proved
side by side with British troops on countless battle-fields from Minden
and Dettingen to the Peninsula and Waterloo, culminated in its final
battle on the glorious but luckless field of Langensalza.
OCCURRENCES NORTHWARD OF PARIS DURING JANUARY.
At the beginning of the New Year a considerable part of the Ist German
Army was engaged in besieging Peronne, which had afforded a safe
crossing-point for the debouche of the French on the southern bank of
the Somme. General Barnekow held the little place invested with the 3rd
Reserve Division and the 31st Infantry Brigade. Previously it had only
been kept under observation by cavalry, but circumstances had
temporarily given it importance. What of the VIIIth Corps formerly on
the Somme was available formed a wide curve from Amiens northward as far
as Bapaume, to cover the siege.
The Ist Corps, posted at Rouen for the time, consisted only of three
brigades; but the 4th was on the march thither from before Peronne,
where it had been relieved. No reinforcement of the Ist Army had been
effected. The 14th Division, after reducing Mezieres and, soon after,
Rocroy, had received fresh orders from Versailles which transferred it
to another part of the theatre of war.
General Faidherbe had concentrated his troops behind the Scarpe, from
their resting quarters south of Arras, and had begun his forward march
on January 2nd. He advanced with the XXIInd Corps to the relief of
Peronne by way of Bucquoy. The XXIIIrd followed by the high road to
Bapaume. About half-past ten Derroja's Division of the former Corps
obliged the 3rd Cavalry Division, as well as those battalions of the
32nd Brigade which had been attached to it, to fall back on Miraumont,
followed, however, only as far as Achiet le Petit.
The other Division, under General Bessol, did not advance towards Achiet
le Grand till the afternoon. There it was opposed for several hours by
two companies of the 68th, a sub-division of Hussars, and two guns,
which only retired in the evening on Avesnes. The French did not follow
up the detachment, but threw out outposts about Bihucourt.
Payen's Division deployed on the high road at Behagnies, and its
batteries opened fire on Sapignies, where, however, General von
Strubberg had posted five battalions. These repulsed the attack, and at
two o'clock entered Behagnies with a rush, took 240 prisoners, and
prepared the village for defence. The enemy withdrew to Ervillers, and
there once again drew out, but attempted no further attack.
The other Division of the French XXIIIrd Corps, consisting of mobilized
National Guards under General Robin, moved forward on the left on Mory.
There were only one battalion and a squadron of Hussars to oppose it. By
extending their line on the heights of Beugnatre, the German detachment
succeeded in deceiving the enemy in regard to its weakness. The latter
marched and counter-marched, and also brought up artillery, but did not
attempt an attack, and remained at Mory.
The 30th German Brigade and the 3rd Cavalry Division assembled for the
night in and about Bapaume. The 29th Brigade occupied the neighbouring
villages on the right and the left of the Arras road.
BATTLE OF BAPAUME.--_January 3rd._--General Faidherbe had brought his
forces close up to the position which covered the investment of Peronne.
His four Divisions consisted of fifty-seven battalions, which were
opposed by only seventeen German battalions. He decided on the 3rd to
push on in four columns to Grevillers and Biefvillers, on the high road,
and to Favreuil on the east.
But General von Goeben was not inclined to give up his position at
Bapaume. Under cover of a force in occupation of Favreuil, General von
Kummer in the morning assembled the 30th Brigade in front of Bapaume,
and behind it the 29th, of which, however, three battalions were left in
the villages to left and to right. A reserve was established further to
the rear at Tronsloy, whither the 8th Rifle Battalion, with two
batteries, was detached; and General von Barnekow received orders to
hold three battalions and the 2nd Foot Detachment in readiness at Sailly
Saillisel, without raising the blockade. Finally the detachment under
Prince Albrecht, jun.--three battalions, eight squadrons, and three
batteries--advanced on Bertincourt, near to the subsequent battle-field.
In this disposition, in bitterly cold and sullen weather, the attack of
the French was awaited.
General Count von der Groeben had already sent the 7th Cavalry Brigade
against the enemy's right flank, but it did not succeed in forcing its
way through the villages occupied by the hostile infantry.
On the right wing the Division Robin was at Beugnatre met by so sharp a
fire from two battalions of the 65th Regiment and two horse batteries
which had joined them from Transloy, that it withdrew again on Mory. The
garrison of Favreuil was reinforced by two battalions and two batteries
against the approach of the Division Payen, which was marching by the
high road to the eastward of that place. The first French gun moving out
from Sapignies was immediately destroyed, but several batteries soon
became engaged on both sides, and the French forced their way into
Favreuil and St. Aubin.
The 40th Regiment advanced on these places at noon from Bertincourt, and
after a lively action re-occupied them; but had to evacuate Favreuil
again, and took up a position alongside of the 2nd Guard Uhlan regiment
and a horse battery sideward of Fremicourt, which secured the right
flank of the Division.
On the left, the Division Bessol had driven the weak garrison out of
Biefvillers. The 1st Battalion of the 33rd Regiment, which moved forward
to retake that place, became hotly engaged; it lost all but three of its
officers, and had to retire upon Avesnes. The Division Derroja also took
part in this fight. The French now brought up a strong force of
artillery, and extended their firing-line to the south nearly as far as
the road to Albert.
Therefore, at mid-day, General von Kummer decided to confine himself to
the local defence of Bapaume. At the cost of serious loss, the artillery
covered the drawing in thither of the infantry. The 1st Heavy Battery,
which was the last to withdraw, lost 2 officers, 17 men, and 36 horses;
its guns could only be brought out of action with the help of the
infantry.
In Bapaume the 29th Brigade now prepared for an obstinate defence of the
old city wall, and the 30th assembled behind the place. The French
advanced leisurely as far as the suburb. Then ensued a long pause in the
fighting. General Faidherbe hoped to take the town by further
encompassing it, without exposing it to a bombardment followed by a
storm. A brigade of the Division Derroja endeavoured to advance through
Tilloy, but met there with stubborn resistance from the Rifle Battalion
and two batteries which had come up from Peronne. At the same time
twenty-four guns of the batteries which had retired behind Bapaume
opened fire on the advancing columns, which then withdrew, at half-past
three, across the road to Albert. They soon resumed the attack, and
succeeded in entering Tilloy. All the neighbouring batteries now opened
fire upon this village. General von Mirus, who on the advance of the 3rd
Cavalry Division had been left behind in Miraumont, saw no enemy in his
front there, but heard the fighting at Bapaume, and advanced from the
west, as did General von Strubberg from the town, to renew the attack.
The French did not await their arrival, and were driven back out of the
suburb and also Avesnes. The French Divisions spent the night at
Grevillers, Bihucourt, Favreuil, and Beugnatre, thus surrounding Bapaume
on three sides. The day had cost the Germans 52 officers and 698 men,
and the French 53 officers and 2066 men.
But only by exerting the whole available strength of the VIIIth Corps
had it been possible to withstand the preponderating attack of the
enemy. It had not yet been possible to replenish the Corps' supply of
ammunition, and General von Goeben decided to immediately move back the
fighting ground to behind the Somme. This movement was actually in
process when the patrols brought information that the enemy was also
evacuating the neighbouring villages.
The French troops, as yet unaccustomed to the vicissitudes of warfare,
had suffered extremely from the previous day's fighting and the severe
cold of the ensuing night. General Faidherbe could perceive that the
forces before Peronne had been brought forward to Bapaume, and that the
Germans thus reinforced would take the offensive. His chief object, the
interruption of the siege of Peronne, had been obtained, and the General
thought it best not to endanger that result by a second encounter. He
led his Corps back in the direction of Arras. Of the German cavalry
detachments following up the retirement the 8th Cuirassiers succeeded in
breaking a French square. The 15th Division withdrew behind the Somme,
immediately below Peronne, and the Saxon cavalry joined the right wing
at St. Quentin.
FIGHTING ON THE LOWER SEINE.--_January 4th._--Exactly at the same time
the other Corps of the Ist Army was in conflict with the enemy on the
Lower Seine. The French had not undertaken any new enterprise on the
right bank of the river, but on the left bank they held the wooded
heights of Bois de la Londe, which overhang the southern outlet of the
Seine after its encircling the peninsula of Grand Couronne. Here General
von Bentheim,[71] with a view of gaining room in this direction, had
assembled half the Ist Army Corps, and advanced on the 4th of January on
Les Moulineaux. Before daybreak Lieut.-Colonel von Huellessem surprised
the enemy's outposts there, stormed the rock-crowned fortalice of
Chateau Robert le Diable, and took prisoners the defenders who had
sought refuge amid the ruins of the castle. The heights of Maison Brulet
were then scaled under the heavy fire of the enemy, and two of his guns
were taken. After a renewed resistance at St. Ouen the French withdrew
on Bourgachard in the afternoon, pursued towards six in the evening by a
half squadron of dragoons, two guns, and a company carried on waggons,
which took from them two 12-pounders posted at the entrance of
Rougemontier, killing the gunners and capturing an ammunition waggon.
After a slight skirmish the enemy was also driven out of Bourgtheroulde
and thrown back in the direction of Brionne. The French right wing at
Elbeuf during the night hastily withdrew from a position rendered
precarious by the wavering of the other detachments. The affair cost 5
officers and 160 men. The loss of the French must have been equal,
besides which they lost 300 prisoners and 4 guns.
General Roye posted his troops behind the Rille on the line
Pont-Audemer--Brionne, but the Germans now held Bourgachard,
Bourgtheroulde, and Elbeuf strongly garrisoned, with three battalions at
Grand-Couronne in readiness to furnish support. The other troops
returned to Rouen. An attempted advance of the French on the same day by
the northern bank of the Seine had been arrested in front of Fauville,
whence they again withdrew towards Harfleur.
Meanwhile it had not escaped the observation of the VIIIth Army Corps
that this time the French did not seek the cover of the northern
fortresses, but that they had halted south of Arras, thus betraying an
intention shortly to renew the attack on the force investing Peronne.
General von Goeben therefore decided to return to the northern bank of
the Somme, to cover that operation, and there to take up a flanking
position whose front the enemy would have to cross in his advance.
On January 6th, after the troops had been permitted one day's rest and
the ammunition had been replenished, the 30th Brigade moved to Bray, the
29th to Albert. In close vicinity to the enemy was the 3rd Cavalry
Division at Bapaume, behind it the Guard Cavalry Brigade. For the
protection of the left flank Lieut.-Colonel von Pestel[72] occupied
Acheux, and from the investing Corps the 3rd Reserve Division moved
westward of Peronne to Feuilleres. The Corps-Artillery remained for the
time on the left bank of the Somme, since it almost seemed as if the
enemy intended to direct his attack on Amiens.
But during the next day the French did not undertake anything of
importance, and on the 9th Peronne fell.
REDUCTION OF PERONNE.--_January 9th._--For fourteen days this little
place had been invested by eleven battalions, sixteen squadrons, and ten
batteries. Flooded meadows on one side, and on the other walls with
medieval towers, had secured it against a surprise; but for the rest it
was commanded on all sides by overhanging heights.
Although the fire of fifty-eight field guns had not done it much damage,
yet in any case it must have been very soon discontinued for want of
ammunition. A bombardment with captured French siege-artillery remained
without result. The fortress stoutly maintained its fire, and its
garrison of only 3500 men even attempted sorties.
As before mentioned, on the day of the battle of Bapaume, a portion of
the besieging troops had been necessarily withdrawn to the support of
the VIIIth Army Corps, and in the uncertainty as to the result of this
fight it had been imperative to take precautions for the safety of the
siege material. The troops that remained behind stood ready to march,
and part of the heavy guns had been withdrawn. But the garrison
maintained a waiting attitude.
Two days later arrived a siege-train of fifty-five heavy guns which had
been brought together at La Fere. A second, of twenty-eight French
siege-pieces, was on the way from Mezieres. The preliminaries of a
regular siege were undertaken, and when at length on the 8th of January
a large ammunition-convoy arrived, the commandant was summoned to give
up a defence that had now become hopeless.
On the 10th of January, General von Barnekow entered the fortress, which
was found amply provided with arms, ammunition and provisions. The
garrison were made prisoners.
On the 7th of January, his Majesty the King had assigned General von
Manteuffel to another section of the theatre of war, and had given the
supreme command of the Ist Army to General von Goeben.
Freed from concern as to Peronne, that General's only duty thenceforward
was to insure the protection of the investment of Paris. For this
purpose the Somme, whose passages were all in the hands of the Germans,
formed a natural bulwark, behind which the attack even of a greatly
superior enemy could be awaited. And some reinforcements now arrived for
the VIIIth Army Corps. The peaceful condition of the Lower Seine allowed
of two infantry regiments and two batteries being sent from thence to
Amiens. By instructions from the supreme Head-quarter an infantry
brigade of the Meuse Army was held in readiness, which in case of need
was to be sent up by rail to reinforce the Ist Army.
It was still uncertain whither the enemy would direct his stroke.
General von Goeben, therefore, spread his forces behind the Somme on a
prolonged extension of some forty-five miles, still holding fast the
points gained in front of the river, to meet the contingency of his
having to renew the offensive. In the middle of the month, the
detachments of the Ist Corps under the command of General Count von der
Groeben occupied Amiens, Corbie, and the line of the Hallue as a flank
position. The 15th Division, holding Bray firmly, took up quarters south
of that village. Next to it, on the left of Peronne, was the 3rd Reserve
Division, right of it were the 16th Division and the 3rd Reserve Cavalry
Brigade, holding Roisel and Vermand to the front. The 12th Cavalry
Division was at St. Quentin.
The French army had already begun to advance on the Cambrai high-road,
and its XXIInd Corps had pushed back the 3rd Cavalry Division first out
of Bapaume and then out of Albert behind the Hallue. The XXIIIrd
followed by the same road, and their objective really appears to have
been Amiens. But a reconnaissance had exposed the difficulty of
attacking in that direction, besides which a telegram from the War
Minister announced that the Army of Paris within the next few days was
to make a last supreme effort to burst the bonds of the investment, and
the Army of the North was enjoined to divert, as far as possible, the
enemy's forces from the capital, and draw them on itself.
In accordance with these orders General Faidherbe decided to advance
without delay on St. Quentin, whither the Brigade Isnard was already
marching from Cambrai. An attack on their right wing, consisting for the
time solely of cavalry, directly threatened the communications of the
Germans, while the vicinity of the northern forts afforded the French
army shelter and also greater liberty of action.
But General von Goeben had foreseen such a leftward movement of the
enemy, and concentrated all his forces to meet it.
The convalescents who were fit for service joined the ranks. Only weak
detachments were left at Amiens, and because of the approach of the
XIIIth Corps from the Sarthe to the Lower Seine, it was now safe to
transfer the 3rd Grenadier Regiment and a heavy battery from thence to
the Somme.
The departure of the French from Albert and the march of their Corps on
Combles and Sailly Saillisel were soon reported by the cavalry in
observation. The newly-formed Brigade Pauly occupied Bapaume, and the
Brigade Isnard entered St. Quentin, whence General zur Lippe (commanding
the 12th (Saxon) Cavalry Division detailed from the Army of the Meuse)
retired on Ham in accordance with orders. General von Goeben now moved
eastward, using the roads on both banks of the Somme so that he might
the sooner reach the enemy.
_January 17th._--The 12th Cavalry Brigade moved further to the right on
La Fere, the 16th Division to Ham. The 3rd Reserve Division and the
Guard Cavalry Brigade arrived at Nesle; the 15th Division and the Corps
Artillery, at Villers Carbonnel. An Army-Reserve had been formed of the
troops last brought up from Rouen, and it followed to Harbonnieres. On
the northern bank, the detachment under Count von der Groeben moved to
the vicinity of Peronne.
The four French Divisions had so far advanced on Vermand as to be able
to unite next day near St. Quentin. The XXIIIrd Corps was to move
straight upon the town, the XXIInd to cross the Somme lower down, and
take up a position south of St. Quentin.
_January 18th._--On the German side, the 16th and the 3rd Reserve
Division moved by the south bank of the Somme to Jussy and Flavy, the
Army-Reserve to Ham. The 12th Cavalry Division at Vendeuil found the
country east of the Oise still free from the enemy.
With the object of obtaining touch of the approaching enemy, the 15th
Division was on its part to cross the Somme at Brie, and, together with
the troops of General Count von der Groeben, to advance on Vermand and
Etreillers. General von Kummer was enjoined, in case he found that the
French had taken up a position, merely to watch them and to follow them
should they retire northward, but should they march towards the south,
to attack them with all his force.
At half-past ten, the 29th Brigade came up on the hither side of Tertry
with the rear-guard of the XXIInd Corps and its trains. The Hussars
charged one of the battalions guarding the latter, and drove the waggons
in the greatest disorder back on Caulaincourt, but had to abandon
prisoners and prize under the fire of the approaching infantry. The
French brigade had turned about, and it advanced to an attack on
Trescon. This was resisted by the 65th Regiment and three batteries
until after two o'clock, when General du Bessol reached the scene of the
fight and ordered the French brigade to resume its march on St. Quentin.
The XXIIIrd had also halted and detached a brigade against the left
flank of the 15th Division. This, however, on reaching Cauvigny Farm,
came upon two German battalions, which after a protracted fire-fight
pursued the retreating enemy and entered Caulaincourt at half-past
three, making 100 prisoners and capturing fourteen provision-waggons.
Meanwhile Count von der Groeben had hurried forward at the sound of
firing. The General realized that he could help most efficaciously by
marching straight on Vermand. Four batteries came into action against
Poeuilly, which was occupied by the enemy, and when the 4th Grenadier
Regiment passed to the assault the French retreated, losing some
prisoners. Many Gardes-Mobiles were dispersed by the Uhlans. About
Vermand the whole of the XXIIIrd Corps was now in the act of beginning
to march off.
Count von der Groeben therefore posted his troops behind the Poeuilly
bottom, thereby retarding the withdrawal of the enemy by forcing him to
halt and form front against each display of pressure. The 15th Division
took up quarters about Beauvois and Caulaincourt.
The sole aim of the French Generals on this day seemed to be to reach
St. Quentin. They neglected the opportunity of falling with their two
Corps upon the single 15th Division. The XXIIIrd Corps passed the night
in and westward of St. Quentin, and the XXIInd, after crossing the Somme
at Seraucourt, southward of the town. A further advance either on Paris
or on the German lines of communications depended now, when the latter
had approached so close, on the issue of a battle; and this General
Faidherbe wished to await at St. Quentin.
It was important to hold on here in case the sortie of the Paris Army
should result in success. The ground offered certain advantages--the
heights in front of the town gave a free range of fire and afforded a
sheltered position for the reserves. It was true that the Somme divided
the army in two halves, but the bridge of St. Quentin made mutual
assistance possible. The enemy also occupied both sides of the river,
and including the Isnard and Pauly Brigades which had come up, he
finally counted 40,000 men, opposed to an enemy numerically weaker.[73]
The Germans, all told, numbered exactly 32,580 combatants, of whom
nearly 6000 were cavalry.
FOOTNOTES:
[71] Who had succeeded General Manteuffel in the command of the Ist
Corps, when at the beginning of December the latter found oppressive the
command of a Corps along with the Command-in-Chief of the Ist Army.
[72] Commanding the 7th (Rhineland) Uhlan Regiment, the officer who so
long and so gallantly defended Saarbruecken on his own responsibility in
the earliest days of the war.
[73] Whether the author intends, in the two first sentences of this
paragraph, that the advantages of the St. Quentin position should be
enjoyed by Faidherbe or Goeben, appears somewhat obscure. The third
sentence certainly refers to the German Army, as the succeeding one
clearly shows. But this being so, there is a discrepancy between the
text and the _Staff History_, as regards the side which the bridge of
St. Quentin would serve in the battle. The following is quoted from that
work: "Moreover, the German troops were separated by the Somme, whilst
the bridges at St. Quentin enabled the French Corps to afford one
another easy support."
BATTLE OF ST. QUENTIN.
(January 19th.)
General von Goeben had ordered the general attack for this day.
Covered by the occupation of Seraucourt, General von Barnekow advanced
along the southern bank of the Somme, with the 16th and the 3rd Reserve
Divisions from Jussy through Essigny; the 12th Cavalry Division advanced
on the road leading from La Fere.
The French columns were still on the march to take up their position
with its rear towards the town; and Grugies was already occupied by
them. While the 32nd German Brigade advanced northward of Essigny the
Reserve Division halted behind the village, and the 31st Brigade at a
quarter to ten advanced on Grugies.
This attack was taken in flank on its left by the French Brigade
Gislain, which had meanwhile occupied the hamlets of Contescourt and
Castres. It was met in front by the Brigades Foerster and Pittie which
had promptly come into action.
The fire of the German batteries was at once returned vigorously from Le
Moulin de Tout Vent. At eleven o'clock the second battalion of the 69th
Regiment marched in company columns across the entirely open ground
against the heights on the hither side of Grugies; but the attempt,
renewed four times, was frustrated by the destructive cross-fire of the
enemy. The ammunition of the isolated battalion was nearly exhausted,
and only when followed by six fresh companies of the 29th Regiment did
it succeed in forcing the French back, after a desperate hand-to-hand
fight: but the latter held their ground in front of Grugies and in the
sugar-factory there.
On the right wing, the 12th Cavalry Division were advancing on the La
Fere road. The French Brigade Aynes, hitherto held in reserve, rushed
forward at the double to encounter it, and as Count zur Lippe had at
disposition but one battalion of infantry, his advance at first was
arrested at Cornet d'Or. But when at noon the Division was joined by
reinforcements from Tergnier, the Saxon rifles stormed the park by the
high-road, and the Schleswig-Holstein Fusiliers carried La Neuville. The
French, with the loss of many prisoners, were vigorously pursued back to
the suburb of St. Quentin, where first they found shelter.
Meantime, the 31st Brigade was engaged in a hot fight on both sides of
the railway-line in front of Grugies; behind its right wing was the 32nd
in the hollow ground on the high-road, where it suffered severely from
the enemy's shell-fire; and on the left, the detachment advancing from
Seraucourt did not succeed in entering Contescourt. And now the French
made so determined and overwhelming an attack from Grugies, that the
16th Division had to be withdrawn as far as Essigny.
When after noon General Faidherbe joined the XXIIIrd Corps, he had
reason to hope that the XXIInd Corps would be able to maintain its
position. But certainly the most important result was to be looked for
on the northern section of the battle-field.
Here the Division Robin had taken up a position between Fayet and
Francilly. The Brigade Isnard had marched up it on its left, and the
Brigade Lagrange of the Division Payen extended as far as the Somme. The
Brigade Michelet remained in reserve, and the Brigade Pauly at Gricourt
secured the communications rearward.
On the German left, so early as eight o'clock, General Count von der
Groeben set out from Poeuilly with eight battalions and twenty-eight
guns and advanced along the Roman road; the Cavalry Brigade accompanied
the march on the left.
The East-Prussians[74] immediately hurled the French back from Holnon,
cleared them out of Selency, and then advanced against Fayet and on to
the heights of Moulin Coutte. A gun in action, ammunition-waggons, and
many prisoners were there taken from the enemy.
By degrees the twenty-eight guns were massed on the Windmill Height and
entered into a contest with the artillery of the Division Robin. But in
the course of half an hour the ammunition failed, since the waggons
which had been sent on the previous day to the ammunition column of the
VIIIth Corps had not yet come up with the reserve supply. The batteries,
which were moreover suffering from infantry fire, had to retire to
Holnon, and as Francilly, immediately on the flank and to the rear, was
still occupied by the enemy, a further advance was temporarily
postponed.
On the right, General von Kummer with the 15th Division, marching from
Beauvois, had reached Etreillers at ten. The King's Hussars cut in upon
the enemy's horse in retreat, and drove them back upon L'Epine de
Dallon, and the 29th Brigade entered Savy. North of that place three
batteries opened fire against the artillery of the Division Payen, and
then the 65th Regiment passed to the attack of the forward-lying copses.
The smaller one to the south was carried, but here, as at Francilly, the
Brigade Isnard maintained itself in the larger one to the north.
At noon the Brigade Lagrange also advanced once more on the small copse
and forced its way into it for a short time, but was again driven back
by the 65th.
The 33rd Regiment was posted in readiness on the threatened right flank
of the 29th Brigade, and near it stood in action two heavy batteries of
the Corps Artillery just arrived at Savy. At the same time the 30th
Brigade also advanced through Roupy on the right of the 29th.
Meanwhile Colonel von Massow at one o'clock renewed the offensive on the
much more advanced left wing. Six companies of the 44th Regiment
advanced on Fayet, and after firing into them at the shortest range,
drove the French from the place. Two batteries followed, and resumed
action against the enemy's great artillery position at Moulin de Cepy.
General Paulze D'Ivoy, who saw the communications of his Corps with
Cambrai in such imminent danger, had already called up the Brigade
Michelet from its reserve post west of the town, and thus reinforced now
advanced on Fayet. The Prussian detachments that were in the place had
to be withdrawn to Moulin Coutte; but the further advance of the enemy
towards these heights was arrested by a flank attack from Selency, and
at the same time the farmstead of Bois des Roses was carried. The French
again withdrew on Fayet.
There, at Francilly, and in the northern copses, they still held their
own at half-past one, while at that hour, on the German side, all three
brigades had been brought up into the fighting-line. The Army-Reserve
had arrived from Ham at Roupy, but General von Goeben, who from the
latter place had been watching the slow progress of the 16th Division,
had already sent it at eleven o'clock through Seraucourt to the support
of that Division.
Colonel von Boecking (commanding the Army-Reserve), with his three
battalions, three squadrons, and two batteries, advanced from Seraucourt
against Contescourt. Hastening forward with the cavalry, he brought his
artillery promptly into action; and then the 41st Regiment, immediately
on its arrival, passed to the attack. The battalion of the 19th Regiment
which was already on the spot, joined in the fighting, and the enemy
with the loss of many prisoners, was at one o'clock driven out of
Contescourt and of Castres as well, towards the heights of Grugies.
Against these heights the fire of the artillery, which had gradually
been increased to thirty guns, was now directed.
Bent on further disputing the position, General Lecomte brought up
several battalions from the brigades of Pittie and Aynes for the
reinforcement of the Brigade Gislain. The East-Prussian Regiment (41st)
succeeded, nevertheless, by half-past two o'clock, in hurling the enemy
by an outflanking attack from the heights into the hollow in front of
Grugies. Colonel von Boecking's vigorous attack made itself felt
throughout the whole front of fight.
With a view to renewing a general advance, General von Barnekow had
ordered up his last reserves from Essigny, when towards three o'clock
the Brigade Pittie unexpectedly pushed forward an attack along the
railway line. Its right scourged by artillery fire from Castres, it
found its left taken at unawares by the charge of five squadrons of
reserve cavalry from the Urvilliers hollow. Simultaneously Colonel von
Hartzberg advanced with the 32nd Brigade, and drove the enemy back to
Moulin de Tout Vent.
The Brigade Foerster, south of Grugies, had still held out stubbornly,
although now seriously threatened on the right from Giffecourt, as well
as by the 12th Cavalry Division on its left flank. Its left flank now
completely uncovered by the retreat of the Brigade Pittie, and its last
strength exhausted by a long struggle, the brigade found itself finally
forced to evacuate its long-held position. The 31st Brigade advanced
along the railway-line as far as the sugar-factory, and Colonel von
Boecking drove the last French detachments out of Grugies. He then
prepared with his artillery the attack upon Moulin de Tout Vent. Against
these heights the 41st Regiment, the battalions already ordered up from
Essigny, and the 32nd Brigade advanced to a concentric attack. The
French did not prolong their resistance, and indeed were already in
retreat. The entire German fighting line, with the 12th Cavalry Division
on its right, moved forward on the town, which was now reached by the
fire of the artillery posted at Gauchy. The cavalry repeatedly broke in
on the retreating hostile bodies; and the railway-station and suburb, in
which was found only the rear-guard of the XXth French Corps, was
occupied after a short struggle.
Whilst on the southern section of the battle-field the action took this
turn, on the northern side the attacks were also being pushed.
By two o'clock the 28th Regiment advancing from Roupy by the road from
Ham had carried the farmstead of L'Epine de Dallon; and almost
simultaneously Count von der Groeben's infantry came up to renew the
offensive.
Whilst on the right some companies of the 4th and 44th Regiments opposed
the advance of French detachments from the larger copse, Major von
Elpons with six companies of the Crown Prince Grenadiers, advanced from
Holnon and Selency upon Francilly, and, notwithstanding the hot fire of
the defenders, forced an entrance into this very straggling village, in
which many prisoners were made. As, however, the East-Prussian Regiment
then advanced further south of the Roman road, it had in its turn to
sustain a formidable attack.
To cover its threatened line of retreat, the Brigade Michelet once more
advanced from Fayet, and the Brigade Pauly also marched from Gricourt
upon Moulin Coutte. This position, which had in the meantime been
strengthened by artillery, was, however, obstinately held by the 44th
Regiment, and when the Grenadier companies poured in leftward towards
the Roman road, the enemy's attack was here also repulsed.
Meanwhile the 29th Brigade, followed by the 30th, had already advanced
in the direction of St. Quentin, the 33rd Regiment on its right and the
65th Regiment on the left. The latter regiment now took complete
possession of the larger copse, and forty-eight guns were brought up on
both sides of the road from Savy. The further advance of the infantry
was effected in column of companies and on an extended line, because of
the heavy shell fire of the French. The Brigades of Lagrange and Isnard
did not await the shock, but at four o'clock retired on St. Quentin with
the loss of one gun.
Their artillery once more took up a position at Rocourt, but at five
o'clock had to abandon it abruptly, and the French now confined
themselves to the defence of the barricaded accesses into the St. Martin
suburb of St. Quentin.
Six Prussian batteries were brought up against these, and the 29th
Brigade for some time maintained a stationary fire fight on the strongly
held buildings and gardens; but presently several companies from Rocourt
established themselves in the suburb, in which street-fighting was still
continued, even after Lieutenant-Colonel von Huellessem had succeeded in
crossing the canal bridge and entering the town itself.
By four o'clock, General Faidherbe had already the conviction that the
XXIIIrd Corps would probably be unable to hold its ground. In this event
his choice was limited to the alternative of a night retreat, or of
being shut up in St. Quentin. He had not yet formed a decision, when he
met in the town General Lecointe, who reported that he had abandoned the
defence of the left bank of the Somme. Thanks to the resistance still
maintained by the XXIIIrd Corps on the north, the XXIInd was enabled to
retire unmolested on Le Cateau.
The Commanding General now ordered General Paulze d'Ivoy to retire on
that place, but the latter only received the order at six in the
evening, when the brigades of the right wing--Pauly's and
Michelet's--had already started of their own accord for Cambrai. The
more obstinately the two remaining brigades now defended the suburb of
St. Martin, the more ominous for them must prove the result of the
action. Attacked in rear by the battalions of Colonel von Boecking, the
greater portion were made prisoners. The 41st Regiment alone took
prisoners 54 officers and 2260 men, besides capturing 4 guns. General
Faidherbe himself only escaped the same fate by the help of the
inhabitants.
The action ended at half-past six in the evening, and the troops passed
the night in the town and in the captured villages.
The hard-won victory had cost the Germans 96 officers and 2304 men; 3000
wounded Frenchmen were found on the battle-field, and the number of
unwounded prisoners exceeded 9000.
According to theory, the pursuit should invariably clinch the victory--a
postulate assented to by all, and particularly by civilians; and yet in
practice it is seldom observed. Military history furnishes but few
instances, such as the famous one of Belle Alliance. It requires a very
strong and pitiless will to impose fresh exertions and dangers upon
troops who have marched, fought and fasted for ten or twelve hours, in
place of the longed-for rest and food. But even given the possession of
this will, the question of pursuit will yet depend on the circumstances
under which the victory has been won. It will be difficult of execution
when all the bodies on the field of battle, as at Koeniggraetz, have
become so intermixed that hours are required to re-form them into
tactical cohesion; or when, as at St. Quentin, all, even the troops last
thrown into the action, have become so entangled that not one single
tactically complete body of infantry remains at disposition. Without the
support of such a body, cavalry at night will be seriously detained
before every obstacle and each petty post of the enemy, and thus alone
its exertions will rarely be repaid.[75]
General von Goeben did not pursue the defeated enemy till the following
day. His advanced cavalry ranged up to the suburb of Cambrai and the
glacis of Landrecies, without meeting with any resistance, and merely
brought in some hundreds of stragglers. The Infantry Divisions followed
to within four miles of Cambrai. Against this fortress nothing could be
undertaken through want of siege material, and there was no military
advantage to be derived in extending further north. Among the news to
hand it was reported that a considerable portion of the French Army of
the North had retired upon Lille, Douai and Valenciennes. As fresh
enterprises on its part were consequently not to be expected, General
von Goeben brought his force back to the Somme, where towards the end of
the month it took up rest quarters between Amiens and St. Quentin.
On the Lower Seine, the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg entered Rouen with the
XIIIth Corps on the 25th, after having encountered on the march only a
few franctireurs. Although General Loysel had increased his force to a
strength of nearly 30,000 by reinforcements from Cherbourg, he had
remained entirely inactive.
General von Goeben had in view the transfer to the Army of the Somme of
that portion of the Ist Corps still about Rouen; but this was
disapproved of by telegram from the supreme Head-quarter, which on
political grounds ordered its continued retention there.
FOOTNOTES:
[74] Companies of the Crown Prince's Grenadier Regiment (the 1st of the
Prussian line), and of the East Prussian Infantry Regiment No. 44,
belonging respectively to the 1st and 3rd Brigades, 1st Division, Ist
Army Corps.
[75] Moltke, although not quite inexperienced in the practical conduct
of war on a large scale, would scarcely have ventured to express himself
as above, if he had studied the teachings of _The Soldier's
Pocket-Book_. The distinguished author of that profound and accurate
treatise writes of pursuits in quite a different tone. "You have won a
great battle," writes Lord Wolseley, "and the enemy are in full retreat;
run after him; hammer him with guns; charge him with cavalry; harass him
with mounted infantry; pass round his flanks, and keep pushing him and
hitting him from morning until night. Caution is out of place when you
have a beaten army before you. Wellington never delivered any crushing
blow, _because he failed to pursue_."
OCCURRENCES IN THE SOUTH-EASTERN SEAT OF WAR UP TO 17TH OF JANUARY.
SIEGE OF BELFORT.--In the south-eastern theatre of war, the forces
detailed to operate against Belfort had been only gradually brought
together under cover of the XIVth Army Corps.
The town is surrounded by a bastioned enceinte. The citadel has a wide
command, built as it is on lofty rocks, which, to increase the
development of fire, are encircled by successive tiers of works in
terrace-formation. On the left bank of the Savoureuse, newly constructed
lines of defence protected the suburb and railway station. On the high
adjacent ridge to the north-east the forts of La Miotte and La Justice,
with the enclosing lines connecting them with the main fortress, formed
a spacious intrenched camp. Hostile occupation of the lofty eminences of
the two Perches (Hautes and Basses) would certainly endanger the whole
defensive position, dominating as they did even the citadel from the
south at a distance of only 1100 yards, and whence the works on the left
bank of the river could be brought under fire. But two forts of masonry
had been constructed on the Perches before the advent of the enemy, and
further to strengthen the defence the nearest copses and villages, as
for instance Perouse and Danjoutin, had been intrenched.
The fortress was by no means deficient in bomb-proof accommodation. Its
armament consisted of 341 heavy guns, and it was provisioned for five
months.
When immediately after the opening of the campaign, the VIIth French
Corps vacated Alsace, only about 5000 Gardes-Mobiles remained in
Belfort, but its garrison, increased by calling in National Guards, now
exceeded 17,000.
The vigilant Commandant, Colonel Denfert, laid great stress on the
maintenance in force of the environs in his front. The advanced posts
were every day assigned to fresh operations, which the artillery of the
fortress had to cover at extreme ranges.
On the opposite side, General von Tresckow (commanding 1st Reserve
Division) had available at the outset, a force of not more than twenty
weak battalions of Landwehr, five squadrons and six field-batteries, in
all barely 15,000 men. He had at first to confine himself to a mere
investment. The troops, intrenched in the villages round a wide
circumference, had to repel many sorties.
Orders were received from the supreme Headquarter to set about the
regular siege of the place. General von Mertens was charged with the
direction of the engineer operations, and Lieut.-Col. Scheliha with that
of the artillery attack. The difficulties of the undertaking were
obvious. The rocky nature of the soil could not but increase the labour
of throwing up earthworks, and the cold season was approaching. The
attack could be carried on successfully only from the south against the
main work--the formidable citadel. Only fifty heavy guns were available
for the time, and the infantry strength was not sufficient to
efficiently invest the place on all sides.
In these circumstances, there devolved on General von Tresckow the task
of attempting the reduction of Belfort by a mere bombardment. Towards
this purpose the attack was chiefly directed from the west, in which
quarter, after the enemy's garrison had been driven out of Valdoye, the
infantry occupied Essert and Bavilliers, as well as the adjacent wooded
heights. On December 2nd seven batteries were constructed on the plateau
between these two villages by 3000 men, under cover of two battalions.
The hard-frozen ground added to the difficulties of the work; yet,
notwithstanding the moonlight night, the operations would appear to have
escaped the attention of the besieged. When on the following morning the
sun had dispersed the fog and made visible the objects, fire was opened.
The fortress replied at first but feebly, but afterwards with increasing
vigour from the entire line of works, even from Forts La Miotte and La
Justice at a range of 4700 yards, and the losses in the trenches were
considerable.
Four more batteries in front of Bavilliers were armed, and on the fall
of La Tuilerie the infantry pressed on to within 170 yards of the
enemy's most advanced trenches. The artillery fire caused a
conflagration in the town; but the ammunition was soon exhausted, whilst
the lofty citadel maintained unchecked an effective fire, and repeated
sorties on the part of the garrison had to be repelled. It was now
clear, since no decisive result had followed the methods hitherto
resorted to, that only by a regular attack could that be attained.
On the south Colonel von Ostrowski on December 13th had carried the
French positions of Adelnans and the wooded heights of Le Bosmont and La
Brosse. On the eastern point of the latter two batteries, and on its
northern skirt four additional batteries had been thrown up, not without
great difficulty arising from thaw having made the ground a swamp. On
January 7th, fifty guns opened fire. The superiority of the artillery of
the attack was soon manifest. Fort Bellevue suffered severely, and
notably the fire from Basses Perches was entirely silenced.
But it was of grave importance that the village of Danjoutin, strongly
garrisoned and intrenched by the enemy, stood in the way of a further
advance. During the night of the 8th January seven companies attacked
this position, and also from the northward at the same time took
possession of the railway-embankment. With empty rifles the Landwehr
hurled themselves against the enemy in the face of a hot fire, and
charged along the village street up to the church. The supports
hastening from the fortress were driven back at the railway-embankment,
but the fight about the buildings in the southern quarter of the village
lasted till towards noon. Of the defenders, twenty officers and 700 men
were taken prisoners.
Typhus and small-pox had broken out in Belfort; and in the besieging
force also the number of the sick reached a considerable figure, caused
by arduous work in inclement weather. Most of the battalions could only
muster 500 men, and this weakness led General von Tresckow to devote
half his force to the lighter duty of protecting the investment from
without, principally towards the south.
* * * * *
Trustworthy intelligence estimated the French strength at Besancon at
62,000. Although hitherto entirely inactive, this force now seemed in
strong earnest to press on to the relief of the hard-pressed fortress by
the line of the Doubs. On this line was the fortified chateau of
Montbeliard, held by one German battalion, and armed with heavy guns.
Between the Doubs and the Swiss frontier about Delle stood General
Debschitz with eight battalions, two squadrons, and two batteries, and
General von Werder concentrated the XIVth Corps at Noroy, Aillevans, and
Athesans, to oppose with all his strength any interruption of the siege
of Belfort.
From January 5th onwards there ensued a series of engagements in front
of Vesoul, as the result of which the enemy advanced from the south and
west to within four miles of that town. There could be no doubt that
very considerable forces were engaged in this advance. East also of the
Ognon, the enemy's posts were advanced beyond Rougemont, although in
lesser force. In these actions 500 prisoners were made; and it was at
once evident that besides the XVIIIth, the XXIVth and XXth Corps also
formed part of Bourbaki's army; a circumstance which threw a sudden
light upon a totally changed phase of the war.
TRANSFER OF THE FRENCH ARMY OF THE EAST TO THE SOUTH-EASTERN SEAT OF
WAR, END OF DECEMBER.--As had been expected by the supreme Headquarter
at Versailles, about the beginning of January an attempt had been made
to bring about combined action on the part of Generals Chanzy and
Bourbaki. As we have already seen, the advance of the former had been
thwarted by Prince Frederick Charles on the Loir, and Bourbaki had
actually made preparations for an advance by Montargis to the relief of
Paris. But he delayed its execution until the 19th December, when the
IInd German Army had already returned to Orleans from its expedition to
Le Mans. General Bourbaki had now to realize that the IInd Army would
fall on the flank of his projected movement, and he thus the more
readily concurred in another plan, devised by the Delegate de Freycinet,
and approved of by the Dictator Gambetta.
This was for the XVth Corps to remain about Bourges and to cover that
town in intrenched positions about Vierzon and Nevers; the XVIIIth and
XXth were to proceed to Beaune by railway, and, when raised to a
strength of 70,000 by an union with Garibaldi and Cremer, to occupy
Dijon. The newly-formed XXIVth Corps was also to be moved by railway
from Lyons to Besancon, where, with the forces already there, a strength
of 50,000 would be attained. In co-operation with the "invincibles of
Dijon," it then would be easy to raise the siege of Belfort "without
even striking a blow." It was expected that the mere existence of this
mass of considerably above 100,000 men would avert any attacks upon the
Northern fortresses; in any case, there was the certainty of severing
the enemy's various lines of communication, and the later prospect also
of combined action with Faidherbe.
The railway transport of Bourbaki's army from the Loir to the Saone had
already commenced by December 23rd. In the absence of all preparations,
many interruptions and breaks-down in the traffic naturally occurred,
and the troops suffered severely from the intense cold and from being
insufficiently cared for. When Chagny and Chalons sur Saone had been
reached, and it was ascertained that the Germans had already evacuated
Dijon, it was decided to again entrain the troops so as to bring them
nearer to Besancon; whence arose a fresh delay, and it was only in the
beginning of the new year that the Army of the East stood in readiness
between Dijon and Besancon. The XVth Corps was now also ordered thither,
but fourteen days were required for its transportation.
The comprehensive plan of M. Freycinet, and his sanguine expectations,
were essentially favoured by the circumstance that the transfer of those
great bodies of troops to a remote section of the field of war had
remained concealed for a fortnight from the IInd Army, as well as from
the XIVth Corps, and consequently from the chief Head-quarter. Rumours
and newspaper articles had no doubt given somewhat earlier hints, but
General von Werder's telegram of January 5th was the first really
authentic announcement by which it was known beyond doubt that the
Germans now stood face to face with an entirely altered aspect of the
military situation. In Versailles the appropriate dispositions and
arrangements were promptly made, and steps taken for the formation of a
new Army of the South.
There was available for this purpose the IInd Corps at Montargis, and
half of the VIIth under General von Zastrow at Auxerre, which during
this period of uncertainty had been constantly moving to and fro between
the Saone and Yonne, according as the one or the other quarter appeared
to be threatened. The chief command of these two Corps, to which was
afterwards added that of the XIVth, was entrusted to General von
Manteuffel. General von Werder could not be immediately reinforced, and
for a time the XIVth Corps was thrown upon its own resources.
Notwithstanding their superiority of strength, the French did more
manoeuvring than fighting. General Bourbaki aimed at outflanking the
left wing of the XIVth Corps, and thus entirely cutting it off from
Belfort. On January 5th the XVIIIth Corps advanced by Grandvelle, and
the XXth by Echenoz le Sec, on Vesoul; but, as we have seen, they there
met with opposition, and as the XXIVth Corps sent to the right to
Esprels learned that Villersexel was occupied by the Germans, Bourbaki
determined upon a still more easterly and circuitous route. On the 8th
the two Corps of the left wing marched off to the right, the XVIIIth to
Montbozon, the XXth to Rougemont; the XXIVth went back to Cuse. At the
same time General Cremer received orders to move from Dijon on Vesoul.
On the 9th the XXIVth and XXth Corps were at Vellechevreux and
Villargent on the Arcey-Villersexel road, while the head of the XVIIIth
Corps reached Villersexel and Esprels.
General von Werder had no alternative but to follow this sideward
movement in all haste. He ordered the Baden Division to Athesans, the
4th Reserve Division to Aillevans, and Von der Goltz's Brigade to Noroy
le Bourg. The trains were put in march to Lure.
ACTION OF VILLERSEXEL, January 9th.--Accordingly at seven in the morning
the Reserve Division was sent on from Noroy to Aillevans, and began
bridging the Ognon to admit of the continuation of the march. A flanking
detachment of the 25th Regiment sent to the right, was fired on near
Villersexel, and the attempt to carry the stone bridge at that place
failed shortly after. The French with two and a half battalions occupied
the town, situated on a height on the further bank of the river. Shortly
afterwards reinforcements came up on the German side. Two batteries
opened fire upon the place and upon the still advancing bodies of the
enemy. The 25th Regiment crossed the river by the suspension bridge and
broke into the walled park and into the chateau. At one o'clock the
French were driven out of the town with the loss of many prisoners, and
a pause in the fighting ensued.
The Prussian force during the fighting had been seriously threatened on
its flank by the advance from Esprels of the 1st Division of the French
XVIIIth Corps, with the artillery-reserve. General von der Goltz,
however, opposed it by occupying the village of Moimay. He also sent to
Villersexel nine companies of the 30th Regiment, to relieve the 25th
Regiment there, so as to allow the latter to rejoin its own Division in
the further march. His combined brigade was eventually to form the
rear-guard of the whole movement.
General von Werder, who observed the considerable force in which the
French were advancing on Villersexel from the south, concluded that
there was less to be gained by forcing his own passage across the Ognon
than by opposing that of the French, since the river covered his line of
approach to Belfort. He therefore recalled the infantry already issuing
to the southward from the town, and withdrew the batteries to the
northern side of the river. Here the main body of the 4th Reserve
Division took up a defensive position, and the Baden Division was called
in on its march at Arpenans and Lure, as a much-needed reinforcement to
the former.
It was already evening when large columns of the French advanced on
Villersexel and shelled the town.
Favoured by the darkness, they penetrated into the park and chateau,
from which the German garrison had already been withdrawn; and as the
general condition of things did not seem to necessitate the occupation
of Villersexel, the responsible officers ordered the evacuation of the
town. Though hard pressed by the enemy, this movement had been nearly
completed, when orders arrived from General von Werder to hold the town.
At once four battalions from the Reserve Division advanced to the
renewed attack. The 25th Regiment turned about at the bridge over the
Ognon and joined them. The Landwehr rushed into the ground floor of the
straggling chateau, but the French defended themselves in the upper
floors and the cellars. On the staircase and in the passages of the
already burning buildings there ensued a hot and changeful combat, and
the fight was maintained in the streets. Not till the General in command
took the matter in hand, and himself ordered it to be broken off, were
dispositions made at one o'clock in the morning for a gradual
retirement, which was completed by three. The Reserve Division then
recrossed the bridge at Aillevans, and occupied St. Sulpice on the
right.
General von der Goltz had held Moimay until evening.
Of the XIVth Corps only 15,000 had been engaged, of whom 26 officers and
553 men had fallen. The French losses amounted to 27 officers and 627
men; and they also left behind in the hands of the Germans 700 unwounded
prisoners. The French troops which chiefly took part in the operations
were the XVIIIth and XXth Corps; the XXIVth Corps, on account of the
fighting in its rear, had suspended its march to Arcey through Sevenans.
Detachments of the gradually incoming XVth Corps advanced from southward
in the direction of Belfort.
On the morning of January 10th, General von Werder massed his Corps in
the vicinity of Aillevans, ready to engage the enemy should the latter
attempt an advance through Villersexel. But no attack was made, and so
the march could be resumed that same morning. As a matter of fact, the
French with three Corps were as near to Belfort as the Germans were with
three Divisions. To cover the departure the Reserve Division took up a
position at Athesans, and on the following day all the forces reached
and occupied the line of the Lisaine. On the right wing about Frahier
and Chalonvillars stood the Baden Division; in the centre, the Reserve
Brigade between Chagey and Couthenans; on the left, the Reserve Division
at Hericourt and Tavey. On the south, General von Debschitz stood in
observation at Delle, and Colonel von Bredow at Arcey; towards the west
Colonel von Willisen was at Lure with the detachment of eight
companies, thirteen squadrons, two batteries, which had come up from
Vesoul.
General von Werder had in fact, succeeded in interposing his force
between the enemy and Belfort.
The French commander, under the intoxicating impression of a victory,
had resigned himself to inactivity. "General Billot," he reported to the
Government at Bordeaux, "has occupied Esprels and maintains himself
there." We know that he was never attacked there at all, and that he did
not succeed in driving away General von der Goltz from the vicinity of
Moimay. "General Clinchant has carried Villersexel with extraordinary
dash;" but the fight of the 9th was, as regards the Germans, maintained
with only a portion of the XIVth Corps, to cover the right flank of the
main body on its march. Whilst, then, this movement of the latter was
prosecuted with the utmost energy, the French army remained passive for
two days, ready for action and in the confident expectation that the
enemy described as beaten, would come on again to fight for the
supremacy. Not until the 13th did the XXIVth Corps advance on Arcey, the
XXth on Saulnot, and the XVIIIth follow to Sevenans. The XVth was to
support an attack on Arcey by way of Ste. Marie.
General von Werder had utilized this interval, while the troops were
hastening forward, in ascertaining the eligibility of the Lisaine
position and in a consultation with General von Tresckow in rear of it.
A detailed inspection showed that at Frahier the Lisaine, there but an
unimportant streamlet, flows through a broad grassy hollow, and thence
to Chagey through steep wooded slopes. About Hericourt the valley opens
out into a wide plain, which is however commanded by the rocky heights
of Mont Vaudois. Lower down the wooded heights line the river as far as
Montbeliard, which with the Allaine brook forms a strong point of
support and the extremity of the line.
The wooded character of the plain west of the Lisaine would necessarily
increase the assailants' difficulties in the deployment of large
infantry masses and a strong artillery line. It is true that during the
prevailing severe cold the river was everywhere frozen over; but only
two high-roads led through the forest into the valley from the direction
by which the French army was advancing, one to Montbeliard, the other to
Hericourt. The other accesses were narrow, hollow roads rendered
difficult of use by frost.
General von Tresckow had already armed the most important points with
siege guns, the castle of Montbeliard with six, and the neighbouring
height of La Grange Dame with five heavy cannon. Seven were placed on
Mont Vaudois and near Hericourt; besides these, twenty-one others
commanded the valley of the Allaine southward as far as Delle.
All the troops that could be spared from the investing force were also
withdrawn from before Belfort. Still there remained the important
consideration that the available forces might not suffice to entirely
cover the whole of the Lisaine line. The right wing was the locally
weakest portion of the whole position, but here there was the least to
be apprehended, the enemy's main attack, since the many needs of the
numerous but inadequately equipped French army made the nearest possible
vicinity of one of the railroads a necessity. The Vesoul line by way of
Lure was broken in many places, and the Besancon line led towards the
strong left wing. The country north of Chagey might therefore more
weakly be held, and a reserve was formed of the largest part of the
Baden Division, which was distributed in rear of the centre and left
about Mandrevillars, Brevilliers and Charmont.
The respite accorded by the enemy was turned to account with the utmost
zeal in the construction of rifle-pits and of battery emplacements, the
establishment of telegraph and relay lines, the improvement of roads and
the replenishment of supplies and ammunition.
_January 13th._--On the morning of the 13th the advanced posts of the
3rd Reserve Division were now attacked at Arcey, Ste. Marie and
Gonvillars. They were instructed to withdraw before a superior force,
but to hold their own long enough to compel the deployment of the
hostile columns. The combat with French artillery coming up at wide
intervals was therefore prolonged for a considerable time; then, after a
three hours' resistance, a new position was taken up behind the Rupt
brook, and the retirement on Tavey delayed until four in the afternoon.
The advanced guard of General von der Goltz, after a whole brigade had
deployed against it, also took up a position at Chavanni on a parallel
front with that at Couthenans.
Before the Allaine front the French did not succeed in driving General
von Debschitz's advanced posts out of Dasle and Croix.
_January 14th._--On the 14th General von Willisen with fifty dismounted
Dragoons drove back the enemy advancing on Lure, and then retired with
his detachment on Ronchamp.
The French army did not yet on this day undertake a serious attack. It
stood with the XVth, XXIVth, and XXth Corps, closely concentrated
opposite the German left and centre at a distance of scarcely
four-and-a-half miles. The German right was supposed by General Bourbaki
to rest upon Mont Vaudois. His plan was to cross the Lisaine in force
above this point of support, and by thus turning the hostile flank to
facilitate a frontal attack. The XVIIIth Army Corps and the Division
Cremer were assigned to this service. A drawback to this judicious
arrangement was, that the two above-mentioned bodies designed by the
officer in supreme command to open the fight on the 14th, would have
the longest distance to march to their task. On this day the leading
troops of the XVIIIth Army Corps barely succeeded in reaching the
vicinity of Lomont through difficult hill and woodland region, and
Cremer's Brigade[76] had only then begun to advance from Vesoul. A
postponement to the 15th was thereupon determined.
On the German side, a general attack by the greatly superior enemy was
hourly expected, and General von Werder felt himself bound to send by
telegraph to Versailles a representation of the extreme seriousness of
his position. The rivers, being frozen over, were passable, and the duty
of covering Belfort deprived him of freedom of movement and endangered
the existence of his corps. He earnestly prayed that the question should
be weighed, whether the investment of Belfort should continue to be
maintained.
In the supreme Head-quarter it was considered that any further
retirement of the XVth[77] Army Corps would have the immediate effect of
raising the siege of Belfort, and causing the loss of the considerable
material which had been provided therefor; that it was impossible to
foresee where such further retirement would end; and that it could but
delay the co-operation of the army advancing by forced marches under
General von Manteuffel. At three o'clock on the afternoon of 15th
January a positive order was despatched to General von Werder to accept
battle in front of Belfort. He was, as was only fair, relieved of the
moral responsibility of the consequences of a possibly disastrous issue.
But before this order reached him, the General had already come to the
same resolution.
FOOTNOTES:
[76] Slip of the pen for "Division."
[77] So in text; a slip of the pen, or printer's error, for the XIVth
Corps, which von Werder commanded. There was no XVth Corps in 1871.
BATTLE ON THE LISAINE.
(January 15th to 17th.)
_January 15th._--On the morning of the 15th of January, two Divisions of
the French XVth Corps, strengthened by artillery, advanced on
Montbeliard; a third followed in reserve. The East-Prussian Landwehr
battalions, which had pushed forward to the Mont Chevis Farm and Ste.
Suzanne, held their position for a long time, advanced on their part to
the attack, and drove the heads of the enemy's columns back upon the
Rupt brook. But when the latter in the afternoon deployed in greater
force along the edge of the wood, the Landwehr advanced posts were at
two o'clock ordered back to the left bank of the Lisaine. The town of
Montbeliard, entirely commanded by the surrounding heights, was also
voluntarily evacuated, only its fortified castle being held. But east of
Montbeliard General von Gluemer with the 1st Baden Brigade had taken up a
position, and had brought up four field-batteries alongside the siege
guns on the plateau of La Grange Dame.
Towards the close of the day the French, after a continuous but
ineffective bombardment from eight batteries, took possession of the
town, but did not make any further advance.
Neither had they prospered in their attempt to cross the Lisaine at
Bethoncourt. An officer and sixty men, who had sought cover within a
walled graveyard from the sharp fire of the defenders, were taken
prisoners.
Further to the north the French XXIVth Corps continued to advance, but
it was two o'clock before its columns were able to deploy from the wood.
Four battalions did, indeed, succeed in taking possession of the village
of Bussurel on the western bank of the Lisaine, but their further
advance was frustrated by the fire of the defenders in cover behind the
railway embankment, and by that of the Baden battalions and batteries
brought up from the main reserve.
Hericourt, on the great high road from Besancon and only little more
than four miles from Belfort, became a point of special importance in
the German fighting line. Here in front of the Lisaine the right wing of
the 4th Reserve Division struck the enemy.
The little wooded knoll of Mougnot, which forms a sort of bridge-head to
the narrow gorge through which the road passes, had been fortified by
the pioneers with abatis, battery emplacements and rifle-pits, the town
in its rear prepared for defence, and the base of the heights on either
of its sides faced with artillery. Four East-Prussian Landwehr
battalions were in touch on the right with the Reserve Brigade, which
held the slope of Mont Vaudois as far as Luze.
About ten o'clock the French deployed their artillery on the bare
heights close to the line of approach in the vicinity of Tremoins. Upon
their infantry advancing leftwards through Byans, the German detachment
which till then had been left in Tavey fell back on Hericourt in
reserve, and the enemy's first attack on Mougnot was shattered by the
resistance of its defenders, and by the fire of sixty-one guns on the
further bank of the river. The attempt was not repeated that day, and
the French confined themselves to a heavy but ineffective cannonade.
According to the instructions issued by General Bourbaki, the XXth Corps
was to await the result of the great outflanking movement which was to
be carried out by General Billot with the XVIIIth Corps and Cremer's
Division. As, however, these had not yet put in an appearance, the
Army-Reserve had to be brought up leftward to Coisevaux to protect
General Clinchant's flank.
The orders from the Army Head-quarter had not reached the XVIIIth Corps
until midnight. It had moreover to accomplish a difficult march by
deeply snowed-up woodland paths. This entailed crossings, not only
between the flank columns of its 1st and 3rd Divisions, but even with
the Division Cremer at Lyoffans. This Division had only by dint of the
greatest exertion reached Lure during the night, and could not get
further on to Beverne until nine in the morning. A fresh delay was
occasioned by the order to bring up in front of the infantry the
artillery--even the reserve artillery which was marching in the very
rear; and thus it happened that the XVIIIth Corps did not succeed in
deploying two of its Divisions opposite Luze and Chagey till between 12
and 2 in the afternoon.
The 1st Division occupied Couthenans with one battalion, and brought up
five batteries on the reverse slope of the heights to the north of that
place. But the fire from the opposite bank prevented their further
progress, and in a short time several of the batteries had but two guns
left fit for action, although the Germans, in view of the difficulty of
replenishment, used their ammunition as sparingly as possible. At three
o'clock there was a pause in the artillery fight, which however was
resumed energetically on the arrival of reinforcements, when the
artillery of the XXIVth Corps coming from Byans took part in it. An
infantry attack on a large scale was not yet attempted.
There was scarcely more vigour in the advance of the 3rd Division
against Chagey, which was occupied only by a Baden battalion; yet it was
from here that the outflanking movement of the German right wing by
turning Mont Vaudois was to be gone upon. The wood reached to the first
houses of the village, and the only difficulty was the climb up the
steep face of the height. Two French battalions suddenly burst from the
gorge south of it, and drove in the Baden outposts; the further attack
was to have been supported from Couthenans on the south, but the
infantry advancing from thence found itself forced to turn back by the
fire from the opposite bank. Only by a renewed effort did the Zouaves
succeed in entering Chagey, where a stubborn fight raged in and around
the houses. Meanwhile two Baden battalions came up, who, at five
o'clock, drove the enemy out of the village back into the wood. Fresh
reinforcements hastened to the support of the latter from the reserve
near by, the short winter's day was over, and here during the night the
French attempted nothing further. The 2nd Division of the French Corps
had only advanced as far as Beverne, the cavalry had not moved from
Lyoffans.
The Division Cremer, despite its late arrival at Lure, had continued the
march in the early morning. After the above-mentioned crossings and
resultant delays the 1st Brigade advanced on Etobon, and there at noon
it engaged in a fight with a Baden detachment under the command of
General von Degenfeld. When the 2nd Brigade also came up, the 1st moved
forward through the Bois de la Thure, with intent to cross the Lisaine
above Chagey. Parts of the roads had first to be made practicable by the
pioneers, involving considerable delay. The 2nd Brigade then followed in
the dark, having left a detachment in observation at Etobon. A fresh
collision with some Baden detachments determined General Cremer to
extinguish all the watch-fires. His troops remained under arms
throughout the hard winter night.
On the German side, all the troops not on guard duty found shelter in
the neighbouring villages, the pioneers only being kept at work with
their pickaxes. The actions had cost both sides about 600 men, without
bringing about any decisive result; but every day was a gain to the
defenders.
General Von Werder, on the heights north of Hericourt, had received
constant reports regarding the course of the fighting from the General
Staff officers sent out in various directions, by which he was able to
regulate the abstraction from the reserves of reinforcements to the
fighting line. The diminution of the ammunition was a cause of anxiety,
since a consignment announced from Baden had not yet arrived.
General Bourbaki informed his Government that he had taken Montbeliard,
it was true without the castle, had occupied the villages on the west
bank of the Lisaine, and that he would attack on the 16th. He had
learned from General Billot that the German right wing extended
considerably beyond Mont Vaudois, whence he inferred that important
reinforcements had reached the enemy, whose strength he estimated at
80,000 to 100,000 men. Nevertheless he anticipated a fortunate issue for
the outflanking operation by fetching a yet wider compass to the left.
_January 16th._--At half-past six on the morning of the 16th the Germans
again stood to arms in the positions of the previous day.
The French again began the attack with their right wing. From the
loopholed houses they fired on the Landwehr company holding the castle
of Montbeliard, causing some loss among the latter as well as among the
gunners. The summons to surrender was disregarded, and the fire of the
fortress artillery was used to such good purpose against two batteries
which showed themselves on the neighbouring height, that these were
obliged to retire, leaving behind them two guns. Neither could they
advance from a new position they had taken up at the farm of Mont
Chevis, and where they had been reinforced by three batteries, against
the fire from La Grange Dame, although the cannonade continued until
dark. No attempt was made from Montbeliard to pierce the German line.
Further to the left the reinforced 1st Division of the French XVth Corps
advanced on Bethoncourt. At one o'clock the fire of its artillery from
Mont Chevis and Byans obliged a Baden battery to limber up, and it was
then directed on the village. Large bodies had been massed in the
neighbouring forest, from out which at three o'clock they advanced.
General Gluemer had meantime despatched reinforcements to the threatened
front. Two determined attempts pushed close up to the village were
frustrated by the destructive artillery and rifle fire of the defenders.
A third attack made with a whole brigade at four o'clock, was not
permitted even to approach. The losses on the French side were
considerable, and the snowy field was strewn with the fallen. Some
unwounded prisoners were also taken.
One Division of the XXIVth French Corps had taken up a covered position
in the woods behind Byans, and as it had already occupied Bussurel on
the previous day, the German defensive position here in the rear of the
railway embankment appeared to be threatened from the immediate
vicinity. The General in command therefore sent General Keller with two
Baden Fusilier battalions and one heavy battery from Brevilliers in this
direction. The latter joined the two batteries which had been engaged on
the slope of the hill since morning. The fire of five of the enemy's
batteries was soon silenced by the unerring projectiles from the German
guns. At noon the French artillery retired from Byans, leaving there
also two guns, which could only be brought away later. The infantry, one
Division strong, had only threatened to pierce the line, without
proceeding to carry out the attempt.
The XXth Corps brought up two Divisions against the line
Hericourt--Luze. A thick fog covered the valley, and the early cannonade
was at first scarcely answered by the Germans. To obtain some insight
into the intentions of the enemy, two companies advanced to the height
west of St. Valbert, and surprised the enemy moving up from Byans with
so rapid a fire that he turned back. But soon after, at half-past nine,
several battalions burst out from Tavey against the Mougnot. Two attacks
were frustrated by the steady resistance of the Landwehr battalions, and
a third attempt directed against the southern exit from Hericourt did
not succeed. About four o'clock fresh masses of infantry again gathered
against the Mougnot, but coming under fire from Mont Salamou, they
shrank from further attacks, and confined themselves till evening to an
ineffective cannonade.
At Chagey two Divisions of the XVIIIth Corps found themselves face to
face with the Germans. They did not attempt anything.
The little spirit with which on January 16th the action along the whole
front from Montbeliard to Chagey was conducted, pointed to the
conclusion that the French were everywhere awaiting the issue of the
scheme of out-flanking the German right wing.
This task now devolved on General Cremer. The 2nd Division of the
XVIIIth Corps joined him at Etobon.
Two Divisions advanced thence on Chenebier, where General von Degenfeld
stood with two battalions, two batteries, and one squadron. There could
be no doubt as to the result. At eleven o'clock the Division Penhoat of
the XVIIIth Corps advanced to encompass the place on the west and north,
and the Division Cremer, for the purpose of barring the defenders' line
of retreat on Belfort, advanced on the south, where the wood of La Thure
covered his approach. The batteries of both Divisions were brought up in
the afternoon on its northern edge, where they opened fire. After they
had been in action for two hours, the infantry masses advanced from
three sides. Under General Cremer's personal leading the Baden Fusiliers
were driven from the southern to the northern part of the village, and
as his encompassment therein through the wood of Montedin was
practicable, General von Degenfeld, after an obstinate resistance, at
three o'clock was obliged to take up his retreat in a northerly
direction through Frahier. Thence he again turned south-east and took up
a position in front of Chalonvillars, about the high-lying windmill of
Rougeot, where, at six o'clock, he was joined by Colonel Bayer with
reinforcements. The French did not pursue; the Division Cremer, which
had lost 1000 men, retired, on the contrary, into the wood of La Thure,
while Penhoat's Division confined itself to the occupation of Chenebier.
Thus the German line of defence was nowhere broken on this day; still,
its extreme right wing had been driven back to within little more than
three miles of Belfort.
The fortress celebrated the success of the French arms by a
victory-salute, but made no serious sortie on the investing forces,
weakened as they were by the despatch of reinforcements; and the latter,
on their side, quietly continued the construction of batteries.
General von Werder, anxious above all things to re-establish the
fighting position on his right wing, could however only gather in as a
general reserve four battalions, four squadrons, and two batteries,
bringing up these from the least exposed places and even from Belfort,
to Brevilliers and Mandrevillars. At eight o'clock in the evening
General Keller was ordered to retake Chenebier. On this errand he left
Mandrevillars with two Baden battalions, reached Moulin Rougeot at
midnight, and found Frahier already occupied by Colonel Bayer.
_January 17th._--On this morning eight battalions, two squadrons, and
four batteries were assembled in Frahier. Three of the battalions
advanced on the northern, three on the southern part of Chenebier; the
others remained in reserve at the windmill, where also three 15 cm.
cannon were to be stationed.
At half-past four a.m. the first column, advancing in dead silence,
surprised an outpost of the enemy's at Echevanne, but it was unavoidable
that its rifle fire should make the French in Chenebier aware of the
danger by which they were menaced. In the wood north of the village, the
Germans met with serious resistance; and the danger that in the darkness
and the dense undergrowth the troops might fall on each other obliged
their withdrawal to the outer edge of the wood.
The other column, advancing in the valley of the Lisaine, had quickened
its pace from Moulin Colin as soon as the first shots were heard. The
2nd battalion of the 4th Baden Regiment rushed with cheers into the
southern part of Chenebier, where a great confusion ensued. But daybreak
showed that the heights on the west of the village were strongly
occupied, and that columns of all arms were approaching from Etobon. At
8.30 Colonel Payen had to resolve on retirement from the half-conquered
village, carrying with him 400 prisoners, and on taking up a position at
the Bois de Fery, to cover the road to Belfort through Chalonvillars.
At the same time the right column, strengthened by a battalion from the
reserve, renewed the attack on the wood, and after a struggle which
lasted for two hours with heavy losses on both sides, at last took
possession of it. But the attempt to penetrate into the barricaded and
strongly-defended village was vain. A destructive fire met every attack;
a single round of mitrailleuse fire, for instance, struck down
twenty-one men of the Baden assailants. At three o'clock in the
afternoon General Keller therefore assembled his troops at Frahier,
where they were supported by four batteries.
With such inferior strength, and after failing in this attempt, it was
useless to think of driving back the enemy beyond Chenebier; the only
course to pursue was to hinder his further advance on Belfort. And this
object was fully accomplished; the French did not pursue. Instead of
out-flanking the German right, they seemed chiefly concerned for their
own left. They defended Chenebier stoutly, but gave up all further
offensive movements.
While awaiting the expected success of the out-flanking movement,
General Bourbaki's intention seems to have been merely to occupy the
enemy along his front and to hold him fast where he stood. Even during
the night the Germans were alarmed at Bethoncourt and before Hericourt,
while they, on their part, disturbed the French at Bussurel and in the
Bois de La Thure. The infantry fire went on for hours, and numerous
detachments had to spend the bitter winter's night under arms. In the
morning two Divisions of the XVIIIth French Corps advanced on Chagey and
Luze, but their batteries, although supported by the artillery of the
Army Reserve, they could not advance against those of the Germans, and
repeated attacks on those villages were unsuccessful. After one o'clock
a cannonade only was maintained here. In front of Hericourt also there
was an exchange of shell fire, and Bussurel, held by the French, was set
on fire.
To drive the French out of Montbeliard, the town was fired on from La
Grange Dame and from the Chateau, but ceased when the inhabitants begged
forbearance on the assurance that the place was evacuated, which
subsequently proved not quite true. Ten battalions of the French XVth
Corps advanced from the woods in the forenoon, and tried to push on past
Montbeliard, but suffered severely from the flanking fire of the heavy
guns at La Grange Dame, and only a handful got into the valley of the
Lisaine. The western exits from Montbeliard, and the heights immediately
behind it, remained in French possession, but the offensive movements
ceased at about two in the afternoon.
Further to the south, General von Debschitz's posts in front of Allaine
had easily repulsed the French assailants.
On the German side there was now the conviction that no further attack
would be attempted.
The condition of the French troops, not yet inured to war, was, in fact,
very critical. They had been obliged to bivouac in the bitterly cold
nights, sometimes under arms, and for the most part without food. Their
losses were not inconsiderable, and the superior officers whom the
commanding General assembled at three in the afternoon, in the
neighbourhood of Chagey, expressed their objections to a yet more
extensive outflanking attempt to the left, since supplies would be
utterly impossible, and the risk would be entailed of the Germans
seizing the line of the communications of the army through Montbeliard.
Then came the news that the heads of General von Manteuffel's Corps had
already reached Fontaine-Francaise, and were also approaching Gray.
In these circumstances General Bourbaki considered he must resolve on a
retreat. He telegraphed to the Government that by the advice of his
generals, and to his deep regret, he had been compelled to take up a
position further in the rear, and only hoped that the enemy might follow
him. Hence this experienced general could have felt no doubt that his
army, its attack on the Lisaine, once gone to wreck, could only escape
from a very critical position by an immediate retreat.
_January 18th._--This morning the Germans were under arms in their
positions of the previous day, the French still in full force before the
whole front. It was significant that they were busy in the construction
of earthworks. They had evacuated Montbeliard the evening before in
disorderly retreat, and now held the country west of the place in
strength and entrenched.
During this day nothing occurred but a cannonade and small skirmishes.
General Keller having been reinforced came up on the right, and as the
enemy retired to Etobon he was able to re-occupy Chenebier in the
afternoon. Further north, Colonel von Willisen again marched on
Ronchamp. In the centre Coutenans was taken possession of, and the enemy
driven out of Byans by artillery fire; but on the other hand the Germans
could not yet penetrate the belt of forest. On the southern bank of the
Allaine General von Debschitz's detachments drove the enemy back beyond
the line Exincourt-Croix.
In the three days' fighting on the Lisaine the Germans lost 1200, the
French from 4000 to 5000 men.
In spite of much necessary detaching, and of the threatening proximity
of the enemy, the siege-works against Belfort were uninterruptedly
carried on, and as soon as the complement of the investing forces was
again made up, General von Werder followed the retiring French to
Etobon, Saulnot and Arcey.
THE ARTILLERY ATTACK ON PARIS.
(January, 1871.)
In the place of the IInd Corps, which had been assigned to the German
Army of the South, there had come up into the Paris front the Ist
Bavarian Corps, of which Gambetta had said, "The Bavarians no longer
exist." It had made so good use of its time of rest in quarters south of
Longjumeau that by the beginning of the New Year it was already restored
to a strength of 17,500 men, with 108 guns. It was positioned on both
banks of the Seine between the VIth Prussian Corps and the Wuertemberg
Division. The Wuertembergers reached from Ormesson to the Marne, from
which river the Saxons extended rightward to the Sausset brook, so as to
narrow the front of the Guard Corps now that the Moree was frozen over
and afforded no cover.
The duty of watching so vast a place of arms as Paris had made great
demands on the endurance of the troops.
The French had gradually so extended their entrenchments outwards from
Villejuif and Bruyeres, that they threatened to outflank the IInd
Bavarian Corps. To thwart such a flank attack the VIth Corps was
obliged to keep a strong force constantly in readiness at L'Hay.
It need not be said that the supporting troops on the south front could
nowhere be safe from the fire of the heavy fortress guns, nor the
foreposts from that of the Chassepots. The latter consequently often
could not be relieved for several days, and the relief was usually
effected at night. The less the success of the French arms in the open
field, the more lavish were they in the expenditure of ammunition from
their works. Mont Valerien hurled its giant shells to a distance of from
four to five miles, but this incessant cannonade, to the din of which
the ear was soon accustomed, did little damage.
THE ARTILLERY ATTACK ON THE SOUTHERN FRONT.--Till Mont Avron was taken,
the Germans had only been able to oppose field guns to French fortress
artillery. But early in January their preparations were at last so far
forward that seventeen batteries, long since completed, could be armed
with heavy guns against the south front of Paris. A battery stood apart
on the left flank in the park of St. Cloud to the north of Sevres; four
were close together on the steep slope of the height west of the Chateau
Meudon; five on the edge of the plateau of Moulin de la Tour, where the
mill, serving to guide the aim of the enemy, had been blown up. Four
more batteries occupied a lower position between Fontenay and Bagneux.
Two, between Chevilly and La Rue, served as protection against a flank
movement from Villejuif, with the field artillery of the IInd Bavarian
and VIth Corps. Dressing-stations were prepared, and intermediate depots
were supplied with reserve ammunition from the great magazines at
Villacoublay.
Under Generals von Kameke[78] and Prince Hohenlohe[79] Colonels von
Rieff and von Ramm conducted the artillery attack, General Schulz
commanded the engineer attack. The men served twenty-four hours in the
batteries, and then had two days' rest. The officers had but one day's
rest.
The heavy guns were brought up on January 3rd, by day, into the
batteries which lay covered, without any interference; into all the
others during the night, after the enemy's outposts had been driven in.
Thus on the morning of the 4th 98 guns were ready to open fire: of these
28 were directed on Issy, 28 on Vanves, and 18 on Montrouge, 10 against
the emplacements between the first two forts. But a thick fog hid every
object, and it was not till January 5th at 8.30 in the morning, that the
signal shot was given for opening fire.
_January 5th._--The enemy promptly replied. There were in Fort Valerien
106 guns, in Issy 90, in Vanves 84, and in Montrouge 52; there were
about 70 in the sectors of the enceinte concerned and at Villejuif,
16-cm. guns for the most part; so the attack at first was heavily taxed.
But when at about noon all its batteries came into action, the situation
gradually improved and the greater accuracy of the German fire told.
Fort Issy had almost entirely ceased firing by two o'clock, nine guns
were dismounted in Vanves, and its garrison had lost thirty men; only
Montrouge still replied with vigour. The fire was now taken up by the
guns of the enceinte, but the forts never again gained the upper hand
of the attack. Some gunboats appearing about Point du Jour very soon had
to retire. The field artillery of the IInd Bavarian and VIth Corps also
co-operated so energetically that no attack was attempted from the works
at Villejuif, nor was a single shot fired on the batteries at Bagneux. A
number of wall-pieces and long-range Chassepots taken from the enemy did
such good service that the French abandoned more and more of their
rayon. The German outposts took possession of the trenches of Clamart,
and in the course of the night reversed them against the defence.
Only a couple of 15-cm. shells were thrown into the city itself as a
serious warning; the first thing to be done was to batter down the
outworks, and for some few days the firing was exclusively directed on
these. A stubborn return fire came from Montrouge and from a
mortar-battery in a very advantageous position behind the high railway
embankment to the east of Issy; and especially from the south front of
the enceinte, nearly four and a half miles long in a straight line.
Foggy weather on some days necessitated the suspension or entire
cessation of firing. But meanwhile the foreposts had advanced to within
815 and 490 yards of Forts Issy and Vanves respectively. New batteries
were constructed further forward, and armed with thirty-six guns from
those evacuated in rear.
_January 10th._--The French garrison meanwhile was again displaying
great activity. On January 10th it succeeded in the dark hours in
surprising the weakly-held post of Clamart. Three battalions were now
posted in the place, and a shelter-trench some 1300 yards long was dug
connecting Clamart with Chatillon.[80]
_January 13th._--The IInd Army of Paris was still outside the city on
the east and north fronts from Nogent to Aubervillers. After some small
alarms, on the evening of the 13th strong bodies advanced from Courneuve
and Drancy against Le Bourget under cover of a heavy fire from the
forts. But the troops in occupation there were on the alert, and being
soon reinforced by several companies, repulsed the attempts of the
French to storm it, repeated as they were until two o'clock in the
morning.
_January 14th._--On this day the French made a renewed sortie on Clamart
with 500 marine infantry and several battalions of National Guards.
These last assembled at the adjacent railway-station with a great deal
of noise, and their approach was reported about midnight. The fight
lasted a full hour, and ended with the retreat, or rather flight, of the
assailants. Patrols followed them close up to the trenches of Issy.
The ranges were so great that hitherto the fire from the enceinte was
not yet subdued. Battery No. 1, lying isolated in the Park of St. Cloud,
suffered most, being fired upon from two bastions of the enceinte, from
Point du Jour, and from Mont Valerien. The steep cliff behind the
battery facilitated the aim of the enemy. Its parapet was repeatedly
shattered, and it was only the most zealous devotion which enabled the
struggle to be continued at this point. The enemy also concentrated a
heavy fire on batteries Nos. 19 and 21, pushed forward into a position
specially threatening to Fort Vanves. The long-range fire from the
enceinte dropped from a high angle close behind the parapet, breaking
through the platforms, and inflicting serious injuries on a great many
gunners. The powder-magazines blew up in two of the batteries, and both
the battery commanders and several other superior officers were wounded.
On the east front of Paris, the fifty-eight German guns remaining there
after the reduction of Mont Avron were opposed by 151 of the enemy. The
former nevertheless soon proved their superiority; the forts only
occasionally came into action; the French withdrew their outposts up to
the works, and altogether vacated the peninsula of St. Maur. By degrees
the heavy siege-guns could be removed from their previous positions to
the Moree brook.
The forts on the south front had meanwhile suffered severely. The ruin
in Issy was visible to the naked eye; fires broke out there repeatedly,
and the powder-magazine had to be cleared out at great risk in the night
of January 16th. Fort Vanves had lost seventy men; it opened fire
usually every morning, but soon became silent. Montrouge, on the
contrary, on some days still fired over 500 rounds from eighteen guns.
But here, too, the casemates no longer afforded any shelter, and one of
the bastions lay a heap of ruins.
In spite of the steady fire from the enceinte, a part of Paris itself
was disturbed by the 15-cm. shells. An elevation of 30 degrees, obtained
by a special contrivance, sent the projectiles into the heart of the
city. From 300 to 400 shells were fired daily.
Under the pressure of "public opinion" the Government, after repeated
deliberations, decided once more on a new enterprise in force, to be
directed this time against the German batteries about Chatillon. The
collective superior commanders agreed, indeed, that sorties could
promise no success without the co-operation of a relieving army from the
outside; but, on the 8th, Gambetta had announced the "victory" of the
Army of the North at Bapaume, and further had promised that both the
Armies of the Loire should advance. Hereupon General Trochu advised that
at least the moment should be awaited when the investing army before
Paris should be weakened by having to detach anew part of its strength;
but he was opposed by the other members of the Government, especially by
Monsieur Jules Favre. That gentleman declared that the Maires of Paris
were indignant at the bombardment, that the representatives of the city
must be allowed some insight into the military situation, and, above
all, that negotiations ought long since to have been entered into.
Finally, on January 15th, it was determined that the German lines should
be broken through at Montretout, Garches, and Buzanval.
While confusion and dissensions thus prevailed in Paris, the unity of
the German nation, under the Emperor William, was solemnly proclaimed at
Versailles.
FOOTNOTES:
[78] Previously commanding the XIVth Infantry Division.
[79] Previously commanding the artillery of the Guard Corps, the
well-known military author, best known in England as "Prince Kraft." The
slight ambiguity in the text may be removed by the more specific
statement that General von Kameke was Chief Director of the Engineer
attack, Prince Kraft Chief Director of the Artillery attack on Paris as
a whole. On the south front Colonel von Rieff commanded the siege
artillery, Major-General Schulz was Engineer-in-chief. On the north and
east fronts within the Army of the Meuse Colonels Bartsch and Oppermann
had the corresponding commands. Colonel von Ramm is nowhere mentioned in
the official distribution of the respective staffs.
[80] A casual reader might perhaps infer from these curt sentences, that
the French, having possessed themselves by surprise of the weak German
post of Clamart, placed in it a garrison of three battalions. The facts
were, that the French battalion was scarcely in possession of Clamart
when it abandoned village and redoubt; whereupon, to guard against any
future attempt on the place on the part of the French, the Germans
occupied the village with three battalions and the redoubt with two
companies; and further to ensure the security of the position, since it
was one of some importance, connected it with Chatillon in the manner
described.
BATTLE OF MONT VALERIEN.
(January 19th.)
The sortie was planned to take place on January 19th. On that day, as we
have seen, General Faidherbe advanced as far as St. Quentin on the way
to Paris, and the army which was to make the sortie stood on the eastern
and northern fronts of the capital. The attempt to break through was,
however, made in the opposite direction. But in fact, the peninsula of
Gennevilliers was now the only ground on which large masses of troops
could still be deployed without being exposed for hours while they were
being assembled, to the fire of the German artillery.
Two days previously the mobilized National Guards had already relieved
the three Divisions of the sortie-Army from the positions they had held;
and those Divisions, collectively 90,000 strong, were to move to the
attack in three columns simultaneously. General Vinoy on the left,
supported by the fire from the enceinte, was to carry the height of
Montretout; General Bellemare in the centre was to push forward through
Garches; General Ducrot on the right by way of the Chateau of Buzanval.
The attack was set to begin at six in the morning, but blocks occurred
at the bridges of Asnieres and Neuilly, as no specific orders had been
issued for regulating the crossing. When at seven o'clock the signal to
advance was made from Mont Valerien, only the advance of General Vinoy's
force was ready, the other columns had not yet deployed, and the last
detachments tailed back as far as Courbevoix. Before they had reached
their rendezvous-points the left wing was already marching on St. Cloud
with fifteen battalions.
These at first met only isolated posts and patrols, eighty-nine men in
all, who rushed into the open gorge of the redoubt of Montretout, and
there made a stand for some time; they then fought their way out with
great bravery, but some of them were taken prisoners. There, and in the
northern part of St. Cloud, the French promptly prepared for defence.
The centre column under General Bellemare also took possession without
difficulty of the height of Maison du Cure.