4 
that General Wiebe should present the operations of a siege in a light less 
favourable to the attack, and should recommend a somewhat less rash conduct of 
the latter. 
The complete difference between the methods of attack recommended by the 
two German Generals is here very apparent. General von Sauer insists that the 
line of forts should be attacked on several sides at once, or even on all sides in 
making a sudden attack. General Wiebe, on the other hand, concentrates his 
forces instead of extending them, drawing in his front as much as possible, in 
order to produce crushing effect upon one particular point. The latter method 
would appear to be the most conformable to tactical rules, although it is possible 
that General Wiebe goes too far, and that his attack would not be developed 
sufficiently. This point will be examined further on, but theoretically his method 
is less risky than that of General von Sauer. 
The besiegers, however, expose themselves to a serious danger when they 
reduce the extent of their line of batteries too much. If, underrating the 
resources of the fortress, they bring too few pieces into action at the beginning 
of the artillery combat, they lay themselves open to a serious check. General 
Brialmont, treating of this subject in the “ Fortification du temps present,’’ 
says :—“ In the German military schools they recommend a plan of attack of a 
large fortress with detached forts, which requires a siege-park of 400 pieces. Of 
these 400 pieces 344 are in line, the rest forming the .reserve. This siege-park 
is not sufficient to produce the great moral and material effect which ought to be 
aimed at on the first opening of fire.” 
“ For the defenders can mount, in each interval of 3000 metres, 20 provisional 
batteries of six pieces, which would act simultaneously with two attached bat¬ 
teries (12 pieces), an intermediate battery (six pieces), and two demi-fronts of 
of the forts mounting 14 pieces. The besiegers, therefore, on the day of open¬ 
ing fire would have, with only 344 pieces, to engage 3 x 152 or 456 pieees. 
They would then certainly meet with the same fate as the French did on the 17th 
October, 1854, when they opened fire before Sebastopol with 53 pieces, to which 
General Todleben opposed 64. After an engagement of four-and-a-half hours 
the French batteries were reduced to silence, whilst the 72 English pieces, better 
grouped and of larger calibre, overpowered the Russian pieces, which were of 
medium calibre and only numbered 54.” 
“The Allies, who on that day could only bring 125 pieces into action, were 
obliged at the end of the siege to raise the number to 806, in order to obtain a 
superiority of fire.” 
It must also be remarked that General Wiebe’s ideas differ considerably from 
those which are now taught in the German military schools, and from those 
which General Brialmont expresses in the quotation above. He lays down that 
the front of attack should be limited to one fort with the two adjacent intervals, 
and, as a matter of course, the two collateral demi-fronts of forts. Allowing 
three kilometres for the intervals, it follows that the siege batteries will occupy a 
space of about six kilometres. The method recommended in Germany consists 
in attacking first two forts and three intervals, with two collateral demi-fronts ; 
which would give a length of about nine kilometres to the line of batteries. The 
difference of three kilometres is not to be neglected. This subject will be 
referred to later on. 
As soon as the’ besiegers begin the artillery combat, the defenders should at 
once reply with all the guns available, which should be immediately reinforced, 
either from the general reserve or from the armament of the fronts which are not 
attacked. It is very important that all the siege batteries should be replied to at 
the same time and in an effective manner. At first the defenders will probably 
find some difficulty in directing their fire, because their arrangements are incom¬ 
plete and they do not know the exact distribution of the enemy’s forces. But 
