The Sun.
London, England, 1871-02-02 00:00:00

THE WAR.

THE BATTLE OF BELFORT.
We are indebted to a correspondent of the Times for
the first connected account of the operations of General
Bourbaki's army in eastern France. On the 27th of
December the German commander evacuated Dijon, in
order to draw in his extended line of troops. He marched
to Vesoul in two days, and took up a strong position
there, but was not assailed by the French. After some
minor manoeuvres Von Worrier left Vesoul on the 9th of
January, and marched to Brevilliers before Belfort,
attacking Bourbaki on the way at Villesexel. At
Brevilliers, Von Werder again took up a strong position,
and remained on the defensive. The Times correspondent
continues the narrative :—On the morning of the 15th,
Sunday—these battles are always fought on the Sunday—
General Bourbaki, confident in his great preponderance in
numbers, in his numerous artillery, and mitrailleuses,
attacked the well-chosen position of General von Werder.
The centre of the German line was at lidricourt ;
the right wing at Prahier, under General Graf von
Degenfeld ; the left at Montb6liard under General
von Gliimer ; the south line extending from Mont-
b4liard to Dello, under General Von Debschutz. The
French army consisted of four Army Corps, originally
each of 30,000 men. Probably, making every possible
allowance for losses by killed and en route on the 15th, this
army was something over 100,000 strong. General Cremer
commanded one Army Corps, it is believed the 24th; the
other Army Corps were the 25th, the 20th, the 18th, and
the 15th, whose commanders are not known with cer-
tainty; the last three a part of the divided Lobe
Army. The 24th and 25th were two new
Army Corps formed in Lyons, the base of the
French operations. One of these corps did not
arrive till the Monday evening, the second day of
battle, which brought the force of the French up to about
125,000 to 130,000 men. The whole German army under
General von Werder was certain under 40,000 men. Of
these something over 4,000 consisted of cavalry. So that
in round numbers the French were nearly four to one.
The artillery of the French was superior in number to
that of the Germans, and they had besides at least three
balteries, each consisting of six, of mitrailleuses. The
attack commenced on the Sunday morning, at 8 o'clock,
with artillery, which kept up a continual fire until dusk.
The small arms, which did not come into play until a
couple of hours later, never ceased the whole day, and
at about 4 o'clock the roar of all arms was a fearful
thing to hear. The Germans never receded one single
step from the position they had taken, and, when night
put an end to the conflict, they bivouacked along the
whole line, on the same spot whereon they were attacked
in the morning. There was about 25 degrees of Fahrenheit
under freezing point- The next morning, Monday,
General Bourbaki, having received the reinforcement of
another army corps, repeated his attack, directing it prin-
cipally against the right wing, throwing immense masses of
troops against it, endeavouring vainly to break the German
line. This line once broken, the considerable siege material
before Belfort would have been the spoils of the French,
the investment of Belfort would have been raised, fresh
troops would have reinforced the garrison, and a further
supply of victuals have been thrown into the town. The
army of General von Werder, if not beaten, must have
retired, and the possibility of at once crossing the Rhine
and carrying the war into German territory at Baden
would have remained as the fruits of the success of the
French. On the second day, along the whole line, these
inflexible German troops remained unshaken in
their position. The loss inflicted by their well-
directed fire was immense on the attacking
French, and the loss of the Germans was much
greater than on the first day, when it was only
about 200 to 300. The second day the loss was nearly a
thousand, principally at Chanebier and Champey. The
logs of the French, it is. presumed, was, in killed, wounded
and taken prisoners, not less than 10,000 men. To give
an idea of the waste of ammunition, in one acre of
ground, where there was not a 'Angle man, about a thou-
sand grenades were thrown. Again, the second day,
the German army bivouacked on the ground they
had taken up in the morning. The third day, Tues-
day, the French attack was much fainter, and in
the afternoon they commenced a retreat of their
whole line, and were pursued by the artillery of the
Germans. On the fourth day, Wednesday, General
Debschutz attacked the retreating French, inflicting great
loss, and pursuing them as far as Blamont. From here
he was recalled to resume the siege of Belfort. On Thurs-
day and Friday the French continued their retreat to-
wards Besancon, comparatively unmolested by the Ger-
man army, except by the artillery, who, though in need
of rest, continued their march. For three nights in severe
frost, and a fourth under a complete thaw, they had
bivouacked on the field of battle, they had made efforts
which it may be doubted have never been surpassed, if
equalled, in the long roll of battles.
In another letter dated Rougemont, January 23, the
same writer adds :—The causes of the defeat of this im-
mense army of 130,000 men, with superior artillery and
batteries of the murderous mitrailleuse, are not far to
seek, The horses of the army had had no food for four
days, no food had been distributed to the troops
for three days. Many of the prisoners told me
they had tasted nothing for two days. The
landlord of the house where I had quarters in
Soulnot, a small proprietor, told me that when the
French army passed through, the horses devoured eagerly
the dung-heaps, and the officers fell upon the potatoes
prepared to feed the pigs. The road from Villersexel to
Soulnot, and thence to this place had numbers of dead
horses on the readside, from some of which the flesh on
the back had been taken, no doubt for food. Numbers of
these miserable animals were little better than skeletons
with sharp protruding bones. The whole way
knapsacks, broken chassepots, cartouche - pouches,
caps, cooking utensils, broken swords, and indescribable
refuse were strewed about.

January 24.

In consequence of information received that the French
have entirely abandoned the line of the. Doubs, and that
the French army is in a complete state of dissolution,
flying where they con, cl toutes jambes, the order has been
given to remain here till further orders come from General
von Manteuffel.

The whole number of prisoners taken is from 10,000
to 12,000. A forward movement will probably be made

to-morrow.

M. JULES FAV RE AT VERSAILLES.
A correspondent of the Berlin National Gazette says :
" Immediately after his interview with Count Bismarck,
which lasted five hours and was only over at midnight,
Jules Favre retired to the apartment prepared for
him and worked till three in the morning with his
son-in-law. Meanwhile, a Council of War was held, under
the presidency of the King. The proposals of Favre were
subjected to a close examination. The next day, at half-
past 11, Count Bismarck visited Jules Favre, and stayed
half-an-hour. He was announced by the title of the `German
Imperial Chancellor. ' M. Favre received him with great cour
tesy, saying, ' You do me great honour.' At one o'clock the
Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Republic again called
on Count Bismarck, while a Council of War of a more
diplomatic character was held which lasted for two hours.
At half-past three Favre returned to Paris accompanied
by two gendarmes on horseback. When asked what time
he would dine he answered, smiling, `Thanks, we shall
dine in Paris to-day.' The last time I saw Jules Favre,
was at Ferrieres in September, and I found him much aged.
However, he returned to Paris with a much more satisfied
air than he wore when he arrived at Versailles.
Count Bismarck took leave of him in the most
cordial manner, and shook hands with him several
times. Later on, when the Chancellor took his customary
ride, he appeared to be in better spirits than usual. It is
said that the surrender of Metz to Germany is the chief
point at issue between Favre and the German authorities.
The apartments assigned for the use of M. Jules Favre
during his visit to Versailles were in the Boulevard du
Roi, and the house he was in was that formerly occupied
by the celebrated tragedian Madame Rachel, and later on
by the representative of the Grand Duke of Hesse."