give back, and there lie still and motionless; columns, though far away,
break and dissolve under the shrapnel, and then deploy in haste and
confusion; and, above all, the bright sun shines down without a wreath
of smoke to sully his radiance, or to hide his target from the rifleman.
Vainly the supporting lines of the Prussians are hurried to the front.
Impotently the cavalry ride forward. Their guns are already silenced.
The squadrons are checked by an inextricable tangle of falling men and
horses. The long line of infantry is no longer intact. Men are hastening
to the rear, not singly, but in groups. Officers stand out in front for
a moment, and then are seen no more save in shapeless huddled forms on
the dewy grass. The volleys of the French became more regular and
machine-like every moment. A mounted group reaches the hill. It is the
General, his Staff beside him, his _fanion_ at his side. They are too
far off to hear, but I can see De Galliffet pointing to the front, and
the infantry are already moving forward, swooping down upon their prey.
He must be an enemy of more than mortal courage who, decimated and
outnumbered, can withstand the swift yet steady onset of these trim,
regular lines of blue and red. And look, behind—there, in the interval!
A long array of tossing heads and nodding plumes. The Cuirassiers of
France! Let the infantry shake them; brave horsemen, your time is
coming! ‘_N’oubliez pas Reichshoffen!_’ yells a wounded corporal by my
side, and the mighty mass breaks into a trot, and across the plain they
dash, the horse artillery racing in their wake, whilst _viva_ after
_viva_ speeds their onset. The German cavalry, what is left of it, comes
gallantly forward to meet their antagonists, and, if possible, to save
their infantry. But it is too late. In a few moments the plain is
covered with a broken crowd of soldiers. Groups rallying round their
officers are swept away by flying horsemen or serried squadrons;
thousands are now struggling for the ridge; in the centre the
Cuirassiers are bearing all before them in the frenzy of the charge, and
on the flanks the infantry, with rattling volleys, sweep away the
_débris_ of the battle as leaves before the gale.
Before the French reached the ridge beyond, long after the cavalry had
retired to re-form, it appears that they met fresh masses of infantry
hurrying forward to the assistance of their comrades; but the impetus of
victory was too great to be withstood. The fresh troops became involved
in the disaster of their advanced guard, and long ere mid-day De
Galliffet was in secure possession of the second ridge, across which at
daybreak I had seen the Germans advance.
About the noontide hour both armies seemed, as it were by consent, to
allow a breathing space. It was as if some invisible Marshal of the
Lists had thrown down his baton. So here, behind the ridge, whilst the
blazing sun passed over the meridian, lay the columns of the French.
Over against them, in the rolling and open valley, but out of range,
were the faint, blue, wavy lines which marked their enemy’s position.
It was not till after two o’clock that I saw General de Galliffet—who
had been standing alone, looking intently towards the enemy and
impatiently beating his foot upon the ground—make a gesture of relief,
and turning sharp to his orderly dragoon bid him bring up his horse. At
the same moment the German infantry began to move. The artillery had
been for some time in action. A perfect hail of shells tore up the level
surface of the ridge, and our batteries were one by one retiring. Our
present line of infantry is several hundred yards behind the hill, down
in the valley, cooking their soup undisturbed by the shrapnel, and only
a few are called up now to assist the guns against hostile skirmishers.
On come the Prussians, but it is soon evident that the main attack is
not against our centre. Away to the left there, where General Jamont,
the trusted Commander of the 5th Corps d’Armée, holds watch and ward,
the sky is red with dust, and the thunder of the guns and the rattle of
musketry is threefold heavier than with us. I can see our troops moving
in the valley below, from centre to left, linesmen and guns, hurrying to
the point of contact. I am on the point of riding in the same direction,
when one of M. de Galliffet’s aides-de-camp suggests that I have already
a place in the stalls. ‘Down below,’ he says, pointing to the valley,
‘will be played the last agony of Prussia.’
The suspense is terrible. The volleys rise and fall, the roar of the
cannon swells and dies way. The minutes drag by on leaden wings. The
troops in our front are not advancing, even the Artillery seems lazy
this afternoon, and there, even there, where the red dust-clouds hang
over a hell of slaughter, the fate of a nation is being decided. It is
in vain I endeavour to imitate the imperturbability of the General, our
‘lance of iron,’ as the soldiers have learned to call him. A messenger
or two rides up, and is dismissed. There is not a sign on that impassive
countenance. Here is another, galloping at speed, grey with dust, and
horse foaming with haste. At last! The General straightens himself up.
He raises his hand to his _kepi_ with the golden leaves, as if he were
saluting a superior. Is it France or Fortune!
The Staff, throwing away their cigarettes, are all animation now.
Officers and orderlies gallop recklessly down the hill at break-neck
speed. There is a stir amongst those sleeping columns below. Men spring
to their arms. I can hear the harsh words of command, and note the
tricolours with their golden fringes given to the breeze. The long lines
ascend the hill. What has happened? The enemy in front is moving to the
attack: we shall hold the second ridge as we held the first. But no, it
is more than this. This time, as our guns come into action all along the
crest, our infantry do not halt beside them. There is no pause now.
Straight down the slopes they go, the shells screaming overhead, and the
little groups of tirailleurs halting alternately to deliver their biting
volleys. Here, sheltered by a friendly poplar, I can look down upon the
scene. ‘What worthy enemies!’ cries a little surgeon who has joined me.
‘What a struggle of heroes!’ And so it was—while life lasts I shall
never forget De Galliffet’s charge. Sixty thousand men, line after line,
were hurled against the German centre. And how bravely those Germans
fought! And now, looking back in cold blood, how needlessly were they
butchered! Exactly opposite where I stood, their infantry moved forward
with even more than the precision of a parade; in little squads, but
shoulder to shoulder, with all the rigidity of a birthday review. I
could even see the officers halting and actually correcting the
alignment. Needless to say, these living targets were riddled through
and through in the very moment of their pedantic folly. In the rear,
too, came lines of men, gallantly moving forward to beat of drum, with
that extraordinary, high-stepping pace which excites the ridicule of the
Transatlantic visitor in Berlin. How the veterans of our Civil War would
have scoffed at this slave-driver’s discipline! But even the veterans of
the Wilderness and Gettysburg would have admired the bravery of those
devoted Teutons. At 400 yards from each other the two lines came to a
standstill. Very irregular is the front; here the French are giving
back, and here the German officers are driving up their stragglers; all
are standing, there is no cover on that open plain; the French volleys
have dissolved into fierce individual fire, and the masses sway
backwards and forwards in that infernal din. Of a sudden, behind me,
sounds the blare of trumpets and the roll of many a score of drums. De
Galliffet’s reserve is coming up to decide the conflict, and as the
serried lines crowned the ridge, the Germans, battling fiercely in the
valley below, began to break. And then, whilst the setting sun, pouring
his red rays athwart the opposing hosts and striking radiance from the
golden eagles of the tricolours, sank slowly on that awful Aceldama, the
French army moved onward to its triumph. Wild and exulting were the
shouts that rent the air; far above the roar of battle and the clang of
drum and trumpet pealed the maddening cry for vengeance, and like a
tornado—with irresistible strength and order—the young soldiers of the
Republic swept down to obliterate the sorrow and the shame of 1870. Not
for a moment was the issue in doubt. With all the hereditary courage of
their caste, the German officers died in their tracks, disdaining to
give back a single foot; but the Cuirassiers were once more let loose,
the General himself directing their onslaught, and before darkness fell
not a single sound man in the German army but was far upon the road to
Metz. Our victory is complete; as I write, the cavalry is still pushing
the pursuit.
THE GENERAL SITUATION.
THE LIBERATION OF POLAND.
LONDON.
Since the great battles took place which ended in the falling back of
the Russian forces, events have followed in that region which have been
of the utmost importance, though the mere details from day to day have
not been of sufficient interest to chronicle. The Russian army in the
field, unable after its severe losses to oppose the far out-numbering
forces of its enemies, has adopted its traditional policy. It has
retreated into the interior of the country, leaving large garrisons in
Warsaw and Ivangorod. Germany has undertaken the siege of Warsaw,
Austria that of Ivangorod. The German and Austrian cavalry, which have
now asserted their absolute superiority over the Cossacks, have followed
up the retreating Russians far enough to completely separate the Russian
forces to the south of the great marsh region which stretches out behind
the great fortress of Brest-Litewsk from those in the north. A German
army is laying siege to Brest-Litewsk. The single line of railway which
connects that fortress across the marsh has been utterly destroyed for
an immense distance.
Meantime the two Governments, now in complete command of the open
country, have taken a political step which cannot but be received with
satisfaction by the civilised world. They have issued a proclamation
declaring their intention to erect Poland into a buffer State against
the aggressions of Russia, and have pledged themselves not to conclude
peace without guaranteeing its independence. The exact borders of the
restored kingdom have not been fixed, but it is apparently intended to
include Lithuania, and to stretch up to the borders of the marshes.
One important fortress has already fallen. The Germans, taking advantage
of the facilities which the rivers and the railways afforded them, have
brought up heavy siege artillery, with which they have bombarded the
defences of Novo Giorgiewsk. The effect of the cordite shells on parts
of the fortifications which had not been adequately prepared to resist
them, is described as amazing. These terrible instruments of
destruction, now first used in war, are said to have simply swept away
the solid defences of the place. The garrison was helpless, and after a
most gallant but hopeless resistance surrendered.
It appears to be only a question of time, and not a long time, before
the same process is applied to Warsaw. Indeed, the confidence of the
Germans in this respect has put an end to what threatened to be an
appalling tragedy. On leaving General Hashkoff in command at Warsaw,
General Gourko had ordered him to expel the whole civil population of
the town. This measure was adopted, not merely because of the notorious
sympathies of the inhabitants with the invaders, but because Warsaw has
been crowded with such immense numbers of disabled soldiers, and the
place had been filled to such an extent by fugitives at the time when it
was invested, that it was feared that provisions, on which a large
demand had been necessarily made for the army in the field, would not
last long. It was a terrible temptation to the Germans to repeat the
method of the siege of Metz of 1870, and to throw on the Russians the
responsibility for allowing the expelled inhabitants to starve.
Happily, other considerations prevailed. The rapid success at Novo
Giorgiewsk, the complete knowledge that the Germans had of the nature of
the defences with which they had to deal, the great importance of
conciliating the Poles and enlisting them heart and soul in the cause,
all contributed to induce the German authorities to receive the
fugitives.
But there were forty-eight hours of suspense during which the sufferings
of the inhabitants outside the walls, while not yet admitted into the
German camp, were terrible, and their agonising fears still worse. The
matter had to be referred to the Emperor, now in France. A personal
appeal to his humanity by Her Majesty the Queen, most delicately and
cautiously worded, but indirectly suggesting how difficult it would be
to keep together the great Alliance if anything occurred that outraged
the public conscience of Europe and America—and to do him justice, the
real humanity of the Emperor himself—finally decided the question.
The wretched inhabitants were not only received, but carefully looked
after, and at once dispatched to places safe from the clash of arms.
Meantime, enormous numbers of Poles have been enrolled and equipped.
Numbers of both officers and men trained in the Russian Army who have
surrendered, or made good their escape, together with Polish officers
from the Austrian and Prussian Armies serve as an admirable nucleus for
enrolment, so that by the time the Russians are ready to attempt any
advance against their victorious enemies, a new element of considerable
importance will be added to these. A most valuable part of the
contingent of trained Polish officers and soldiers was provided by the
army which surrendered in Bulgaria. Russia has always pursued the policy
of sending her Polish soldiers as far from their homes as possible; the
army invading Bulgaria was, therefore, largely made up of these. They
have gladly transferred their services on hearing of the coming
regeneration of their ancient kingdom.
Meantime, it appears that Russia sees that she has no prospects, for
some time to come, of being able to act offensively against the Allied
Powers, and that they do not intend to favour her by plunging into
Inner-Russia. Stores and transports must be collected in large
quantities before the Russians can again advance, and the impoverished
condition of the country makes this a very difficult task. As, however,
she does not wish to keep her soldiers idle, and is most anxious to
score a success somewhere before she asks for peace, which every day is
becoming more inevitable for her, she has largely reinforced her army in
Asia Minor, which has hitherto been kept inactive by her tremendous
necessities in other directions.
Moukhtar Pasha has been falling back slowly and cautiously, as he found
the forces increasing in his front. Several English officers are with
his army. They speak highly of the efficiency which it has attained, and
indignantly deny that any cruelties have been perpetrated by the regular
Turkish soldiery, though they speak of the Kurds and Bashi-Bazouks as
brutes, whom it is most difficult to keep in any kind of order—men who
are as cowardly as they are brutal, and of whom the army would be well
rid.
Over the movements of the English Army a dead silence has fallen. All
letters whatever, whether of correspondents or others, since the fleet
sailed after the Battle of Kosluji, have been stopped.
We have heard, indeed, of some of the fleet, probably cruisers, being
off Odessa, and some alarm was recently created at Kertch by what was
taken to be a combined expedition against that point. We have, however,
as yet heard of no landing. This cannot last for long. We must get some
news shortly. We know that immense numbers of vessels with stores,
transport, and tools of all sorts have passed Constantinople with sealed
orders to be opened only out of sight of land. Ministers are studiously
reticent, and appeal to the patriotism of both Houses not to put
inconvenient questions. Breathless excitement attends the next move.
Meantime, in France the situation remains nearly as our correspondent
left it. The German armies, after their recent disasters, have been
falling back and concentrating in the Vosges between the fortresses of
Metz and Strasbourg. The French appear to be massing their forces
chiefly in the neighbourhood of Belfort, though a large army has
approached Metz, which is held by too powerful an army to be ignored.
The French are in a state of great exultation and excitement, but
considerable disenchantment has taken place as to the Russian alliance.
They think that Russia has by no means proved the powerful ally they had
expected. It is even no longer treason to say upon the Boulevards that
sympathy with Poland was the ancient policy of France. Till the extent
of their recent successes began to be popularly realised, it was even
suggested that if the Germans would give up Alsace-Lorraine they might
have their buffer State against Russian barbarism. Nay, some were not
afraid to suggest that Germany might, if she would, create two buffer
States on either frontier, a covert hint at the neutralisation of the
Reichsland which a few weeks ago was received with silent assent. There
can be no doubt also that the German people are becoming very weary of a
war which threatens to be of indefinite length on either frontier. The
Emperor, too, despite the successes on the Russian side which were not
gained under his immediate command, has been not a little disillusioned
as to the absolute infallibility of his own military genius.
The Italian forces have been checked by the news of the French
successes, and the fear lest the vast forces now available might be
turned against them.
Thus everywhere on the Continent it is a moment of temporary lull,
though of active preparation for the future.
CAPTURE OF SIERRA LEONE BY THE FRENCH.
The letter which we publish from our Correspondent who accompanied the
troops to India, must be preceded by a few words of explanation as to
the circumstances which induced the Government to send a large party of
officers and a small reinforcement of men by the Canadian Pacific route.
That route for Calcutta is a little longer in point of time than the
movement by the Cape. It was recognised from the first that in time of
war it would not be desirable to depend upon the Suez Canal route, but
it had been fully intended to employ the Cape line. Unfortunately,
however, immediately after war was declared by France against us,
communication with Sierra Leone was in some way cut. Some time passed
before we heard what had happened. Then it appeared that, prior to the
declaration of war, the French Governor of Senegal had been warned of
the date at which it was intended in France to declare war, and was
directed to dispatch from Goree a powerful expedition as quietly and
secretly as possible. This, taking advantage of the concentration of the
English fleets in the Baltic and Mediterranean, was to sail from Goree
with sealed orders to be opened at sea, which directed the commanding
Admiral, on a date named, to move straight upon Sierra Leone, and to
attack it on the day that the declaration of war was issued in Europe.
It should be noticed, as a question of method and of the facilities
presented by steam for such operations, that no great gathering of ships
was allowed to attract attention to the preparations in Senegal, and
ship after ship arrived, received its equipment, and departed alone,
with orders to rendezvous on a given day at a stated point in mid-ocean,
fixed by latitude and longitude. In this way, without attracting
attention, and without difficulty, the great fleet was collected, and
moved off at the time named under the orders of the Admiral and General
upon Sierra Leone.
The garrison of Sierra Leone has always been kept at a low ebb, because
of the unhealthiness of the place. It was to have been reinforced in
view of war, but this had been postponed. The movement was a complete
surprise, and though indignant remonstrances appeared in all the English
papers, and in the letter addressed by the Governor of Sierra Leone to
the French Commander-in-Chief, the fact remained that Sierra Leone had,
for the time being, passed into the hands of the French. Although
statements were freely made that such an outrage had never been
committed since the beginning of the world, and most English people
believed them, there was no difficulty in showing that precedents from
the actions of all countries were in favour of the French. However,
apart from the merits of that question, the plain fact of the matter was
that, with Sierra Leone in the hands of the French, our whole route
_viâ_ the Cape to India was seriously disturbed.
The French Fleet in Sierra Leone Harbour and based upon it, threatened
the whole line between St. Vincent and Ascension, and deprived us of the
fortified coaling station which was essential for the supply of steamers
along that route. Though no doubt, in the long-run, Sierra Leone must
fall to the Power which ultimately secures the command at sea, we could
not afford, for some time, to fit out an expedition to retake it. The
Government, therefore, wisely decided, after its capture, to employ the
Canadian Pacific route for the purposes of communication with India and
the East. To Hong-Kong it was already our shortest route. In any case,
it was an absolutely safe one. The one great defect in this mode of
communication consists in the fact that no first-class steamers at
present ply across to Quebec. This, however, was remedied by the
Government chartering for the time one of the best Atlantic liners,
which easily transported the whole of the force, consisting of about 200
officers and 1000 men, chiefly non-commissioned officers, who were to be
sent off to Calcutta.
SIEGE OF HERAT.
Events in India had not developed with any great rapidity—in fact, all
those who have studied the question were fully aware that, rapid as has
been the approach of Russia towards India, the two Powers are as yet too
far distant to be able to come into collision in a single campaign. The
first indication of Russian intrigue which reached us was the
announcement that the Ameer had been suddenly murdered, and that general
anarchy had ensued in Afghanistan. The enormous efforts which Russia is
making in other directions appear to have prevented her, so far as we at
present know, from attempting several of the routes by which she might
cross the mountains into Afghanistan. But an advance was immediately
made upon Herat, and the siege of that fortress has been going on for
some time. Fortunately two young English officers, Major Craygrove, and
Captain Greekill, had been employed on some duty for the Government in
the neighbourhood. They immediately threw themselves into Herat, and,
inspiring the garrison with the greatest confidence, have been the life
and soul of the defence ever since. We hear the most amusing accounts of
the mode in which they diversify the rigour of their defence by starting
races of all kinds within the place, and by various other forms of
sport. On the whole, the Russians seem as yet to have made very little
way. The only danger has been lest the English public, excited by the
vigour of the defence, should insist upon an expedition being dispatched
to Herat. For that we are by no means in a condition as yet. The
movement would be a most hazardous one. A force of observation has been
assembled at Quetta, and the whole Indian Army is ready to advance at a
moment’s notice. But it was clearly unadvisable to throw ourselves into
the seething cauldron of Afghanistan whilst the tribes were all fighting
with one another, and no possible ruler had appeared on whose behalf we
could effectually act.
It was under these circumstances that the expedition to Vladivostock was
decided upon, and that the reinforcement of native troops was dispatched
to Egypt. It would have been preposterous to make these detachments from
the army in India had it not very soon become clear that for the first
year of the war, at all events, our position in India must be that of
playing a waiting game. We have assured Russia that we shall on no terms
make peace as long as she holds a foot of Afghan territory. In view of
her failure in Europe, and of the services which we have been able to
render to the Central Powers, the zeal of the Russians in the invasion
of Afghanistan appears to have materially cooled. They begin to see that
whatever successes they may achieve during the course of the campaign,
they are likely to have to surrender their conquests at the end of it.
Nevertheless, as the demands of India for reinforcements of officers and
non-commissioned officers to fill up the various posts which become
necessary when an army is organised for war are very considerable, it
has been a great advantage to us to be able to send out these men by the
new line. Moreover, it is to a certain extent an experiment which shows
how much larger forces could be sent in the event of necessity.
DISPATCH OF TROOPS BY THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY TO INDIA.
(_From our Special Correspondent._)
S.S. _Teutonic_, QUEBEC, _June 1_.
[Illustration:
OUR NEW ROUTE TO INDIA: A SLEEPING-CAR ON THE CANADIAN PACIFIC
RAILWAY.
]