The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-14 00:00:00

THE BOMBARDMENT OF PARIS.

The special correspondent of the Daily News at the
headquarters of the Crown Prince of Prussia, in a letter
dated January 10, remarks :—I observe a gradual ap-
proach to the idta of thorough bombardment among both
officers and men of the German army. They have
persuaded themselves that the King will consent
to strong measures, now that the forts - have
been fairly tackled. All these stray shots, made at
random into the city, are but to prepare the way for
a hystematic attempt to compel a speedy surrender.
So at least say the Germans. K:ng William, they add,
has be !qth to injure Paris, and had always refused to
allow the shelling of the suburbs until his artillery should
have engaged the outlying forts. Now, however, that the
forts have been engaged, and partially silenced, his
Majesty will grant the prayer of his soldiers. In a day
or two more there will be a formal warning conveyed to
the French of the peril in which they stand, and
should .they still be obstinate, a shower of incendiary
shells of great size will be poured upon them.
In former letters I have spoken of the causes
which seemed to me to aid the German artillery in its
success against the forts. There is the firing upwards at
a line, a vague spadework, with only quick flashes and
wreaths of smoke to guide the aim. There is the advan-
tage of the newly-chosen position as against the position
long known to all the world. The French guns fire
through embrasures, the Prussians are pointed, en
barbette, over the top of the parapet, and this seems
also an advantage to the Prussians. Then there is
undeniably the greater effect of the Prussian shells when
they burst, and the steady aim of the gunners who use
them. It cannot be said that the French " Naval Bri-
gade " has done well in the struggle. The men have
doubtless shewn activity and pluck ; indeed, I hear that
two or three of their struggles 4to get things straight
and reopen fire have been worthy the ser-
vice to which they belong. But their aim has
been wretched. Where are the rivals of our crack
shots from the Excellent? Where are the men who ought
to be able to cut away an enemy's masts and knock off his
rudder ? The great guns in the forts should have dis-
mounted many more of the Gentian pieces, and should
have at least fallen near the batteries at every round.
As it was, I few them bursting on January sth
all over the fields in rear of the besieging line,
and calculated that three went astray for one
that was well put home. The only thing that the French
artillery seems able to do is to fight blindly on and die for
the Republic. With men so obstinate, it would not sur-
prise me to hear that they re-opened all their forts again
at the most awkward moment. The Prussians are quite
awake to this chance, and will be very cautious in

advancing on the forts without regular ap-
proaches. They admit that though much knockod
about, the French may be also " playing possum,"

as our western friends phrase it; and that a fort, though
silent, may not be absolutely silenced. The news from
north and east, and south, is thought satisfactory at
headquarters, though it is not so good as might have been

expected. Should Paris really be starving, and should
General Trochu have only a month's more resist-
ance in him, there will hardly be time for the
provincials to save the capital. Chanzy is checked
in one direction, Faidherbe is successfully held at
bay in another. Even Bourbaki, the most threaten-
ing for the moment, is a long way off, and
• .

is, moreover, hampered in his movements by
the weather. Let Paris but be reckoned as cer-
tain to fall before St. Valentine's-day, and the efforts
of these different commanders may be taken to
be almost certain to fail. The German grip is tight on
the city, and the German troops will die rather than give
ground. You can easily understand how bitter it would
be to them to do so, and how splendidly they would fight
to avert such a result.

The correspondent of the Telegraph sends the following

by special despatch and telegraph from Versailles,
January 11 :—During the night of Monday the Ger-
mans on the south side of Paris pushed forward their
front to the Val de Meudon and Moulineaux. They met
with some opposition at the Val, but succeeded in esta-
blishing and holding their positions. Five men were
wounded. Paris during the night was bombarded with in-
cendiary shells. Early in the morning of yesterday the French
made a determined attack upon the newly acquired bat-
tery of Notre-Dame de Clamart, taken from them by
surprise a day or two ago. They penetrated into the
work, and a sharp struggle ensued, in which the French
employed the bayonet. They were driven out, however,
by the Gth Bavarians. One Bavarian officer was
brought in bayoneted—being the first officer who
has been wounded with that arm since the war
began. About noon yesterday a sortie on a small
scale was made from St. Denis, under the personal super-
intendence of General Troehu himself. The attack of the
French, however, was repulsed with slight effort, and
still slighter loss on the Gelman side. This morning a
more important sortie, in force, was made from Fort
Vanves, between Clamart and Chaillon. The encounter
between the sortieing force and the besiegers was vigorous
and even fierce ; but in the end the French
troops were driven back almost to the glacis of the
fort. There has been heavy and sustained firing to-
day from a quarter-past two to ten minutes to four, and
subsequently from twenty before six to half-past nine
a.m. The south-west batteries of the Germans were ex-

traordinarily active, and the French forts replied with
much briskness. A vigorous cannonade was also kept
up from the enzp!acements between the forts, and the
French 32-pounders on the ramparts of the enceinte were
very busy all the morning. At the same time
Mont Valerien directed a rapid fire of large shells
upon Bougival, Vaucressau, and—with special severity—
on Ville d'Avrai and Sevres. General von Manteuffel has
been appointed to the command of the German Army of
the South-East, consisting of the 14th, 7th, and 2nd
Army Corps. The weather has changed again to hard
frost, and the roads are almost impracticable. Yester-
day a rigorous search for arms was made in St.
Germains. 1.30 p.m.—The bombardment is now pro-
ceeding with unprecedented vigour. The fire is abso-
lutely incessant from twenty-one German batteries. The
French are replying all along the line, and making in-
fantry attempts of the most frantic character to turn
the batteries. Three new batteries opened at Meudon
this morning.