The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-20 00:00:00

THE FALL OF PERONNE.

The special correspondent of the Standard, writing on
January 16th, thus describes the fall of Peronne :—The
siege of Peronne commenced on Wednesday, December
28th. The enemy appeared at the gates at half-past
one o'clock, and formally summoned the town to sur-
render. The commandant of the place, Mons. Gamier, a
sailor, returned a prompt and unequivocal refusal.
The refusal seems to hate been perfectly anticipated,
for before two o'clock the bombardment began, to the
utter astonishment of the town. It is impossible
to describe the astonishment r.y.fl general horror
when, f a sudden, a shower of shells rained down
through the streets. The terrified people fled to the
cellars, and hid themselves in the excavations under the
ramparts. From the first it was impossible to stay in the
houses. The shells pierced the roofs and exploded on the
ground floors, and before long fires burst out in many
parts of the town. The next object of attack
was the Church of St. Ftirsey, the oldest and
grandest.. monument in the town. In three days
was levelled. to the ground ; and the spire
alone stood tottering, ready to fall at any moment. The
fourth day a little boy climbed up the tower, which was
in a terribly precarious state, and hoisted the white flag.
The Prussians ceased firing, and a deputation went to
ask permission for the women and children to leave
the town for some place of security. It was refused
without even an attempt at consideration, and
the botabardtnent actually recommenced before the
deputation had tithe to reach the town. On
Sunday, the Ist of January, the firing ceased during the
whole afternoon. It seems that the Prussian ammunition
had come to an end, and some of their guns were dis-
mounted. They were obliged to send for supplies to La
Fere, and the next day the_ work of destruction was
more unremittent than ever. One entire side of the
Grand Place, and, as it so happened, composed of the
richest shops, was levelled to the ground. It is such a
terribly little town that the besiegers had it all their
own way, and it was but easy practice for their gunners.
And, meanwhile, what was the state of their civil
population, and of the women and children ? At the be-
ginning some few attempted to remain in their houses
and shops, confiding in the fancied security of the lower
rooms. But the petroleum missiles crashed down from
the roof to the res de ehaussee, and in a short time 50
houses were in flames. One young lady, well known to
the country around for her charity and devotion to the
wounded, was descending the staircase of her
house, carrying some lint and bandages. A shell
came hissing through a windotv, struck the young girl on
her side, and actually severed the body in two. In the very
next house a ball flashed throngh the massive framework
of a double windOW, grazed the face of a lady who was
kneeling on her prie-dieu, pierced the opposite wall, and
killed two children who were sleeping in their cradle.
No wonder the wretched people were scared and
bewildered. The priests and doctors had • only
time to save the sick and wounded from the flames
of the hospital, and carry them in their arms to the case-
mates and cellars, and this they did in the face of an
unceasing fire that swept the streets. Nothing remained
but for the inhabitants to seek the same and only means
of safety. Some carried with them mattresses and
blankets, and necessary provisions ; but the majority, in
their extreme terror, had but the one thought of refuge
before them, and neglected these precautions. Then;
and then only, began the real horrors of the siege. Many
of the casemates and cellars were damp—the water drip-
ping from the walls, and the air foul with 'pestilence.
Before the commencement of the attack a large number
of the townspeople had been seized with smallpox and
typhoid fever, and though every possible means
and precaution had been adopted to keep those
afflicted with the two fatal maladies totally apart, the
contagion had unfortunately begun to spread. In the open
air there was, at all events, some hope, however small
it may have been, of arresting or even mitigating the pro-
gress of this plague. But in this underground life, shut out
from the light of day, confronted with the actual presence
of an awful pestilence, and doomed for days, weeks pos-
sibly, to live with the dying and the dead, and drink in
the deadly poison of two such fatal epidemics, what
hope was there for these poor people ?' Some of them
went down radiant with health, and awoke the very first
morning to find that the subtle venome of the petite
varole, had crawled upon them during the night, and
stretched them hopeless. Many of them, even the
sick, had to lie upon the damp earth, for it wasl
only the few who had brought down bedding and
blankets. And then the chivalrous devotion that
I have seen myself among the French people from the'
beginning of this war shone out as nobly as ever. Ladies
and children even gave up their mattresses; and in many
-instances part of their clothing, to the sufferers, and aided
the priests and doctors as nurses, till they in their turn
were struck down. Every day, every hour, counted fresh
victims, and the disease spread with electric swiftness.
And so it went on, this terrible existence, during fourteen
days. Only a few dared to go forth, so awful was the
scathing, hissing shower of fire that searched out every
corner of the town ; and these went out principally to bury
the dead on the ramparts. Throughout the siege
the Prussians never seemed to occupy them•
selves with the walls, and it is singular how
few of the garrison were killed. It was a
war against women and children, who were refused
permission to leave the town—against sacred buildings and
private property. The Peronne people would have held
out to the last if they had only the siege to contend with,
but disease and not their guns gained the day for the
enemy. The commandant had been implored severs
times to yield—once by the . women of the town
—and once under a threat of being shot ; but
in the face of entreaty or menace he was alike
immovable. But when the doctors of the town came in
a formal body, and represented to him the strides that
disease was making every hour—the impossibility for
the people to exist in the cellars and caves—
and the enormous sacrifice of life that a pro-
longation of this state of things would cause,
the commandant knew it was his duty to submit
under such unprecedented pressure. On Tuesday,
the 10th, the Prussians sent them a message to
say if they did not at once surrender they would burn the
town with "boulets rouges," and not leave one stone upon
another:. It was then that the women crowded before
the commandant's house, and used every means to induce
him to yield. But this, even backed up by the
solemn appeal of the Committee .. of Defence
to the same purpose, would have been without
effect, but for the convincing declaration of the
doctors. The town capitulated in the night, and the
next day, as the Prussians entered, the pale survivors
crept up from their hiding-places. The churches, the hos-
pital, and numberless houses were burnt to the ground.
The very bells in the tower were incited by the intense
heat. Broken windows, shattered doorways, and a wreck
of household furniture. One whole side of the principal
square was totally destroyed. In the market-place a large
heap of various kinds of furniture lay piled in a heap of
ruins. Conspicuous was a large pianoforte cut in two by
a shot—the wood half burning, and the strings
shrivelled up. Curtains, carpets, 'and tapestry smoul-
dered in the streets ; and through all the town
there crawled a suffocating, fetid smell, partly from
the general destruction, and partly from the warm,
sickly breath escaping from the diseased cellars.
Eight thousand of the enemy occupied the town ; the
garrison went on to La Fere, the officers liberated on
parole. The Prussians complained bitterly of the long .
resistance of the place, and their sufferings from the cold.
A two days' siege only had been anticipated. They
told the inhabitants that Arras was already occupied by
their troops, and that their next and immediate object was
Cambrai.

The diplomatists in Paris, except Mr. Washburne, have
applied for leave to come out. It will be refused. The
fire on both sides continues.—Times Telegram.
M. Le Grand, a Prefect in the North, has been re-
placed by M. Paul Bert ; the former asks to be relieved
of his functions, not wishing to countersign the exe-
cution of Mobiles condemned to death by court-martial.
The North German Gazette says that two of Mr.
Fowler's street locomotives are assisting to forward the
ammunition from Nanteuil to Villa Coublay before
Paris. As the bridge over the Seine at Corbeil is
destroyed; and the temporary, bridge was considered to be
not strong enough, fifty-five horses were sent there to
forward the• ammunition by carts, but the owner of the
locomotives got permission to cross, and succeeded in
.getting the engines and the cargo safely over. The
machines, weighing about ten tons, and dragging forty
tons of ammunition, saved the trouble of unloading and
the service of at least 110 horses.
Republican Club is about to be formed in Bir-
mingham by a nu,.ober of extreme Radicals and sympa-.,
thisers with the French Provisional Government.
Of the nine Professors of the Roman Catholic
theological faculty at Munich, six have declared for
Infallibility, and three against it. In the majority
there are two whose consent has been given conditionally.
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