350 



GERMAN-FRENCH WAR. 



the shortest, although it was the one the most 

 exposed to an attack. He appears not to have 

 been altogether unprepared for the advance of 

 the enemy, but feared no serious danger, ex- 

 pecting at all events an escape by the central and 

 northern roads unimpeded. To the Emperor, 

 whose large retinue was a serious obstruction 

 to the retreating army, the danger was repre- 

 sented as greater than it really was, and he was 

 prevailed upon to separate from the army on the 

 morning of August 16th, and to hasten from 

 Gravelotte over Etain to Verdun, and thence 

 to Chalons. To the inhabitants of Metz the 

 Emperor had bidden farewell on August 14th 

 by the following proclamation: " While I leave 

 you to fight against the invader, I intrust to 

 your patriotism the defence of this large city. 

 You will not allow the enemy to take posses- 

 sion of this bulwark of France, and you will 

 vie with the army in courage and sacrifices. 

 I shall always retain a thankful memory for 

 the reception which I have found within your 

 walls, and I hope to be able in happier times 

 to thank you for your noble attitude." 



The Third Army Corps (Brandenburgers, 

 under General Alvensleben) crossed the Mo- 

 selle on the evening of August 15th near No- 

 veant, Champey, and Pont-a-Mousson. It was 

 the Fifth and Sixth infantry divisions under 

 Generals Stulpnagel and Buddenbrock, the 

 Sixth cavalry division under the Duke Wil- 

 liam of Mecklenburg, and the artillery of the 

 corps. At midnight the advance-guards had 

 arrived at the town of Gorze. At five o'clock 

 on the morning of August 16th the advance 

 . was continued, General Buddenbrock with the 

 artillery marching to the left against Mars la 

 Tour, and General Stulpnagel with the cavalry 

 division to the right against Vionville. Soon it 

 was announced that Vionville and Flavigny 

 a little more to the south, as well as the 

 heights in the south and southwest, were 

 occupied by the enemy. The bulk of the 

 French army . was located north and east 

 of Vionville, in the direction toward Rezon- 

 ville. The first skirmishes between the 

 vanguards took place between eight and ten 

 o'clock A. M. Soon after, the Division Bud- 

 denbrock took Vionville and Flavigny, while 

 the Division Stulpnagel by a bayonet-charge 

 repulsed several French battalions which en- 

 deavored to advance from Rezonville to Fla- 

 vigny, and maintained the heights running 

 from Gorze to Vionville against repeated at- 

 tacks of the French. Fully appreciating the 

 importance of the position, the French massed 

 immense bodies of troops for its recovery ; but 

 the two German divisions, though suffering 

 very heavy losses, bravely stood their ground 

 against overwhelming numbers. Early in the af- 

 ternoon, the Division Buddenbrock was in dan- 

 ger of having its position turned by the French, 

 when the cavalry brigade of General Bredow, 

 of the Tenth Corps, arrived in time to engage 

 the French centre at Vionville. The task was 

 one of extreme danger, and in undertaking to 



perform it the brigade lost two-thirds of its 

 men in dead and wounded ; but it was suc- 

 cessful. The Germans maintained their posi- 

 tion until, about three o'clock, the whole of 

 the Tenth Corps (Hanoverians, under General 

 Voigt-Rheetz) appeared on the battle-field, and 

 simultaneously with them, Prince Frederick 

 Charles, who had ridden from Pont-a-Mousson 

 to Vionville, a distance of fourteen miles, in one 

 hour, and at once assumed the chief command. 

 The battle continued to rage with unabated 

 violence. The Westphalian cavalry brigade of 

 General Wedell severely suffered in storming 

 the heights to the northeast of Mars la Tour, 

 and was subsequently driven back with great 

 loss ; but the fruit of its victory was saved by 

 a brilliant attack from the cavalry division 

 Rheinbaben upon the French. On the right 

 wing of the Germans, the French in the after- 

 noon, after occupying the "Bois desOignons" 

 and the " Bois de St. Arnould," southeast of 

 Rezonville, and planting their artillery on the 

 heights between Rezonville and Gravelotte, 

 made a desperate effort to turn the position of 

 the Division Stulpnagel, and to expose the 

 Third and Tenth German Corps to an attack 

 from all the five French corps on three sides. 

 This danger was averted by the arrival of the 

 Division Barnekow, of the Eighth Corps, and 

 the Hesse-Darmstadt division of the Ninth 

 Corps, under command of Prince Louis of 

 Hesse-Darmstadt, the son-in-law of Queen Vic- 

 toria. At seven o'clock the entire German 

 line was on the advance ; at nine o'clock the 

 battle was over, and the French in full retreat. 

 The Germans had won a complete victory, and 

 had taken from the French 2 eagles, 8 guns, 

 and 2,000 prisoners. But this victory had been 

 dearly purchased, for their entire loss, killed 

 and captured, was estimated at 17,000 men, 

 among whom were 700 officers. Among the 

 dead were Generals Doring and Wedell ; among 

 the wounded, Generals Rauch and Gruter. 

 The Twenty-fourth Regiment alone had lost no 

 less than 47 officers and 1,400 men. 



On August 16th the headquarters of the King 

 were moved from Herny to Pont-a-Mousson. 

 The royal headquarters at this time consisted 

 of about one thousand persons ; and included 

 the Civil Cabinet, the Military Cabinet, the 

 latter under Adjutant-General von Treskow ; 

 the general staff of which Count Moltke was 

 the chief,, and General Podbielski quarter- 

 master-general, the American General Sheri- 

 dan, and the Russian Count Kutusow. In the 

 evening of the same day Prince Frederick 

 Charles returned from Vionville to Gorze, and as 

 early as four o'clock the next morning (August 

 17th), he was on the battle-field to reconnoitre 

 the movements of the enemy. The King, in 

 consequence of a dispatch received by him from 

 the prince at two o'clock, set out from Pont-a- 

 Mousson at four o'clock, and two hours later 

 joined the prince on the battle-field. A recon- 

 noissance soon showed that the French medi- 

 tated not a renewal of the battle, but the con- 



