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THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR (PART II.) 
PRECIS OF THE FEAN CO-GERMAN WAR. 
BY 
CAPTAIN S. C. PRATT, R.A. 
Part II. 
METZ TO PARIS. (20th AUGUST TO 31st OCTOBER.) 
The Army The original left wing of tlie French army, under the command of 
ofchaious. Marsha} Macmahon, which was concentrating since the middle of August 
at the camp of Chalons, consisted of the 1st, 5th, 7th, and 12th Corps, 
with the cavalry divisions of Bonnemain and Marguerite. Continuous 
retreats and defective administration had exercised a most demoralising 
influence on the morale of the troops already engaged, but the newly 
formed 12th Corps contained an excellent nucleus of well-trained men 
hitherto unshaken by defeat. A futile endeavour was made to utilise the 
Parisian Gardes Mobiles, who proved mutinous and unmanageable, and 
were obliged to be sent back to their homes. At the capital itself two 
more corps (the loth and 14th) were in process of formation, though 
they were not organised in sufficient time to take the field. Exclusive 
of these last mentioned troops, the Army of Chalons had an effective on 
the 20th inst. of 120,000 men with 324 guns.* 
The position of the French General was undoubtedly a difficult one; 
on the one hand it was his object to cover the capital, on the other 
to assist Bazaine and enable him to break through the formidable 
circle of investment that surrounded him. To risk the defeat of his 
troops by offering battle at Chalons would be dangerous, and but 
temporally check the German advance; to retreat on Paris would un¬ 
doubtedly lead to the fall of the Napoleonic dynasty, the prestige of 
which was already severely shaken. The exigencies of the political 
situation demanded an attempt to succour Bazaine, while purely military 
grounds dictated the necessity of a retirement to the capital. The plan 
of campaign suggested by the War Ministry was to advance in three 
main columns through the Argonnes towards Verdun, and thus gain 
the valley of the Meuse. Such an operation could only be effected 
* On the 25th, 408 guns and 84 mitrailleuses, the total number of combatants being slightly 
increased. 
