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CHANZY, ANTOINE E. A. 



few thousand men to attempt to reach his 

 Bavarian colleague, and might possibly have 

 raised the siege of Paris, for Von Moltke con- 

 templated even this contingency. D'Aurelle, 

 however, fell back on Orleans, his object be- 

 ing to make the position an intrenched camp 

 of formidable strength, and a base tor future 

 offensive movements. Ohanzy protested against 

 this, urged his chief to advance to the line of 

 the Coulie and be ready to assume the offen- 

 sive, and especially entreated him to attack in 

 detail Von der Tann, the Grand Duke, and 

 Prince Frederick Charles, as, gathering togeth- 

 er from wide distances and presenting their 

 flanks to their collected enemy, these generals 

 slowly converged on Orleans. 

 By the close of November, the Fifteenth 



ANTOINE EUGENE ALFRED CHANZT. 



and Sixteenth Corps had been reenforced by 

 the Seventeenth, the Eighteenth, and the 

 Twentieth, and the French army, 200,000 

 strong, filled the region around and in front of 

 Orleans. The purpose of D'Aurelle was to 

 await the attack of the enemy in his in- 

 trenched camp. Gambetta, however, believ- 

 ing himself as capable of directing armies as he 

 was of levying troops, having heard that Tro- 

 chu was about to make a great effort to break 

 out of Paris,,insisted upon a general movement 

 in the very teeth of Prince Frederick Charles. 



For this purpose the Eighteenth Corps was 

 prematurely thrown forward on Beaune-la- 

 Rolande, the Twentieth failing to give it sup- 

 port, while the Fifteenth, the Sixteenth, and 

 the Seventeenth were ordered to make what 

 really was a flank march within reach of a foe 

 at this moment all but concentrated. The 

 Eighteenth Corps was at once defeated ; and 

 then the "Prince, by a masterly movement, com- 

 bined with his supports on the left, fell on the 

 French center, the Fifteenth Corps, and shat- 

 tered it after a brave resistance. This stroke 

 forced Chanzy, who up to this time had gained 

 slight advantages, to fall back with the Six- 

 teenth on the Seventeenth Corps ; the German 

 commander followed up his success with ener- 

 gy and skill, and the result was that the Fif- 

 teenth Corps was -all but ruined as 

 a military force ; Orleans and the in- 

 trenched camp were carried, and the 

 Army of the Loire was rent in twain, 

 the Eighteenth and Twentieth Corps 

 being driven across the river, while 

 the Sixteenth and Seventeenth and 

 the wreck of the Fifteenth were ral- 

 lied by Chanzy on the northern bank. 

 A succession of false movements had 

 inflicted a ruinous defeat on France ; 

 neither the defensive strategy of 

 D'Aurelle nor the bolder plans of 

 his able lieutenant had had a chance 

 to be carried out. 



D'Aurelle was dismissed. The di- 

 vided parts of the Army of the Loire 

 were separated into two bodies, the 

 first army given to Bourbaki, and 

 the second remaining under Chanzy, 

 whose forces had been strengthened 

 by the Twenty -first Corps, and by a 

 flying column from Tours. By Dec. 

 6th he had placed the army between 

 Marchenoir, Josnes, and Beaugency, 

 having skillfully chosen a strong de- 

 fensive line, with his flanks covered 

 by a great forest and the Loire. He 

 was forthwith attacked by Prince 

 Frederick Charles, who, having en- 

 tered, Orleans on the 4th and 5th, 

 turned against the enemy hanging 

 on his flank, no doubt confident of 

 easy success ; but his calculations 

 were completely baffled. In a series 

 of stern and sustained engagements, 

 Chanzy for four days repelled his as- 

 sailant, inflicting considerable loss, and though 

 the Prince was reenforced from Orleans by a 

 detachment under the Grand Duke of Meck- 

 lenburg, he made no impression on his heroic 

 enemy, until a demonstration from the Loire 

 and Blois placed a German corps on the French 

 rear. 



Chanzy's skill was not more remarkable 

 than his confidence and tenacious energy; 

 his presence electrified his young levies, and 

 from this moment he held absolute sway over 

 the hearts of officers and men. The astonish- 



