Part 9 (2/2)

The Bois de Garenne, in which many broken bands of all Corps and of all arms were straggling in search of refuge, still remained to be gained.

After a short cannonade the 1st Guard-Division climbed the heights from Givonne, and were joined by Saxon battalions, the left wing of the IIIrd army at the same time coming on from Illy. A wild turmoil ensued, in which isolated bands offered violent resistance, while others surrendered by thousands; nor was it until five o'clock that the Germans had complete possession of the forest.

Meanwhile long columns of French could be seen pouring down on Sedan from the surrounding heights. Disordered bodies of troops huddled closer and closer in and up to the fortress, and sh.e.l.ls from the German batteries on both sides of the Meuse were constantly exploding in the midst of the chaos. Pillars of fire were soon rising from the city, and the Bavarian riflemen, who had pushed forward through Torcy, were preparing to climb the palisades at the gate when, at about half-past four, the white flags were visible on the towers.

The Emperor Napoleon had declined to follow General de Wimpffen in his attempt to break through the German lines; he had, on the contrary, ordered him to enter into negotiations with the enemy. In consequence of the renewal of the order to that effect the French suddenly ceased firing.

General Reille now made his appearance in the presence of the King, who had watched the action since early morning from the hill south of Frenois. He was the bearer of an autograph letter from the Emperor, whose presence in Sedan was till then unknown. He placed his sword in the hand of the King, but as this was clearly only an act of personal surrender, the answer stipulated that an officer should be commissioned with full powers to treat with General von Moltke as to the surrender of the French Army.

This painful duty was imposed on General de Wimpffen, who was in no way responsible for the desperate straits into which the French army had been brought.

The negotiations were held at Donchery in the night between the 1st and 2nd September. On the part of the Germans it had to be insisted on that they durst not forego the advantages gained over so powerful an enemy as France. Since the French had regarded the victory of German arms over other nationalities in the light of an offence to France, any untimely generosity might cause them to forget their own defeat. The only course to pursue was to insist upon the disarmament and captivity of their entire army, with the exception that the officers were to be free on parole.

General de Wimpffen declared it impossible to accept conditions so hard, the negotiations were broken off, and the French officers returned to Sedan at one o'clock on the morning of the 2nd. Before their departure they were given to understand that unless the offered terms were accepted by nine o'clock that morning the artillery would reopen fire.

The capitulation was signed by General de Wimpffen on the morning of the 2nd, further resistance being obviously impossible.

Marshal MacMahon was very fortunate in having been disabled so early in the battle, else on him would have inevitably devolved the duty of signing the capitulation; and though he had only carried out the orders forced upon him by the Paris authorities, he could hardly have sat in judgment, as he afterwards did, on the comrade he had failed to relieve.

It is difficult to understand why we Germans celebrate the 2nd of September--a day on which nothing memorable happened, but what was the inevitable result of the previous day's work; the day on which the army really crowned itself with glory was the 1st of September.

The splendid victory of that day had cost the Germans 460 officers and 8500 men. The French losses were far greater; they amounted to 17,000 men, and were chiefly wrought because of the full development of the fire of the German artillery.

During the battle there were taken prisoners 21,000 By the Capitulation 83,000 ------ A total of 104,000 sent into captivity.

The prisoners for the present were a.s.sembled on the peninsula of Iges formed by the Meuse. As supplies for them were entirely lacking, the Commandant of Mezieres permitted the unrestricted transport of provisions by the railway as far as Donchery. Two Army Corps were a.s.signed to the duty of guarding and escorting the convoys of prisoners, who were sent off in successive bodies 2000 strong by two roads, one to Etain, and the other by Clermont to Pont a Mousson, where the prisoners were taken over by the army investing Metz, and forwarded to various parts of Germany.

On Belgian territory 3000 men had been disarmed.

The spoils of war taken at Sedan consisted of three standards, 419 field-pieces, 139 fortress guns, 66,000 rifles, over 1000 waggons, and 6000 serviceable horses.

With the entire nullification of this army fell the Empire in France.

FOOTNOTES:

[23] Moncelle is northward of Bazeilles.

[24] Now commanding XIIth Corps, since his elder brother's appointment to command of the Army of the Meuse.

[25] Sense and accuracy alike indicate that ”Army of the Meuse” in text should be ”Third Army,” _vide_ Staff History, part I. 2nd vol. pp. 361, 367, and 370.--Clarke's authorized Trs.

PART II.

While one half of the German Army was thus engaged in a victorious advance, the other half remained stationary before Metz.

The foremost line of outposts of the investment embraced a circuit of more than twenty-eight miles. An attempt of the concentrated forces of the enemy to break through would have met at the beginning of the blockade with but slight opposition. It was therefore extremely urgent that the several posts should be strengthened by fortifications. These works, the clearing of the neighbouring battle-fields, the close watch kept over every movement of the enemy, the construction of a telegraph-line connecting the quarters of the several Staffs, and finally the erection of a sufficiency of shelter, kept the troops and their leaders amply occupied. Besides the care of the wounded, provision had to be made for the sick, whose number was daily increased by the unusually severe weather and lack of shelter. The provisioning of the troops was, however, facilitated by their stationary att.i.tude, and in addition there now flowed in upon them from their homes a copious supply of love-gifts.

The first days of the investment went by without any attempts to break out on the part of the French. They too were busy reorganizing, collecting ammunition and supplies.

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