<, HUMAN-FRENCH WAR. 



. MtlKltrd UtV.V.-II CivnlUH- ami tllO 



is about 4,000 prisoners wero brought in; 



am-'n;,' tin-in many officers of hi^li rank. 



: tho Corps of the Gourd, which 



is day had about 25,000 men on tho 



iiidd, inudo 0,000 prinoners, exclusive 



of tho \\mmdfd. Tho march of tho Prus-ii.-m 



u Prince on tho loft wing was no less 

 -Ciil than that of the Saxons, tho Bavari- 

 ans, and tin- Guard. Tho Eleventh and Fifth 



9 penetrated from Donchery over Brian- 

 cuiirt upon St. Mongos and Fleigneux. Al'ur 

 a short but obstinate fight tho enemy evacuated 

 St. Menges and fell back upon its fortiiii-d 

 main position between Floing and Illy. Hrro 

 a violent artillery duel raged for several hours, 



Yench being not only exposed in their 

 flank to the fire of the Eleventh and a part of tho 

 Tilth German Corps, but in their rear also to 

 tho batteries of the Bavarians, who on the left 

 bank of tho Meuso had occupied Wadelincourt 

 and Frenois. At one o'clock the Eleventh and 

 a brigade of the Fifth Corps advanced for* an 

 assault upon Floing; at three o'clock the 

 whole force of the French was in full retreat 

 upon Sedan. The main body of tho Fifth 

 Corps in the mean while had turned against 

 Illy and the adjoining heights. Its artillery 

 crossed the creek near Fleigneux, and there es- 

 tablished a connection with the Corps of the 

 Guard. The possession of the height and wood 

 south of Illy was violently disputed, but soon 

 the French were pushed back and retreated in- 

 to the Bois do la Garenne, where, as already 

 stated, they foil into the hands of the Guard. 

 At three o'clock the crown prince saw the 

 whole force opposed to him in retreat to Se- 

 dan. On the extreme left the Wurtemberg 

 Division, which had to watch the road from 

 Sedan to Mezieres, had little opportunity to 

 take part in tho battle. At three o'clock it 

 occupied a position near Donchery. and there 

 received information that French troops wero 

 on the left bank of tho Mouse advancing from 

 Me/lures upon the pontoon bridge near Nou- 

 vion. Reinforcements were at once sent to the 

 battalion of chasseurs which had been left to 

 defend the bridge, and after a short and light 

 encounter the French retreated down tho val- 

 ley and over the heights of Ayvolles toward 

 Mezieres. Between three and four o'clock the 

 battle rested on all sides. At four o'clock the 

 crown prince announced to tho headquarters, 

 " Great Victory I " Soon after, he hastened to 

 the King. As no white flag was yet discov- 

 ered, the bombardment was ordered to begin 

 at half-past four o'clock. Bavarian batteries 

 fired the first shots. The flames burst forth 

 from a magazine filled with straw. Tho 

 French perceived that the Germans were in 

 terrible earnest, and at once opened negotia- 

 tions. 



On the 31st of August the Emperor Napoleon 

 had issued his last proclamation to tho French 

 army, showing a faint hope of final success. 

 On the day before, the Prince Imperial had 



been sent over Avcsno, into the department 

 In Nord, w he-net-, ufU-r few days, he j.ro- 

 d to Belgium. MacMuhon, the 



commander of tho surrounded army, ha<l 

 ann>ng its first victims, being wounded early 

 on tho morning of August 31st, at the attack 

 u|H)ii B;i/A-i!ltM by tin- Itavariuns. Ho surrcn- 

 drrnl hi* chi.-f cnmmari'! d Ducrot, 



but soon after General dr Wirnpflen arri\ 

 tho battle-field with an order from the Minister 

 of War, appointing him comrnander-in-chief, 

 in case any accident should bcfull (i< 

 Ma- Mahon. In the afternoon of Scpteinl.. 

 \vhrii the French were retreating on all sides, 

 AVimpffen proposed to Napoleon, wh- 

 been with fatalistic indifference in the thickest 

 of the battle, to concentrate a large force, in 

 order to break through the enemy's lines at 

 Corignan, and to save him from being made a 

 prisoner ; bat the Emperor refused to sacrifice 

 any number of persons to save himself. In 

 order to escape tho mortification of signing the 

 inevitable capitulation, Wirapffen then asked 

 the Emperor to accept his resignation; but 

 thi* was likewise refused. Soon after five 

 o'clock, a French colonel left Sedan with a 

 white flag. Suddenly tho firing ceased ; tho 

 news of the offered capitulation, and of the 

 presence of Napoleon in tho surrendered army, 

 spread with lightning rapidity throughout the 

 circle of the valleys and heights occupied by 

 the German troops, who filled the air with 

 their frantic shouts: "Victory, victory! tho 

 Emperor is there ! " The King, in the mean 

 while, had .sent Lieutenant-Colonel Bronsart 

 to Sedan, to demand an unconditional surren- 

 der. The Emperor, in return, sent his adjutant, 

 General Reille, to the King with the following 

 letter: "My BROTHER Since I have not been 

 vouchsafed to meet death in the midst of my 

 troops, I lay my sword at the feet of your 

 Majesty." Before opening the letter, the King 

 remarked : " But I demand as a first condition 

 that the army lay down its arms; " then, after 

 a few minutes' conversation, he replied to Na- 

 poleon as follows : " MY BROTHER I accept 

 your sword and ask you to appoint some one 

 with whom the negotiations concerning the 

 capitulation of your army may be conducted." 

 General Reille at once returned, and the King 

 appointed Moltko as military and Bismarck as 

 political commissioner to meet the French 

 commissioner at Donchery. The meeting of . 

 the commissioners toolj place in the same 

 evening. On the part of the French, WimpfFen 

 came himself. Moltke demanded an uncondi- 

 tional surrender of the fortress and the whole 

 army ; but offered to liberate all generals and 

 officers, on giving a written pledge that they 

 would not take up arms again in the course of 

 the present war, nor act in any other manner 

 against the interests of Germany. Wimpffen 

 <K i lared that, rather than sign snch a capitula- 

 tion, ho would blow up himself and the fortress. 

 Moltke, in reply, stated that-, if the capitula- 

 tion was not signed by nine o'clock the next 



