The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-09-17 00:00:00

THE SIEGE OF STRASBURG.

From the Special C.irrespondent of the Daily
Telegraph, under date Edcbolahcim. Serit. 6:—
The second parallel is finished and armed, and the third
well advanced towards completion. The latter Is, of course,
destined to receive breaching gnus of large calibre, a large
number of which are in readiness, and as soon an they shall
be in pueltion a fire will ha pored neon the works that, it
Is tic night, will in a few hours open a practicelele breach,
through which the cw rmous i.e, 11% the disposition of
General von Weeder will stream le to the teen, overcoming,
by sheer weight of numbers, enry obstacle that the In-
genuity ant dcaperation of the garrieon rosy have set In
their way. The water defences of he fortress are extensive
enough, in all conscience, to render the penetration et the
enceinte an uterprise of enormous ddliculty ; the system of
moats is a triple one, and in many piece s the depth of water
to be hr.-versed Is eighteen feet flowever wide, tberef ore, I
a breach may he battered threorch the outer walls, i
It must not beimaglned thst the stmuling parties will merely
le called open to climb over heaps of rains, defend* 4 by
clatvano de feiee, light guns, mtuekate, awl basonete—tn
itself a eat:L.4ly perilous undertaking, especially as most
of the punnet in front of and under the gloats It mined; ,
they will, in fact, ho compelled to cross three Hues of water. I
In the face if a withering tire, besides encountering all the
agrOrir lig above mentioned. And tnough I have no doubt In
the world that they will do It, if necessary, and succeed
trlumphautly in vatiqublilog all the resistance opposed to
them I cannot but shudder at the th,..ught of the losses they '
will bievitably suffer—losert alt tether superfluous, and
c iused by the mhtekea heroism of Jean-Jacques I'llllo, who
in holding out Strasburg, literally as well an metaphorically,
pour ft /loi tie Pewee. From teformation I have to-day
received in high quarters, however, I am Inclined to
believe that, although the siege works are being,
and will bs Until their completion, pushed forward
with the greatest energy by the German army,
the final &ashen will not be made at ell unless events of
the grayest importance should absolutely exact the capture
of Strasburg, I Call positively assure you that tl:e Kum
hot
repeatedly expressed his anxiety lest Si raeLurg ftionlil sustain
such injury as might be relatively Irreparable, and excite
feelings of Ineurmountable resentment against Its future ,
rulers in the breasts of its inhabitant. My own impression
Is that the prosecution of the operations Is being carried on
more for the benefit, instruction, and practice of the officers
repruentieg the acre scientific branches of the German
army than with the view of capturing Strasburg by main •
force. I would,tiot have ou infer from this statement that
any langour or laxity Is apparent In the conduct of Ousters;
on the contrary, up to the present time, the progress of the
attack, /actin/hint artem as it has really been carried on, has
been eharacteria d by an almost unprecedented rapidity. All
I wish polite believe is, that considerations of humanity on
the one hand, and of expediency on the ether, exercise so
powerful an innuence upon the German commander., that
the inmost horrors of war will probably be epared to the
ettesens of ntrasisurre who have already sufterel rc.,ch, awl
will surely have to endure much more, tut not so such ma sit
present they anticipate.
In the meantime trench duty hal become very severe, and
good may !Quide liree ere frittered away night otter

night In small efifini, which decide nothing except the
misery of families la far distant French and German home.
Yesterday I wade a long and scrupulous lour of the lines,
and was enabled, through the kindness of the authoritie., to
form an exoelicat idea of the new advances and their arma-
ments. The trsochea are very well made and protected;
those already commenced of the third parallel in far too im-
mediate proximity to the fortificationsfor the comfort of their
occupants. The batteries, too, are admirably built, afford-
ing full protection to the artillerists from vertical
missileu of all aorta The officers of the 204 BA.
Grenadiers, with whom I have been staying here,
were out with their company in the affair of the
lird, and had an exceedingly hot time of it. Lteutenant
von Crailshelm's sworn was struck by a chsssepot bullet,
bending it double; and Baron von Widmann engaged in a
hand.to-hand encounter with a French soldier, ran him
through the IsNly, adze I his chassepot and cartridge-box,
and fired several rounds into the grim of the detachment el..
gaged In the sortie. The company lost twenty men, several
of whom were volunteers, young men of good family and
education—amongst others, a doctor of philosophy and
a student of philology. The French came on gallantly,
their officers shouting almost incessantly, "En avant!
en avant I" and got into a rimesters trench, where
they did a good deal of damage ; but the two com-
panies of the 2nd , Baden), then lying out in support,
under Lieutenant-Colonel von Benz, took thorn in flank,
gave them the bayonet with a tierce " hurrah ! " and
drove them fairly back to the walla—several men being killed
within fifty yards of the elects. Next day a flag of St John
WY sent out with an interment party ; and I have Captain
Baron von Boecklin's authority to state positively that the
French fired repeatedly on the party In questi_m.
Uhrich has already made more than one advance towards
terms if surrender; but his propositions have hitherto been
Inadmissible. It is hoped that he will surrender within a
few days, though I roofers that I do not think it at all likely
he will do so. Two Englishmen with balloons are to arrive
at kinndolehelin today, and will make experiments In the
observation line.