574 
THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR (PART III.) 
impossible to avoid admiring the way in which General Chanzy worked 
his ill-organised levies, and his retreats are examples of what may be 
effected under most difficult circumstances with the most indifferent 
material. 
After the armistice, a line of demarcation was fixed between the two 
opposing armies, and the war in the western quarter virtually ended. 
The sequence of events in the eastern quarter must now be referred 
to, and the decisive campaign of Manteuffel be described. 
campaign Oampaigh in the East. —The German forces under General Werderhs 
m the east - commanc [ ^ November consisted of the XIV. Corps and the 1st and 
4th Reserve Divisions. Their duties were to besiege Belfort, disperse 
all strong bodies of the enemy in Southern Alsace, and secure the 
left flank of the main Etappen lines to the capital. On the French 
side, there were a few regulars at Besan 9 on (who moved by rail west¬ 
ward in the middle of the month), the corps of Garibaldi, west of Dijon, 
and numerous bands of Eranc-Tireurs. In the middle of the month the 
bulk of the German forces were moved to Dijon, and at its close were 
enabled to defeat an attempt of Garibaldi to retake the city. The 
extent of country to be watched by the German General was very 
large, and a welcome reinforcement, consisting of more than half the 
VII. Corps, was sent to his assistance from Metz. This force, under 
the command of General Zastrow, reached the line of Joinville- 
Chaumont on the 9th December, and was specially charged with the 
protection of the lines of rail to the westward. As soon as the news 
reached head-quarters of the division of the French army at Orleans, - * 
the VII. Corps was ordered more to the westward to Auxerre, and 
General Werder had to detach powerful brigades to invest Langres 
and watch the railway lines towards Nuits and Chatillon. His main 
force was, however, in the middle of December, still at Dijon. 
Reconnoitring parties sent out on the 16th reported the presence of 
strong bodies of the enemy, about 12,000 in number, at Nuits.f 
An advance was made against these troops (a division of General 
isth Dec. CremeFs) on the 18th, and they were driven back towards Chagny, 
after a stubborn fight. Alarming reports came in at this period of the 
gradual transfer by rail to the eastward of large bodies of the enemy. 
There were unmistakeable indications of the presence of regular French 
troops at Besan^n and along the line of the Doubs. The object of 
the French movements was still veiled in obscurity, and it was doubtful 
whether an advance was about to be made to relieve Belfort or to cut 
the German lines of supply. To meet either case, the troops of Werder 
were at the end of the month drawn together at Vesoul, and the 
VII. Corps ordered back from Auxerre towards Chatillon., 
Reverting for a moment to the Orleans theatre of war, it will be 
remembered that on the 4th of December the French army under 
* 4th December. 
f South of Dijon. There are three or four villages of this name, which must not be confounded 
together. 
