Part 26 (2/2)

Soon after mid-day Fechencourt was won on the left, and Bussy on the right; and the enemy after a feeble resistance was driven back across the stream. On the other hand, the German Artillery could at first do nothing against the strong and well-posted batteries of the enemy.

Vecquemont, however, was stormed, though stoutly defended, and a bitter street-fight lasted till the afternoon.

The 15th Division, against the intention of General Manteuffel, had become involved in fighting before the 16th, engaged further to the left, could afford it any a.s.sistance. Not till four o'clock did the 31st Brigade arrive in front of Behencourt, when, crossing the river by flying bridges, it threw the enemy back into the village, where he maintained a stout resistance, but had ultimately to give way. The 32nd Brigade, on the extreme left, crossed the Hallue and entered Bavelincourt.

Thus all the hamlets on the river were in German possession; but the short December day was closing in, and further progress had to be postponed till the morrow. Even in the dark the French made several attempts to recover the positions they had lost, especially about Contay, where they outflanked the German position. But their attacks were repulsed both there and at Noyelles. They succeeded, indeed, in getting into Vecquemont, but were driven out again, and were lost to the Prussians now following across the stream, who even seized Daours, so that ultimately the Germans held dominion over every pa.s.sage of the Hallue.

The battle was over by six o'clock. The troops moved into alarm-quarters in the captured villages, their foreposts standing close in front of the outlets.

The attack had cost the Germans 900 men; the defence had cost the French about 1000, besides 1000 unwounded prisoners who were taken into Amiens.

At daybreak on the 24th the French opened fire on General Manteuffel's position in the angle bounded by the Hallue and the Somme.

It having been ascertained that the enemy's strength was almost double that of the Germans, it was decided this day on the latter side to remain on the defensive, pending the arrival of reinforcements, and to strengthen the defence of the positions gained. The Army-Reserve was pushed forward to Corbie to threaten the left flank of the French.

But at two o'clock in the afternoon General Faidherbe took up his retreat. His insufficiently-equipped troops had suffered fearfully through the bitter winter night, and were much shaken by the unfavourable issue of the fighting of the previous day. He therefore drew them back within the area of the covering fortresses. When on the 25th the two Prussian Divisions and the cavalry pursued beyond Albert, and then close up to Arras and as far as Cambrai, they found no formed bodies at all in front of those places, and only captured some hundreds of stragglers.

When General Manteuffel had thus disposed of the enemy, he sent General von Mirus (commanding 6th Cavalry Brigade) to invest Peronne, while he himself returned to Rouen.

Since it had detached to Amiens six battalions as a reinforcement, the Ist Army Corps (at Rouen) now remained only two brigades strong. The French had 10,000 men on the right bank, and 12,000 on the left bank of the lower Seine. And these forces had come very close to Rouen; particularly on the south side within nine miles. Meanwhile, however, the Commanding-General had ordered back the 2nd Brigade from Amiens, and on its arrival the hostile bodies were once more driven back.

FOOTNOTES:

[56] Lieut.-General, not to be confounded with Major-General of same name commanding 14th Cavalry Brigade.

[57] Men of the 2nd battalion 33rd Regiment (East Prussian Fusiliers), belonging to the VIIIth Corps, whose territory is the Rhine Provinces.

It would be interesting to know how an East Prussian Regiment came to be incorporated into the Rhineland Corps. The Ist is the East Prussian Corps, and it was also under General v. Manteuffel, who had been the Corps Commander until the beginning of December, when its command pa.s.sed to General v. Bentheim.

THE REDUCTION OF MeZIeRES.

(1st January, 1871.)

In the northern section of hostilities, before the end of the year, the siege of Mezieres was brought to an end. After the battle of Sedan the Commandant had contributed supplies from the magazines of the fortress for the maintenance of the great ma.s.s of prisoners, and it had remained, therefore, for the time exempt from attack. Later the place precluded the use of the railroad; still it was only kept under provisional observation till the 19th of December, when, after the fall of Montmedy, the 14th Division moved up before Mezieres.

The garrison numbered only 2000 men, but it was effectively a.s.sisted by bands of volunteers outside, who displayed extraordinary activity in this broken and wooded country. The place was not completely invested till the 25th.

Mezieres stands on a mountain-spur which is surrounded on three sides by the Moselle,[58] but it is hemmed by a ring of heights. The character of the defences, which had been strengthened by Vauban, with their numerous salient angles, was not calculated to resist modern long-range artillery. The place exposed an isolated rampart of masonry in a circ.u.mference of from 2160 to 3250 yards, and although the long delay had been utilized in repairing the weak points by throwing up earthworks, a bombardment could not fail to be destructive to the defenders.

When Verdun had surrendered, heavy siege guns were brought by rail from Clermont to a position close in front of the southern face of the fortress. The only hindrance to the erection of the batteries was the state of the soil, frozen to a depth of twenty inches; and at a quarter past eight on the morning of the 31st of December 68 siege guns and 8 field-pieces opened fire. At first the fortress replied vigorously, but by the afternoon its artillery was utterly silenced, and the white flag was hoisted next day. The garrison were taken prisoners; considerable stores and 132 guns fell into the hands of the besiegers. But the chief advantage gained was the opening of a new line of railway to Paris.

FOOTNOTE:

[58] Slip of pen for ”Meuse.”

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