Part 21 (2/2)

70), as also the communications between this parallel and the depots.

About two o'clock in the morning the governor sent out a hundred and fifty men, who charged the advanced posts protecting the workmen on the western side of the plateau, and forced their pa.s.sage through to the trench; put the sappers to rout, took some of their tools, and then, seeing themselves taken in flank, rushed up the slopes of the plateau, and re-entered by the postern of the lower town, protected by the fires of the demi-bastion.

On the 18th of February those who worked by day finished what their comrades, told off for night work, had commenced; and the engineers fixed in the parallel the prolongations of the works of the place, which they were intending to ricochet, with a view to planting the first batteries. By the method in which the besieger was proceeding, Colonel Dubois and Captain Allaud had no difficulty in perceiving that they had to do with a methodical enemy, who would conduct his attack according to the rules of the art, and would employ the acknowledged methods of approach against the main work of La Roche-Pont. The commander of the Bavarian engineers, in fact, had drawn out the plan of siege as exhibited in Fig. 70.

On the night of the 18th of February he commenced the ricochet batteries of the first parallel, and the boyaux of communication that were to lead to the second parallel; the works were continued by day. He was intending to direct the siege in the method we are going to describe.

On the third night the batteries of the first parallel were completed so as to fire in concert at daybreak.

The fourth night, supposing the artillery of the besieged to be silenced, they would commence the second parallel, and the fifth night the counter-batteries parallel and perpendicular to the faces to be cannonaded.

The sixth night would be occupied with the continuation of the counter-batteries and the commencement, by sap, of the zigzags about as far as one hundred and sixty yards from the crest of the salient angles of the covered way.

During the seventh night the construction of the counter-batteries would be finished, and they would dig the demi-parallels.

On the eighth night they would continue to advance by sap in zigzag, and arm the demi-parallel with howitzers and mortars, to commence their fire at daybreak at the same time as the counter-batteries.

On the ninth night the sap-fronts would reach the glacis fifty or sixty yards from the salient angles of the covered way, and the zigzags would enter the third parallel, which they would continue by day.

On the tenth night the works would be completed, the third parallel should be finished, and batteries of stone mortars planted there.

On the eleventh night they were to drive two saps a length of twenty-six or thirty yards, right and left, of the capital (Fig. 71). They would dig the circular trenches, and then advance straight on the capital by double sap to within range of hand-grenades; twenty-six to thirty yards from the salient of the _places d'armes_. Protected by the fire of the third parallel, this work would be continued by day.

The twelfth night would be employed in tracing the trench cavalier by means of two saps; these works were to be terminated by day.

The thirteenth night, starting from the extremities of the trench cavaliers near the capitals, by double sap, they would crown the salient angles of the covered way. At daybreak these crownings would be finished, and the construction of the counter-batteries commenced. They would get down by means of two saps (Fig. 71) to the _place d'armes_, to establish a lodgment parallel to the rounding of the ditches.

If necessary, they would drive right and left of the crowning two saps which would meet each other in the middle of this crowning. A fourth parallel would, if necessary, be established, on which they would then place the stone mortars of the third parallel. If this fourth parallel was not needed, they would advance from the third parallel by means of a double sap directly upon the salient of the re-entering _place d'armes_.

The fourteenth night the crowning was to be extended along the branches of the covered way as far as the first traverse. The construction of the counter-batteries, and that of the fourth parallel, would be continued.

If this fourth parallel were not required, the saps would reach to the salient of the re-entering _place d'armes_, which they would crown. At daybreak the breach batteries would be commenced.

On the fifteenth night these works would be completed; then, if they had been obliged to dig a fourth parallel, they would diverge from that in two saps which would unite to form a strong traverse, under shelter of which these saps would reach as far as the salient of the re-entering _place d'armes_, which they would crown by extending that crowning right and left. They would then have to commence the descent of the ditch.

During the sixteenth night the breach batteries would be terminated, and would begin firing. They would work at the descent of the ditch. If possible, they would get down into the _place d'armes_ to install themselves and plant a battery of stone mortars there.

The seventeenth night would be occupied in finis.h.i.+ng the descent to the ditch, and they would commence the epaulement of the pa.s.sage.

During the eighteenth night they would begin to make a breach, and advance the pa.s.sage of the ditch of the breach, which should be effected in the morning.

During the nineteenth night they would reconnoitre the breach, and the sappers would render it practicable. They would terminate the epaulements of the pa.s.sage of the ditch, that the a.s.sault might be made next day.

Thus, according to the plan of the siege, in nineteen times twenty-four hours the place would be in the power of the enemy.

The lines were fixed upon, and General Werther did not doubt of success, as he did not imagine that La Roche-Pont could be succoured, and was aware of the weakness of the garrison and the inefficient character of its artillery.

Nevertheless, these theoretic calculations were somewhat disconcerted by the energy of the defence.

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