The Great Strength of Metz-Complete Blockade the surest means of Capturing it-Treble Cordon thrown around it, and other Measures taken by the Germans-Detailed description of their Positions, and of those occupied by the French-Genial Feeling between the Foreposts for some time-The completeness of the Prussian Forepost System-Repose in the City in the first days of September-Excitement in the German Army when the victory of Sedan became known—The Disastrous News conveyed into Metz by General Wimpffen, and a Request made to Bazaine to Surrender the City-His Reply, and general disbelief of the News in Metz for some days-Proclamation of General Coffinières urging Resistance to the uttermost-Bazaine, at last, compelled to admit the Unwelcome News relating to Sedan to his Troops -Establishment of a Balloon Service for Postal Purposes-Novel Contrivances in their Manufacture-The "Spy" Mania in Metz-Capture and Execution of a real Spy-The "Intelligence Department" organized by the Germans to remove the stigma attached to a Spy-Efforts of the Metz Newspapers to keep alive the spirits of the Inhabitants-Chief Events in the City in September-The Relative Positions of General Coffinières and Marshal Bazaine-Organization of a Corps of Sharpshooters for Dangerous Service by the French-The Legion of Honour refused on Two Occasions-Life in the Besieger's Camp-General absence of Excitement-Burning of Nouilly by the GermansDaring of Lieutenant Hosius and Fifteen Men-Discovery of Underground Electric Wires by the Prussians-General von Steinmetz relieved of his Command, and Prince Frederick Charles appointed sole commander of the Besieging Forces-Sortie and obstinate contest on September 22-Complete Victory of the Germans-More serious Sortie on the 24th-Severe fighting-Fruitless attempt of the French to Capture the village of Noisseville-Coolness of the Germans under Fire-Successful Foraging Expedition by the French on September 27 -Fearful Scene in a Convent-The Monotonous Life within the City and its depressing effects on the Inhabitants-Review of the National Guard-Dissatisfaction at no real attempt to break through the Besieging Army being made-Bazaine thereupon determines upon a vigorous Sortie―The Battle of Maizières-Ruse of the Germans at the Chateau of Ladonchamps-Description of the Country and of the German Positions between Maizières and Metz-The French advance under the cover of a dense fog, and succeed in capturing several Villages-Fearful slaughter in the ranks of two German Landwehr Regiments, who would neither Retreat nor Surrender-The French succeed in carrying off a large quantity of Forage, but are unable to maintain their Positions-Desperate and Bloody Encounter in Storming the Villages by the Germans-Gallant Cavalry Charge-Another Desperate Fight at Norroy-The Results of the Battle and the Losses on both Sides-Particulars of an Intrigue attempted with the view of restoring the Imperial Dynasty-General Bourbaki leaves Metz on a visit to the Empress―The Inhabitants of Metz anxious to Garrison the Forts, so that all the Military Forces should attempt a Sortie on a Gigantic Scale-Marshal Bazaine declines to accede to the Request-The Provisions becoming exhausted-Starvation or Surrender?—The Measures taken to prevent such a Calamity are too Late-Domestic Life and Prices in the City in October-Horse-flesh the chief foodSuppression of Newspapers and Retaliation of the Editors-"The Beginning of the End "-Wholesale Desertions from the French ArmyA Large Number of the Inhabitants also make a fruitless attempt to get through the German Lines-Proposals for Capitulation-Important Interview between General Boyer and Count von Bismarck-General Coffinières declines to give up the Fortress-Meeting of General Changarnier and Prince Frederick Charles-An Unconditional Surrender demanded by the Germans-Settlement of the Terms of Capitulation, and Departure of part of the German Troops for Paris-Proclamation of General Coffinières and General Order of Marshal Bazaine -Excitement and Scenes in the City when the truth became known-Meeting of the Municipal Council for the Last Time and Manifesto to their Fellow Citizens-General description of the Scene presented by the French laying down their arms and marching into Captivity, and of the Triumphant Entry of the Germans into Metz-Proclamation of General von Kummer, the new German Commandant-The terrible calamity to France involved in the loss of Metz-Feeling in the German Army at the Result-Proclamation of Prince Frederick Charles and Dispatch from the King of Prussia-Reception of the News throughout France-Proclamation of M. Gambetta-Bazaine unfairly denounced as a Traitor-An Impartial Estimate of his Conduct and Proceedings during the Siege. THE SIEGE AND CAPITULATION OF METZ. In previous chapters we have given a description of the city of Metz and its fortifications, of the retreat of the French army thither after the great battles of August 16 and 18, and of the sortie made on the 31st, with the view of assisting the movements of MacMahon in his attempt to relieve Marshal Bazaine. In the present chapter it is proposed to relate the chief incidents of the siege, from the close of August to the date of the capitulation of the city on October 27. As the record of the siege of Strassburg shows, the German armies were exceedingly well supplied with all the necessary means for carrying on such operations, and their superior officers excelled in scientific and professional attainments. But, even with the immense matériel and resources at their command, they could not repeat before the great Moselle stronghold the process by which Strassburg was reduced. The fortifications of Metz were of enormous extent and strength, and on the outbreak of war its natural position, so admirably fitted for resistance, had been further strengthened by trenches, new forts, bastions, and earthworks. To such extent, indeed, had the fortress been rendered impregnable, that to attempt to storm it would have been madness. The actual works of Metz could not be attacked, nor the city approached sufficiently near to render bombardment possible, without first carrying strong detached works, which were protected by heavy guns on the heights, and could not be held or even passed without a heavy sacrifice of lives. The frightful price at which the recent victories of Vionville and Gravelotte were won, had induced the king to issue an order that further effusion of blood should be spared; and as it was considered that the complete blockade of Metz must, sooner or later, answer the purpose of the Germans, it was resolved so to invest the city as to render any further sortie from the fortress a forlorn hope indeed. For this purpose a treble cordon of investment was thrown around the place; every village through which these lines passed being strongly fortified, its streets barricaded, its houses loopholed, and every wall that could shelter a man or gun converted into a rough and ready fortification. At intervals in the first line were earthwork batteries, surrounded by rifle-pits and trenches, each battery having ten 12-pounder brass guns, capable of throwing shells of between twenty-three and twenty-four German pounds weight. The batteries in the second line, laid out in the same manner, commanded the several military roads. Beyond as well as between these lines, the trees were felled and the fields lined with rifle-pits and trenches. Outposts and sentries were placed so closely, that it was hardly possible to escape without notice; and strong patrols passing from point to point kept up constant communication. The foreposts, forming the first line, lay either in single houses well fortified by entrenchments and barricades, or in the field, behind earthworks of no inconsiderable magnitude. The next line, the feldwachts ("fieldwatches"), occupied woods or the gardens of chateaux, and comprised about two companies each, which rested, arms in hand, ready for a sortie at any moment. In front of these, and within easy shot of a Chassepot from the French ramparts, were the single sentries. The soldiers remained a week in the most advanced line; then they retired, and the line behind took their places, thus giving a change of position, and at the same time a change of duties. In the third line the qui vive, or look out, was easy, and the men got more rest. Near the foreposts, at intervals, were the Prussian beacons, made of bitumen, placed on long poles and covered with straw, so that they looked not unlike poplar trees, which are so common in France. All round the Prussian lines, at almost every half mile or so, two of these were placed; and their purpose was to give an alarm in case of a night attack. By lighting one, the exact direction of the attack could be indicated to the troops around, and it would serve as a guide by which they could move forward to the rescue. There were guards at each beacon, and a small wooden hut, in which were kept the means of lighting up. Two observatories were erected: one at Mercyle-Haut, the other, which was the principal, near Corny, the German headquarters. A very favourable point for the purpose was here obtained in St. Blaise, an old ruin situate on the top of a hill, nearly facing Fort St. Quentin, and having to its left Fort St. Privat, the village of Jouy, and the Moselle at the foot of the hill. From this point a magnificent view could be had of the picturesque valley of the Upper Moselle, everywhere dotted with rich vineyards, sheltering woods, villages and hamlets, suggestive of anything rather than of war. Yet each of these quiet, dreamy-looking villages was but a link in the fatal chain drawn around the maiden fortress; all nooks and corners being filled with troops who turned everything to account in strengthening their defensive position. The walls of each house were pierced with several rows of loopholes for musketry; and the garden walls, likewise, were "crenellated," or notched with indentations at the top, like battlements, through which the barrel of a rifle could be pointed at the foe outside. All the trees and bushes around the houses were cut down to deprive the approaching enemy of cover; the roads were barricaded with trunks and branches of trees, to prevent cavalry or artillery from coming near; and trenches were dug to form a covered way for the defenders of the post, from house to house, and from village to village. From St. Blaise the besiegers had a view of the entire town and environs of Metz, and, by a powerful telescope mounted in the observatory, could see every movement of the French army. Concentrated here were the telegraphic wires, which ran in an unbroken circle round the beleaguered town, and by which the Germans could at a moment's notice convey intelligence to any army corps, or order movements of concentration on any threatened point from a score of different directions. They could thus in fifteen minutes collect 8000 men upon any spot, and on more than one occasion, when the assembly was sounded, a force of 22,000, consisting of every branch of the service, was, within twenty-eight minutes, in full marching order, ready to proceed to the front. In every village notices were issued that the German authorities would hold the inhabitants responsible for damage done to the telegraphic wires; and that this was no idle threat is attested by the fact, that the people of one of them were fined in the sum of 200,000 francs for the destruction of the wires in its vicinity. From the commanding position of St. Blaise the line of French outposts could easily be traced.* Starting from Bevoye, Magny, in front of Montigny, and from Moulin-les-Metz, on the other side of the Moselle, it ran in the direction of St. Hubert, between St. Ruffine and Chazells; from this point, in front of Sey, right under Mont St. Quentin, as far as Lessy; then taking a bend northwards by Plappeville to Devant les Ponts, and thence to Vigneulles and Woippy. The first German forepost on the right of the observatory was in the village of Peltre; next to that, La Papetric; nearer to the Moselle and closer to Metz was the outpost of Frescaty. From Frescaty the line ran backward slightly to the Moselle, a little in front of Ars-sur-Moselle. On the slope on the western side of the river there was a forepost at Vaux, a village in the middle of that gloomy forest the glades of which were checkered with so many graves of the dead who fell at Gravelotte. Thence for a space the foreposts lay among the mementoes of the slaughter of that day. That at Châtel St. Germain was on the fringe of the plateau which was the closing scene of that desperate struggle on the 18th of August. From St. Germain the intrenched line ran across the plateau to Saulny, thence by Semecourt down into the alluvial plain on the west of the Moselle to the north of Fort St. Eloy, and thence due cast to the river's brink. Not only was it possible from Mont St. Blaise to see the positions of the respective foreposts and their supports, but also the lines where Bazaine's army, as distinguished from the garrison proper of the fortress of Metz, in divers camps was disposed. These occupied the suburbs in every direction, under the protection of the outworks of St. Quentin, Plappeville, St. Julien, Queleu, and Montigny. In the space so environed, and outside Metz, the French had in all four great The reader who wishes to obtain a clearer impression of the German positions than it is possible to convey in a written description, should compare this with the Battle Plans of Courcelles, Vionville, and Gravelotte, in which nearly all the places here named are shown. lagers or camps. The first and probably the largest was on the slope of Mont St. Quentin, looking toward St. Blaise, where the rows of tents athwart the slope, and past the village of Sey, stretched almost down to Chazells. Another, beginning at Longeville, a village on the west bank of the Moselle, in a line between St. Quentin and Metz, straggled up the river margin, first to St. Martin, where Bazaine had his headquarters, and on to the north as far as Devant les Ponts. A third great camp was in front of St. Julien, towards Vauloux, Vallieres; and the fourth was around Borny and Grigy. Besides these camps, there were two great collections of sick-one on the esplanade in front of the cathedral at Metz, and along the river brink, and the other on the island of Saulcy. Between the foreposts of the two armies a tolerably genial feeling prevailed until September 28, when, after a small engagement, a wounded Prussian officer was found robbed and mutilated in a most barbarous way. On one occasion a note was left under a stone, addressed to the French officer in command of the foreposts, and requesting a bottle of champagne for the Prussian forepost officer. At the next round the Prussian patrol found the bottle of champagne, along with a request for a small piece of salt, which, of course, was granted. The completeness of the forepost system was a marked feature of the Prussian army, and one of the leading causes of its success. At night the feldwacht advanced to the post occupied during the day by the furthest outlying sentry. Here it broke right and left into small pickets, leaving a strong nucleus in the centre. The front, at a distance of two or three hundred yards, was occasionally traversed by cavalry patrols, who sometimes rode right in among sleeping Frenchmen, whose system of night vigilance was far from perfect. Then there was a pistol shot and round of bootless Chassepot firing in the dark; the daring horseman dashing out through the French back to his supports. At times, and especially after the incident above alluded to, considerable asperity was shown between the respective advanced parties. A strict order was issued by the Prussian authorities against firing at small detached groups; but a single man could not show himself without a volley from the French. Not an uncommon amusement of the besiegers was to expose a hat, which was speedily riddled. The long range of the Chassepot gave the French a decided advantage in this kind of play; but ere long the Prussian foreposts were also supplied with those weapons, a considerable number of which had fallen into German hands; indeed, one regiment (the thirty-fifth) was entirely armed with them. 750 Prussians; but judging that he might require all the provender of Metz for his own army, Bazaine turned out those prisoners directly after the failure of the sortie of August 31. The courtesy of war demanded that a like number of French should be returned, but just then Prince Frederick Charles had no prisoners, having sent them all off to Germany. On September 9, however, 750 men, chosen from different regiments taken at Sedan, were sent into the town, bearing only too palpable evidence to the tale of France's humiliation. With such corroboration there were few French soldiers or citizens in Metz so sceptical as not to believe, or so light-hearted as not to mourn, the dismal tidings. The Orleanist sympathies of portions of the army, and the republican leanings of others, were soon made manifest, while the guards appeared to be the only troops who were decidedly imperialist. Bazaine counselled and maintained a dead silence; but General Coffinières issued within the city the following proclamation: During the first days of September there was absolute repose in Metz. The marshal and the army, ignorant of the doings without, knew nothing of the fate of MacMahon. For his army, however, they confidently anticipated success, and daily expected to see their brothers in arms, victorious over the foe, approaching towards the walls, with the welcome message of relief. But on the 4th September the German camp and villages around became more than commonly animated. The Prussian soldier seemed to have thrown off his usually stolid air; stout sergeants were ardently embracing one another; privates throwing their caps into the air, and shouting like maniacs; Frenchmen, gathered together in little knots, talked and gesticulated vehemently; and hussars and mounted officers were galloping about in every direction. All this extraordinary excitement was caused by the following official bulletin from the king of Prussia, which was here and there read aloud from newspapers to astonished groups: "This day, September 1, in the neighbourhood of Sedan, Marshal MacMahon has surrendered himself and the French army of 80,000 men to the Crown Prince. His Majesty the Emperor of the French has also given himself up as a prisoner of war." A few days later a flag of truce, accompanied by General Wimpffen, who had assumed the command of the army when MacMahon was disabled by his wounds, conveyed into Metz the disastrous news of the annihilation of the forces which had been destined for its relief. A request was at the same time made to Bazaine to surrender the city without further bloodshed. His answer was that he did not believe the report, that he should hold Metz to the last, and that, if the Prussians wanted it, they must come and take it. The news was indeed regarded as a device of the Germans for obtaining easy possession of the greatest stronghold of France, and was not believed, even when both French and German newspapers were received, containing detailed accounts of the capitulation. The hopes thus cherished, however, 300n received a crushing blow. In the August battles around Metz the French had captured about LOR "Inhabitants of Metz,-We have read in a German journal-the Gazette de la Croix-the very sad news of the fate of a French army crushed by the numbers of its enemies after a three days' struggle under the walls of Sedan. This journal also announces the establishment of a new government by the representatives of the country. We have no other evidence of these events; but we are not able to contradict this. "In these very grave circumstances our only thoughts should be for France. The duty of each one of us, whether as simple citizens or as officers, is to remain at our posts, and to vie with each other in defending Metz. In this solemn moment, France, our country, is summed up for each one of us in the word Metz! that city which has so many times before successfully resisted our country's foe. "Your patriotism, of which you have already given such proofs by your care for our wounded soldiers, will never fail. By your resistance you will make yourselves honoured and respected, even by your enemies. The memory of the deeds of your ancestors will sustain you in the coming struggle. BRA "The army which is about our walls, and which has already shown its valour and its heroism in the combats of Borny, Gravelotte, and Servigny, MAN SEM RMA TAYLOR INSTITUTION DAFURD will not leave you. With you it will resist thc | avoided. One event which occurred, however, enemy which surrounds us, and this resistance gave unfeigned delight to the citizens, namely, will give the government time to create the means of saving France-of saving our country. "L. COFFINIERES, the establishment of a means of communication with the outer world. The discovery of an old balloon, which had done the French good service eighty years before, suggested to Mr. Robinson, "General of Division, Commandant of Metz. the besieged correspondent of the Manchester "METZ, September 13, 1870." The result of Bazaine's persistent silence was that the army felt angry at not receiving any official information of that with respect to which the town was informed; and on the 16th the marshal felt compelled to issue an order of the day, stating that, according to two French journals brought in by a prisoner who had made his escape, the emperor had been interned in Germany after the battle of Sedan, that the empress and the prince imperial had quitted Paris on the 4th, and that "an executive power, under the title of the Government for National Defence," had "constituted itself" in Paris. The names of its members were then given, and the marshal continued:-" Generals, officers, and soldiers of the army of the Rhine, our military obligation towards the country in danger remains the same. Let us continue then to serve it with devotion, and with equal energy defend its territory from the stranger and social order against evil passions. I am convinced that your morale, of which you have already given such proof, will rise to the height of the circumstances, and that you will add new claims to the admiration of France." The announcement was a good deal criticized, and political factions of all shades of opinion started up, and reviled each other with the utmost heartiness from day to day. In other respects within the town the days passed wearily by, cold and wet, and signalized by few events. The gates of the town were only opened two hours in the morning, between six and eight, and two in the evening, between five and seven. If any of the beleaguered inhabitants got out within three or four miles in any direction they reached the Prussian outpost, which cut off the chance either of return or of further progress, and such outside rambles were, therefore, generally Guardian (and to whose "Fall of Metz" we are indebted for many incidents in this chapter), that balloons might be used for communicating with the provinces on the present occasion. Mr. Robinson soon found himself installed as balloon manufacturer-in-chief, assisted, and sometimes hampered, by Colonel Goulier, of the Military Engineering College, and Captain Schultz, the inventor of the mitrailleuse. An "aerostatic post' was opened, and the first balloon manufactured after a world of pains. It was fashioned out of the ordinary white lining paper used by paper stainers, and on being experimentally inflated with lighted straw, after the primitive method of Montgolfier (for the stock of coal in the city was too small to allow of gas being used), was found to succeed extremely well. Admiration at its graceful proportions was being expressed on all hands, when one of the workmen, in his delight at the success, shouldered a ladder in a manner rather more triumphant than usual, and accidentally sent the end of it straight through into the machine, which of course collapsed. It therefore became necessary to produce another, and on the 15th of September the first balloon was launched. It carried 8000 letters, fastened in an india-rubber cloth, and accompanied by a notice, promising a reward of 100 francs to any one who, finding the packet, and taking it to the nearest post-office, or to the mayor of the commune, should there obtain a receipt for it. The balloon first went nearly due south, in the direction of Vesoul and Besançon, at the rate of about nearly thirty miles an hour. Several others were then made, either of thin paper lined with muslin, or of cotton cloth, the ordinary" Manchester goods," of which there was then a fair stock in Metz. Both were inflated with atmospheric air, by means of a huge fan bellows. The cloth balloon was made. by Captain Schultz. It was heavier and stronger than those made of paper, and could therefore carry a greater number of letters. It took up a freight of 45,000 letters; but, after rising to an immense height, it slowly descended, was fired at by the Prussians, and fell within their lines. The |