ACHIEVEMENTS OF FIELD ARTILLERY. 
721 
it was hoped, attack the positions occupied by only two of the investing 
divisions, and the weight of numbers might break the hateful chain. 
The French arrangements, however, miscarried, the 4th and 6th 
Corps only reached their rendezvous at 1 o'clock, and then, in place of 
fighting, set to work to cook their dinners. A few skirmishes which 
had taken place at Aubigny on the east, and Rupigny on the north, 
died away indecisively. The Guards did not arrive till 3 o'clock, the 
artillery and cavalry were then still absent. 
The fatal inactivity which had characterised the French movements 
previous to Mars-la-Tour seemed to clog their efforts still. Clearly, 
before they could hope to push their way north between Malroy and 
Charly they must turn the Germans out of Servigny. Therefore, it 
was arranged that while Le Boeuf, with the 2nd and 3rd Corps, should 
advance on both sides of the Ste. Barbe valley and outflank the enemy 
at Servigny, the 4th Corps, under Canrobert, should attack them there 
in front, while the 6th Corps, also under the same command, was to 
assail the 3rd Reserve Division at Charly-Malroy. The Guards were 
to be in reserve. Thus it was that General von Manteuffel found him¬ 
self opposed by Canrobert and Le Boeuf at the head of a very superior 
force. He determined to face them on the line Servigny, Poix, Failly, 
because it afforded favourable positions for his artillery. 
As the French pressed on in the full tide of a powerful advance they 
were met by the fire of line of batteries which grew as others came 
up until 60 guns were united under the command of General von Berg¬ 
man, in general from 800 to 1000 paces “in front of the line of defence." 1 
The enemy's batteries were quickly silenced by the mass of guns thus 
conspicuously thrown forward, and their infantry came to a stand¬ 
still. It was only by creeping up the valleys that even the skirmishers 
could make headway at all, and some of these from the neighbourhood 
of Nouilly with the long ranging Chassepot caused much annoyance to 
the left flank of the line of German guns. 
Marshal Canrobert on the north made a determined attack in the 
evening on Failly, but the east Prussians, who formed its garrison, 
though attacked on two sides and pelted with bullets, stood firm until 
they were reinforced by the Landwehr brigade from Yremy. 
On the south, however, where the 2nd and 3rd Corps had only the 
3rd Brigade of the 1st Prussian Corps opposed to them, the efforts 
of the French were more successful. Noisseville, Montoy, and Flan- 
ville were all in turn captured, and the swarms of skirmishers in the 
valley to the south of Servigny at length compelled the brave batteries 
of the 1st Division to shift their ground and fall back to the line held 
by their infantry between Poix and that village. Some batteries in 
retiring had to keep the riflemen at bay with canister, but the steady 
and well directed fire of the others prevented the enemy from making 
any marked progress in front, although, on the flanks, the situation of 
the artillery was at times very critical. The whole ten batteries had, 
however, maintained their positions with “ visible success " for two 
long hours, and had almost alone stemmed the strong flood-tide of the 
French assault. 
1 Official account. Part I., Vol. II. 
