The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-12 00:00:00

THE MOVEMENTS OF GENERAL CHANZY,

Ina letter dated Bordeaux, January 7, the special cor-
respondent of the Telegraph says :—General Chanzy's
army, 150,000 strong, with 300 pieces of artillery, was to
have proceeded from Le Mans towards Nogent-le-
Rotrou, en route for Chartres and Versailles, last
night. In how many columns Chanzy will move,
or what direction the different columns will take, I am
unable to say ; but it is certain that his orders
are to march quickly, every one of his men carrying
with him four or five days' provisions, and to force
his way towards Paris, no matter at what cost. I have
reason to believe that General Faidherbe, in the North,
is to make a similar move towards the capital now that
he has disengaged his front ; and that Bourbaki will to-
night be close upon Belfort, whence he will detach a divi-
sion into the Vosges, and quite possibly assume the
offensive, even by crossing the Rhine. In short, now that
the frost has broken up, the different corps are com-
mencing work in earnest, and will yet give the invaders
of France some trouble. To-day I saw an English-
man who had just come from Le Mans. He gives a very
good account of Chanzy's army, and says that, if the
men are a little rough, they are certainly very ready.
The discipline of the camp is excellent, the spirit of the
men wonderful ; and, in the way of arms, they
are provided with rifles from America, which
are second to none in the world. Curiously enough,
one of Chanzy's right-hand men is a young Englishman,
named Gordan, or Gourdon, who was not long ago a sub-
altern in an English line regiment. He came out to
France, offered his services to Chanzy, and has been found
so useful in every way that he has been given the tempo-
rary rank of lieutenant-colonel on the staff, and is pro-
mised still higher promotion. All the sick, weakly men
of Chanzy's army are ordered to remain behind at Le
Mans, and three brigades of picked men from Brittany
have been formed, which, with two from La Vendee, are
to lead the vanguard of the advance. M. de Char-
rette, who, commanding. the Pontifical Zouaves,
has gained rich laurels in this campaign, has been pro-
moted to the rank of General of Brigade, and, if his
wounds permit his going with the army, he is to command
one of the leading brigades. The clothing of Chanzy's
forces—so my informant tells me—is in excellent order,
and the commissariat has improved greatly ; but the
medical arrangements leave very much to be desired ; or,
to speak more correctly, the task of tending the wounded
is entirely thrown over upon the English and Anglo-
American ambulances.

THE CONFLICT AROUND HAVRE
In a letter from Havre, January 9, a correspondent o
the Daily News observes :—Why General Peletingeas,
with his corps, returned to Havre, is as yetro incomprehhe in
n-
sible. The journals of last Friday pmised that
five days the public should understand the object of this
retrograde movement, and until this period has
elapsed, we must, I suppose, suspend our curiosity.
It is impossible to conceive what the plan of action Is
at present with regard to the march on Rouen. It may
be that the two Generals, Roy and Peletingeas, will
effect an amalgamation of troops on either the right or
the left of the Seine, and march in a compact mass against
the enemy. This opinion might be supported by the in-
tended departure of about 2,00 C men of the Line yester-
day for Honfleur, on the other side of the river, who,
however, after waiting some hours on the quay, were
marched back to barracks,the order being countermanded.
It would not, apparently, answer to transfer a large
force from one side of the Seine at present, as
Havre might be left exposed to a sudden attack of the
enemy ; but, in reality, a strong corps might advance on
the left, and, in case of a German march on
Havre, the French could easily retreat to Hon.
fleur, cross the river, and be here long before the
invader was able to bring up his artillery, &c.
However, I cannot understand why both generals
could not go forward and effect a junction near Rouen,
where they would be. sure to be joined by thousands of
workmen. It is, to say the least, censurable in the ex-
treme to find so large a body of soldiers resting here idle
and inactive, while the country round is being pillaged in
every direction, and completely at the mercy of the
enemy. It is distressing to think that a few hundred
horsemen can thus keep a whole tract of country
in a state of constant terror, that they can levy contribu-
tions and threaten fire and death with impunity, in pre-
sence of a garrison which ought to have 'the- strength and
the means of driving them back, and of at least forcing
them to keep to their headquarters.