$58 



GERMAN-FRENCH WAR. 



occasion of the capitulation of the fortress 

 of Laon to Duke William of Mecklenburg. 

 Immediately after the surrender, a fanatical 

 soldier treacherously blew up the powder-maga- 

 zine, thereby causing the death of 35 German 

 soldiers, but at the same time of a much larger 

 number of Gardes Mobile. On the 19th of 

 September the troops of both armies arrived 

 at Paris, and completely invested the city. 



On September 12th the commander-in-chief 

 of the First army, General von Steinmetz, was 

 recalled, and both the First and Second army 

 placed under Prince Frederick Charles. On 

 September 22d and 23d the French tried, under 

 the protection of the cannon of Fort St. Julien 

 (situated at a height of 770 feet), to harass the 

 investing army. The attack was repulsed by 

 part of the East Prussians and the Westphalian 

 Corps, and of the landwehr division Kummer, 

 with the cooperation of the German batteries 

 in the villages of Chiculles, Vany, Failly, and 

 Servigny. A new sortie was made on Septem- 

 ber 27th, for the purpose of seizing the im- 

 portant supplies which had been collected at 

 Courcelles. The onset of the French, to whom 

 the inhabitants of the village of Peltre, by 

 means of hanging out French flags, had given 

 important information, was rapid and unex- 

 pected. They took the village of Mercy le Haut, 

 captured a part of the Fifty-fifth German in- 

 fantry regiment, and succeeded in driving the 

 larger portion of a herd of oxen into the for- 

 tress. Otherwise the sortie was not successful; 

 the Germans recaptured the village of Mercy le 

 Haut, burned Peltre, and forced the French to 

 fall back. The capitulation of Strasbourg, on 

 September 28thJ produced a considerable change 

 in the plan of investment. Sorties in a south- 

 erly direction were no longer to be expected, 

 and henceforth the object of all the German 

 movements was to prevent an escape of Ba- 

 zaine, by way of Thionville, into Belgium. 

 Early in the morning of October 2d, the Ger- 

 man outposts were expelled from St. Agathe 

 and Ladonchamps; but, in spite of superior 

 numbers, the French were unable to gain any 

 further advantages. The last and (next to the 

 engagement at Noisseville) most important sor- 

 tie took place on October 7th. The French 

 force of about 20,000, including the two di- 

 visions of the Guard, fell in the afternoon upon 

 the German landwehr, occupying St. Remy, 

 Bellevue, les Grandes Tapes, and les Petites 

 Tapes, and compelled them to evacuate these 

 places. In the evening, however, all of them 

 were recovered, after the Ninth Brigade of Ger- 

 man infantry, under Colonel von Conta, had 

 taken from the French the wood of Woippy. 

 On the right bank of the Moselle the French 

 made a violent attack upon the German front 

 between Yillers 1'Orme and Nouilly, without 

 being able to gain any advantage. The Ger-' 

 mans suffered a loss of 65 officers and 1,665 

 men, but the designs of the French were totally 

 foiled. 



Bazaine, seeing the impossibility of sup- 



porting much longer an army of 173,000 men 

 in the fortress, which had only been pro- 

 visioned for an arrny of about 20,000 for three 

 months, began to open negotiations. At first 

 he offered through General Boyer, who visited 

 the royal headquarters, to surrender his army, 

 but not the fortress. This was promptly refused. 

 On October 27th the negotiations for the sur- 

 render of both the army and the fortress were 

 brought to a close at the castle of Frescaty. 

 Bazaine insisted, and the King, to whose deci- 

 sion this point was referred, conceded that 

 all the French officers should retain their 

 swords. All, who pledged themselves in writing 

 not to take up arms against Germany during 

 the remainder of the war, were exempted from 

 captivity. The captured army consisted of 

 about 150,000 troops of the Guard and line, and 

 20,000 Gardes Mobile, and comprised the corps 

 of Generals Frossard (second), Lebcauf (third), 

 1'Admirault (fourth), and Canrobert (sixth). 

 With this army, 53 eagles and banners, 541 

 field-pieces, the material for 85 batteries, about 

 800 siege-pieces, 66 mitrailleuses, about 300,000 

 chassepots, a new powder-manufactory, and an 

 immense amount of other war material, fell into 

 the hands of the victors. The occupation of 

 the forts around Metz took place on October 

 29th; the occupation of the fortress and city 

 was, on account of serious disturbances on the 

 part of the population and the National Guard, 

 which in particular uttered violent threats 

 against Bazaine, postponed to October 30th. 

 On October 29th Marshal Bazaine arrived at 

 the headquarters of Prince Frederick Charles, 

 at Corny ; on the next day, General Changar- 

 nier and Marshal Canrobert. General Kura- 

 mer, whose landwehr division had specially 

 distinguished itself in the battles around Metz, 

 was appointed commander of the fortress. 



On the 28th of October, the King, in reward 

 for the brilliant victories won by them, ap- 

 pointed the crown prince and the Prince Fred- 

 erick Charles general field-marshals, the high- 

 est military dignity known in Prussia. The 

 dignity had never before been conferred upon a 

 prince of the house of Prussia, and altogether, 

 during the 230 years of the existence of the 

 royal house of Brandenburg-Prussia, only upon 

 sixty -two persons. General Moltke, who, on 

 October 26th, had finished his seventieth year, 

 received the title of count. On the same day 

 (October 28th), a royal army order thanked the 

 soldiers of the allied German armies for their 

 services in the most .glorious war of history, 

 and stated that the King desired to distinguish 

 and honor all by the appointment of his son and 

 of Prince Frederick Charles as field-marshals. 

 A proclamation from the French Government 

 of Tours (Cremieux, Glais-Bizoin, Gambetta), 

 announcing the capitulation, accused Bazaine 

 of having committed treason ; of having made 

 himself a tool of the man of Sedan, and an 

 accomplice of the conquerors ; and of having, 

 in disregard of the honor of the army, and 

 even without making a last effort, delivered 



