Part 34 (1/2)

The French commander, under the intoxicating impression of a victory, had resigned himself to inactivity. ”General Billot,” he reported to the Government at Bordeaux, ”has occupied Esprels and maintains himself there.” We know that he was never attacked there at all, and that he did not succeed in driving away General von der Goltz from the vicinity of Moimay. ”General Clinchant has carried Villers.e.xel with extraordinary dash;” but the fight of the 9th was, as regards the Germans, maintained with only a portion of the XIVth Corps, to cover the right flank of the main body on its march. Whilst, then, this movement of the latter was prosecuted with the utmost energy, the French army remained pa.s.sive for two days, ready for action and in the confident expectation that the enemy described as beaten, would come on again to fight for the supremacy. Not until the 13th did the XXIVth Corps advance on Arcey, the XXth on Saulnot, and the XVIIIth follow to Sevenans. The XVth was to support an attack on Arcey by way of Ste. Marie.

General von Werder had utilized this interval, while the troops were hastening forward, in ascertaining the eligibility of the Lisaine position and in a consultation with General von Tresckow in rear of it.

A detailed inspection showed that at Frahier the Lisaine, there but an unimportant streamlet, flows through a broad gra.s.sy hollow, and thence to Chagey through steep wooded slopes. About Hericourt the valley opens out into a wide plain, which is however commanded by the rocky heights of Mont Vaudois. Lower down the wooded heights line the river as far as Montbeliard, which with the Allaine brook forms a strong point of support and the extremity of the line.

The wooded character of the plain west of the Lisaine would necessarily increase the a.s.sailants' difficulties in the deployment of large infantry ma.s.ses and a strong artillery line. It is true that during the prevailing severe cold the river was everywhere frozen over; but only two high-roads led through the forest into the valley from the direction by which the French army was advancing, one to Montbeliard, the other to Hericourt. The other accesses were narrow, hollow roads rendered difficult of use by frost.

General von Tresckow had already armed the most important points with siege guns, the castle of Montbeliard with six, and the neighbouring height of La Grange Dame with five heavy cannon. Seven were placed on Mont Vaudois and near Hericourt; besides these, twenty-one others commanded the valley of the Allaine southward as far as Delle.

All the troops that could be spared from the investing force were also withdrawn from before Belfort. Still there remained the important consideration that the available forces might not suffice to entirely cover the whole of the Lisaine line. The right wing was the locally weakest portion of the whole position, but here there was the least to be apprehended, the enemy's main attack, since the many needs of the numerous but inadequately equipped French army made the nearest possible vicinity of one of the railroads a necessity. The Vesoul line by way of Lure was broken in many places, and the Besancon line led towards the strong left wing. The country north of Chagey might therefore more weakly be held, and a reserve was formed of the largest part of the Baden Division, which was distributed in rear of the centre and left about Mandrevillars, Brevilliers and Charmont.

The respite accorded by the enemy was turned to account with the utmost zeal in the construction of rifle-pits and of battery emplacements, the establishment of telegraph and relay lines, the improvement of roads and the replenishment of supplies and ammunition.

_January 13th._--On the morning of the 13th the advanced posts of the 3rd Reserve Division were now attacked at Arcey, Ste. Marie and Gonvillars. They were instructed to withdraw before a superior force, but to hold their own long enough to compel the deployment of the hostile columns. The combat with French artillery coming up at wide intervals was therefore prolonged for a considerable time; then, after a three hours' resistance, a new position was taken up behind the Rupt brook, and the retirement on Tavey delayed until four in the afternoon.

The advanced guard of General von der Goltz, after a whole brigade had deployed against it, also took up a position at Chavanni on a parallel front with that at Couthenans.

Before the Allaine front the French did not succeed in driving General von Debschitz's advanced posts out of Dasle and Croix.

_January 14th._--On the 14th General von Willisen with fifty dismounted Dragoons drove back the enemy advancing on Lure, and then retired with his detachment on Ronchamp.

The French army did not yet on this day undertake a serious attack. It stood with the XVth, XXIVth, and XXth Corps, closely concentrated opposite the German left and centre at a distance of scarcely four-and-a-half miles. The German right was supposed by General Bourbaki to rest upon Mont Vaudois. His plan was to cross the Lisaine in force above this point of support, and by thus turning the hostile flank to facilitate a frontal attack. The XVIIIth Army Corps and the Division Cremer were a.s.signed to this service. A drawback to this judicious arrangement was, that the two above-mentioned bodies designed by the officer in supreme command to open the fight on the 14th, would have the longest distance to march to their task. On this day the leading troops of the XVIIIth Army Corps barely succeeded in reaching the vicinity of Lomont through difficult hill and woodland region, and Cremer's Brigade[76] had only then begun to advance from Vesoul. A postponement to the 15th was thereupon determined.

On the German side, a general attack by the greatly superior enemy was hourly expected, and General von Werder felt himself bound to send by telegraph to Versailles a representation of the extreme seriousness of his position. The rivers, being frozen over, were pa.s.sable, and the duty of covering Belfort deprived him of freedom of movement and endangered the existence of his corps. He earnestly prayed that the question should be weighed, whether the investment of Belfort should continue to be maintained.

In the supreme Head-quarter it was considered that any further retirement of the XVth[77] Army Corps would have the immediate effect of raising the siege of Belfort, and causing the loss of the considerable material which had been provided therefor; that it was impossible to foresee where such further retirement would end; and that it could but delay the co-operation of the army advancing by forced marches under General von Manteuffel. At three o'clock on the afternoon of 15th January a positive order was despatched to General von Werder to accept battle in front of Belfort. He was, as was only fair, relieved of the moral responsibility of the consequences of a possibly disastrous issue.

But before this order reached him, the General had already come to the same resolution.

FOOTNOTES:

[76] Slip of the pen for ”Division.”

[77] So in text; a slip of the pen, or printer's error, for the XIVth Corps, which von Werder commanded. There was no XVth Corps in 1871.

BATTLE ON THE LISAINE.

(January 15th to 17th.)

_January 15th._--On the morning of the 15th of January, two Divisions of the French XVth Corps, strengthened by artillery, advanced on Montbeliard; a third followed in reserve. The East-Prussian Landwehr battalions, which had pushed forward to the Mont Chevis Farm and Ste.

Suzanne, held their position for a long time, advanced on their part to the attack, and drove the heads of the enemy's columns back upon the Rupt brook. But when the latter in the afternoon deployed in greater force along the edge of the wood, the Landwehr advanced posts were at two o'clock ordered back to the left bank of the Lisaine. The town of Montbeliard, entirely commanded by the surrounding heights, was also voluntarily evacuated, only its fortified castle being held. But east of Montbeliard General von Glumer with the 1st Baden Brigade had taken up a position, and had brought up four field-batteries alongside the siege guns on the plateau of La Grange Dame.

Towards the close of the day the French, after a continuous but ineffective bombardment from eight batteries, took possession of the town, but did not make any further advance.

Neither had they prospered in their attempt to cross the Lisaine at Bethoncourt. An officer and sixty men, who had sought cover within a walled graveyard from the sharp fire of the defenders, were taken prisoners.

Further to the north the French XXIVth Corps continued to advance, but it was two o'clock before its columns were able to deploy from the wood.

Four battalions did, indeed, succeed in taking possession of the village of Bussurel on the western bank of the Lisaine, but their further advance was frustrated by the fire of the defenders in cover behind the railway embankment, and by that of the Baden battalions and batteries brought up from the main reserve.