CHANZY’S CAMPAIGN.-APPENDIX. 
103 
APPENDIX. 
Eights for Localities. 
Some people thought that the fights for localities , such as villages, farm-houses, 
&c., would be over with the introduction of breech-loaders ; they were mistaken. 
These lights were more numerous than ever, because skirmishing tactics entail 
the necessity of taking advantage of every accident of ground, great and small. 
In order to get full value out of the breech-loader, each army was led to attach, 
great importance to the occupation of the borders of woods and villages, which 
was doubtless right. 
But both parties were unwilling to leave cover , whether to make an attack or to 
clear out of a building and retirej hence, on the one hand, musketry lights lasted 
longer than hitherto at some points; but, on the other hand, one party might 
leave a building more hastily, so as not to have his retreat cut off by the enemy’s 
lire. 
As soon as the outskirts of a village are lost the breech-loader comes into mur¬ 
derous play inside. 
The French soldiers were equal to the Germans in village lighting, but the 
latter were better handled by their officers. 
But the excellent peace training of the Germans enabled them to act efficiently 
according to the circumstances of the moment.— Boguslawsld. 
Disorderly Eetreat from the Loir. 
Le Mans etait devenu en effet une attraction a laquelle un grand nombre 
d’hommes ne put resister. C’etait pour eux le repos, le bien-etre, et tout au 
moins un repit pendant lequel ils n’entendraient plus le canon, qui tonnait con- 
stamment tout le jour et une grande partie de la nuit depuis le 28 novembre. 
Un grand nombre de mobiles et de soldats de ligne se repandirent sur tous les 
chemins, et bien que la plupart, mal chauses, eussent les pieds endoloris par la 
neige et par la marche, ils doublerent les etapes pour arriver plus vite. 11 fallait 
envoyer en avant, pour arreter ces fuyards sur les routes principales, les regiments 
de gendarmerie, mais ils ne purent surveiller tous les petits chemins qui sillonnent 
le pays, et le Mans fut bientot encombre par cette foule debandee, qui, privee 
forcement de ses distributions, echappant a toute discipline presentait l’aspect le 
plus miserable et le spectacle le plus honteux pour une armee. 11 est consolant 
toutefois de pouvoir dire que si de pareils exemples out ete donnes trop frequem- 
ment dans cette partie de la retraite, les gens de coeur qui restaient dans le rang, 
et c’etait le plus grand nombre, cachaient a l’ennemi, par l’ordre dans lequel ils 
marchaient et leur vigueur a le repousser, ces defaillances, qui ne s’expliquent 
que par la jeunesse et l’inexperience du metier militaire, de ceux qui s’y laisserent 
aller.— Chanzy. 
An Incident. 
Then Captain Mauritz, of the 11th Infantry, chose a small body of picked men, 
determined that the Prince’s commands should not remain unfulfilled. Quietly 
they stole through the ravine, quietly gained the crest where stood the many- 
barrelled pieces belching forth volleys of bullets. The hill was so steep that the 
muzzles of the mitrailleuses could not be pointed low enough to meet them until 
the band of brave men had reached the summit. One moment’s breath, and then 
with a wild hurrah they sprang forward, and carried everything before them. The 
road was cleared, the men on the other bank rose to their feet—all except the 
14 
