Part 10 (1/2)
On the 20th of August Marshal Bazaine had written to Chalons: ”I will give due notice of my march if, taking everything into consideration, I can undertake any such attempt.” On the 23rd he reported to the Emperor: ”If the news of the extensive reductions in the besieging army is confirmed, I shall set out on the march, and that by way of the northern fortresses, in order to risk nothing.”
SORTIE FROM METZ.
(August 26th.)
On the 26th of August, when the Army of Chalons was still nearly seventy miles distant from the Ardennes Ca.n.a.l, and its advance on Metz was as yet not generally known, Marshal Bazaine collected his main forces on the right bank of the Moselle.
This movement had not escaped the notice of the German posts of observation, and the field-telegraph at once disseminated the information.
To support the 3rd Reserve Division at Malroy, ten battalions of the Xth Corps crossed from the left bank of the Moselle to Argancy on the right bank. The 25th Division held itself in readiness at the bridge of Hauconcourt, and the Ist Corps closed up towards Servigny. In the event of the success of a breach towards the north, the IIIrd, IVth, and part of the IXth Corps were available to intercept the enemy's march about Thionville.
The crossing from the island of Chambiere by the field-bridges which had been built, seriously delayed the French advance; the IIIrd, IInd, IVth, and VIth Corps, however, by about noon stood closely concentrated between Mey and Grimont. Advanced detachments had already at several points driven in the German posts south-east of Metz, but instead of now entering upon a general attack, Marshal Bazaine summoned all his Corps Commanders to a conference at Grimont. The Commandant of Metz then made it known that the artillery ammunition in hand would suffice for only one battle, that when it was exhausted the army would find itself defenceless in midst of the German hosts; the fortress, he continued, was not defensible in its present state, and could not stand a siege if the army were to be withdrawn from the place. All those things might certainly have been seen into during the stay in Metz; and much more did they behove to have been known before the army should cut loose. It was particularly enforced, ”That the preservation of the Army was the best service that could be rendered to the country, more especially if negotiations for peace should be entered into.” The generals present all spoke against the prosecution of the proposed movement; and the Commander-in-Chief, who had refrained from expressing any opinion in the matter, gave the order to retire at four o'clock.
The whole affair of the 26th of August can only be regarded in the light of a parade manoeuvre. Bazaine reported to the Minister of War that the scarcity of artillery ammunition made it ”impossible” to break through the hostile lines, unless an offensive operation from the outside ”should force the enemy to raise the investment.” Information as to the ”temper of the people” was earnestly requested.
There is no doubt that Bazaine was influenced, not wholly by military, but also by political considerations; still it may be asked whether he could have acted differently in the prevailing confusion of France. From the correspondence referred to, and his behaviour in the battles before Metz, his reluctance to quit the place was evident. Under its walls he could maintain a considerable army in unimpaired condition till the given moment. At the head of the only French army not yet shattered,[26] he might find himself in a position of greater power than any other man in the country. This army must, of course, first be freed from the bonds which now confined it. Even if it should succeed in forcibly breaking out it would be greatly weakened; and it was not inconceivable that the Marshal, as the strongest power in the land, might be able to offer a price which should induce the enemy to grant him a pa.s.sage. Then when at length the time for making peace should come, the Germans would no doubt ask: ”Who in France is the authority with whom we can negotiate now that the Empire is overthrown, and who is strong enough to give a guarantee that the obligations which he will have undertaken shall be performed?” That the Marshal, if his plans had come to fulfilment, would have acted otherwise than in the interest of France is neither proved nor to be a.s.sumed.
But presently a number of men combined in Paris, who, without consulting the nation, const.i.tuted themselves the Government of the country, and took the direction of its affairs into their own hands. In opposition to this party, Marshal Bazaine, with his army at his back, could well come forward as a rival or a foe; nay, and--this was his crime in the eyes of the Paris Government--he might restore the authority of the Emperor to whom he had sworn allegiance. Whether he might not thus have spared his country longer misery and greater sacrifices may be left undecided. But that he was subsequently charged with treason obviously arose, no doubt, from the national vanity of the French, which demanded a ”Traitor” as a scapegoat for the national humiliation.
Soon after this demonstration, for it was nothing more, of the besieged army, the investing forces were, in fact, reduced by the despatch, on the 29th, in accordance with orders from the supreme Headquarter, of the IInd and IIIrd Corps to Briey and Conflans, there to remain. To be sure, from those positions it was in their power to attack either of the French Marshals, as might prove requisite; while the XIIIth Corps, newly formed of the 17th Division, hitherto retained to defend the coast, and from the Landwehr, was already within a short distance of Metz.
Meanwhile Marshal Bazaine might have realized that he must abandon his delusion as to a release by means of negotiations; and he now firmly resolved to cut his way out by dint of force. The troops were served out with three days' provisions, and the intendance was furnished with a supply of ”iron rations” from the magazines of the fortress. That the attempt should again be made on the right bank of the Moselle was only to be expected; since by far the larger portion of the enemy's forces stood entrenched on the left bank. It would have been very difficult to traverse that hilly region, intersected by deep ravines; and finally the army of the Crown Prince on the march to Paris would have had to be encountered. East of Metz, on the other hand, there afforded ample s.p.a.ce for the full development of the French forces. By bending of the south the open country was to be reached, offering no effective intercepting position to the enemy, whose line of investment was weakest in that direction. The march to the north and along the Belgian frontier entailed more danger and greater obstacles, yet the Marshal had explicitly indicated this particular road as that by which he intended to move. The Army of Chalons was also marching in that direction; its approach was already reported; and on the 31st of August, on which day, in fact, Marshal MacMahon's forces reached Stenay[27] in such disastrous circ.u.mstances, Bazaine's army also issued from Metz.
FOOTNOTES:
[26] The Army of Chalons was still unimpaired on August 26th.
[27] ”Stenay,” probably a slip of the pen for ”Sedan,” where MacMahon's army was gathered on August 31st. It never reached Stenay.
BATTLE OF NOISSEVILLE.
(August 31st.)
Of the French Corps then located on the right bank of the Moselle,[28]
the IIIrd was to cover on the right flank the advance of the others; one Division was ordered to move early in a south-easterly direction with intent to mislead the enemy, its other three Divisions to take position threatening Noisseville. Three pontoon bridges were constructed for the crossing of the rest of the army, and accesses to the heights in front of St. Julien were prepared. The pa.s.sage of the IVth and VIth Corps was to begin at six o'clock, and they were to take a position which, linking on its right with the IIIrd Corps, should extend from the village of Mey by Grimont to the Moselle; the IInd Corps and the Guard were to follow and form a second line. With the pa.s.sage of the artillery reserve and the cavalry it was expected that the crossing of the Moselle should be finished by ten o'clock; the trains were halted on the Isle of Chambiere. Thus it was intended that by noon five Corps should be ready for the a.s.sault of the section of the line of investment from Retonfay (on the French right) to Argancy (on the left), a distance of about seven miles, which s.p.a.ce had for its defenders only two German Divisions.
So early as seven o'clock Montaudon's Division issued from Fort Queuleu, and heading eastward drove the opposing outposts back on Aubigny. But this demonstration did not in the least deceive the Germans. The stir in the French camp had been observed quite early, and when the mist cleared off and great ma.s.ses of French troops were seen in front of Fort St.
Julien, an attempt to break through to the north was antic.i.p.ated with certainty, and the necessary dispositions were immediately undertaken to foil the effort.
The 28th Brigade of the VIIth Corps was dispatched to protect Courcelles, so that thus the 3rd Brigade of the Ist Corps could be brought nearer to Servigny. The troops of the Xth Corps which could be spared from their own section of the line of defence on the left bank were again set in motion to cross to the right, and the IXth Corps was held in readiness in antic.i.p.ation of its having eventually to follow.
The IIIrd Corps and the Ist Cavalry Division were recalled from Briey and directed to the plateau of Privat; the IInd was to stand ready to move off.
The attempt of the French to break out proved on this day even less successful than on the 26th; the IVth and VIth Corps crossed each other at the bridges, and they only reached their rendezvous position at one o'clock, though it was little more than three miles further; they then abandoned the intention of an immediate a.s.sault, and set about cooking.
A few skirmishes on the east of Aubigny and on the north towards Rupigny came to nothing. The Imperial Guard did not come up till three o'clock, the artillery and cavalry were still behind.
As entire quiescence now supervened, the Germans came to the conclusion that the attack must be intended for the following day. To save the strength of the troops, part of the reinforcements ordered up had already been sent back, when, at about four o'clock, the French suddenly opened a heavy artillery fire.