ACHIEVEMENTS OF FIELD ARTILLERY. 
659 
Artillery of tlie 5tli Division soon joined itself on to these, and also a 
battery marching with Lynckei’s detachment of the 10th Corps. This 
great line of guns, numbering 21 batteries, stretched from the Bois de 
Yionville along the heights to Tronville. Some of the batteries which 
composed it had to defend themselves against the attack of the hostile 
infantry without the assistance of any other arm, but, as the German 
infantry gathered weight, the French, though fighting most stubbornly, 
fell back; were driven out of Yionville, and the great artillery line 
wheeled forward pivoting on its right till the left flank rested on 
Flavigny, which was captured at noon. 
But although it was the infantry who actually captured this place, 
that they were able to do so was due to the artillery, 1 for when Colonel 
von Dresky 2 arrived on the scene shortly before noon with his five 
batteries, he led them forward under a storm of bullets from the build¬ 
ings, part of the way at a gallop, to the hill south of Flavigny, and his 
shells soon set fire to the place. These batteries and the others close to 
them now concentrated such a fire on Flavigny and the woods near it, 
and on the French guns placed on either side of the road for their 
defence, that the wood was carried by the Prussian infantry without 
much difficulty. Two French columns which emerged from the farm 
buildings were shelled by the batteries at a range of from 1500 to 
1600 paces, and retreated on Rezonville, “leaving the ground literally 
covered with corpses; while strong French columns which advanced 
from the hill to re-occupy the village met the same fate. 3 On the day 
after the battle an extraordinary number of French corpses, and a large 
herd of cattle, which had fled from the farms, lay on the ground in and 
about Flavigny torn and mangled by shells.” 
We cannot tell the story of what subsequently occured better than 
in Yon Dresky’s own words as given in Prince Kraft’s letters :—“When 
the enemy had evacuated Yionville and Flavigny and retired on Rezon¬ 
ville, I advanced the whole of the Corps Artillery in echelons, and 
arranged my troops in such a manner that two batteries under Captain 
Stumpff stood together to the north of Flavigny, while the whole of 
the remainder were to the south of that place. The Horse Artillery 
was on the right, and its flank rested on the slope of the hill, marked 311 
on the official plan.” 
“ The left wing of the 5th Division was at this point; and here, on 
account of the excellent view to be obtained from it, I remained with 
Generals von Stiilpnagel and Yon Schwerin during the greater part 
of the battle. I occupied this position at 2 p.m, and remained there 
until 7 p.m. During this time the 2nd Horse Artillery Battery, which 
had been attached to Rheinhaben’s division, and the first 6-pr. 
1 The independent manner in which the guns held their ground is vouched for by the following 
words of a high authority, as quoted by Hoffbauer :—General Von Billow states “ that from the 
time of the capture of the farm of Flavigny, up to that of posting the outposts in the evening, 
there was not a single infantry soldier within reach of the artillery in the centre, or, in other words, 
from the position of the Corps Artillery on the hill as far as that of the 4th heavy Field Battery 
near the high road; the farm of Flavigny alone being occupied by two companies. The artillery 
was consequently obliged to defend itself against the attack of the enemy’s skirmishers, which was 
done with perfect success.” 
2 Commanding the Corps Artillery. 
3 Hoffbauer’s account. 
