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Page 33
The gallant Thirty-fifth of the Line almost entirely disappears under
the overwhelming shower of shells; the brave Marine Infantry holds at
bay for a moment the Saxons, joined by the Bavarians, but outflanked
on every side draws back; all the admirable cavalry of the
Margueritte division hurled against the German infantry halts and
sinks down midway, "annihilated," says the Prussian report, "by
well-aimed and cool firing." This field of carnage has three outlets,
all three barred: the Bouillon road by the Prussian Guard, the
Carignan road by the Bavarians, the Mezieres road by the
Wurtemburgers. The French have not thought of barricading the railway
viaduct; three German battalions have occupied it during the night.
Two isolated houses on the Balan road could be made the pivot of a
long resistance, but the Germans are there. The wood from Monvilliers
to Bazeilles, but the French have been forestalled; they find the
Bavarians cutting the underwood with their billhooks. The German army
moves in one piece, in one absolute unity; the Crown Prince of Saxony
is on the height of Mairy, whence he surveys the whole action; the
command oscillates in the French army; at the beginning of the battle,
at a quarter to six, MacMahon is wounded by the bursting of a shell;
at seven o'clock Ducrot replaces him; at ten o'clock Wimpfen replaces
Ducrot. Every instant the wall of fire is drawing closer in, the roll
of the thunder is continuous, a dismal pulverization of 90,000 men!
Never before has anything equal to this been seen; never before has an
army been overwhelmed beneath such a downpour of lead and iron! At
one o'clock all is lost! The regiments fly helter-skelter into Sedan!
But Sedan begins to burn, Dijonval burns, the ambulances burn, there
is nothing now possible but to cut their way out. Wimpfen, brave and
resolute, proposes this to the Emperor. The Third Zouaves, desperate,
have set the example. Cut off from the rest of the army, they have
forced a passage and have reached Belgium. A flight of lions!
Suddenly, above the disaster, above the huge pile of dead and dying,
above all this unfortunate heroism, appears disgrace. The white flag
is hoisted.
BAZAINE AND METZ.
A letter of Count Von Moltke has recently been published, showing that
the question of the conquest of France was under consideration by the
Count and Bismarck as early as August of 1866. It is demonstrated that
these two powerful spirits were already preparing, aye, had already
prepared, to trip the Emperor Louis Napoleon, throwing him and his
Empire into a common ruin. The letter also proves that the plan of the
North-German Confederation, under the leadership of Prussia, with
German unity and a German Empire just beyond, was already clearly in
mind by the far-sighted leaders who surrounded King William in 1866.
Count Von Moltke shows that it was possible and practicable _at that
date_, and within a period of two or three weeks, to throw upon the
French border so tremendous an army that resistance would be
impossible. The antecedents of the Franco-Prussian War had been
clearly thought out by the German masters at a time when Louis
Napoleon was still tinkering with his quixotical Empire in Mexico.
When the war between France and Germany actually broke out, four years
later. Germany was prepared, and France was unprepared for the
conflict. Louis Napoleon did not know that Germany was prepared. He
actually thought that he could break into the German borders, fight
his way victoriously to the capital, make his headquarters in Berlin,
and dictate a peace in the manner of his uncle. It was the most
fallacious dream that a really astute man ever indulged in. From the
first day of actual contact with the Germans, the dream of the Emperor
began to be dissipated. Within five days (August 14-18, 1870,) three
murderous battles were fought on French soil, the first at Courcelles,
the next at Vionville, and the third at Gravelotte. In all of these
the French fought bravely, and in all were defeated disastrously,
with tremendous losses.
By these great victories, the Germans were able to separate the two
divisions of the French army. The northern division, under command of
the Emperor and MacMahon, began to recede toward Sedan, while the more
powerful army, under Marshal Bazaine, numbering 173,000 men, was
forced somewhat to the south, and pressed by the division of Prince
Frederick Charles, until the French, in an evil day, entered the
fortified town of Metz, and suffered themselves to be helplessly
cooped up. There was perhaps never another great army so safely and
hopelessly disposed of!
Metz, after Antwerp, is the strongest fortress in Europe. It is
situated at the junction of the rivers Seille and Moselle. It is the
capital of the province of Lorraine, destined to be lost by France and
gained by Germany in the struggle that was now on. The place was of
great historical importance. Here the Roman invaders had established
themselves in the time of the conquest of Gaul. It was called by the
conquerors, first Mediomatrica, and afterward Divodurum. Its
importance, on the very crest of the watershed between the Teutonic
and Gallic races, was noted in the early years of our era, and to the
present day that importance continues for the same reason as of old.
Metz is on the line of a conflict of races which has not yet, after so
many centuries, been finally decided.
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