The Sun.
London, England, 1870-09-23 00:00:00

PRUSSIAN OPERATIONS.

A correspondent of the Standard, writing from Havre
on the 21st inst., says:—"The Prussians have so com-
pletely carried out their plan to him Darla in that both
Tours and Rouen are entirely cut off from all communi-
cation witl. the metropolis. It does not appear, how-
ever, that, beyond taking up their positions around the
city, the enemy has trken any steps to attack Lny
one of the forts. and the fighting which has taken place as
yet has consisted of skirmishing between the Francs-
tireurs and isolated bodies. There is indeed a talk of a
portion of the regular force under General Vinoy
had a serious engagement at Wissous, near Dourdan, and
having inflicted serious loss on the enemy, but it lacks c m-
firmation. There is a rumour of a great battle having
been fought at Ville d'Avray, of all the places in the
world, and resulting in the defeat of the Prussians with a
loss of 35,000 men—the French, on the other hand, are
said to have lost only twelve thousand. This
report, which reaches Rouen by way of Le Maas,
appears to me wholly unworthy of credit. In the
first place Ville d'Avray is surrounded on every side by
very dense woods, and there is no place near or abort it
in which an army sufficiently numerous to lose 35,000 men
in a single engagement could possibly deploy. Next,
supposing that the French concealed on the wooded
heights that command the two roads leading from Ver-
sailles to Paris by Sevres, and by Ville d'Avray and St.
Cloud, had attacked the Prussian columns advancing
along these two roads, we must assume that the
Prussians committed the same blunder as the
French at Weissenburg, Spicheren, and Sedan, and
put their necks into a noose without taking the
very simple precaution of having the woods ex-
plored before they advanced. The affair at Wissous
is not improbable ; the victory of Ville d'Avray is
unlikely in the extreme. The Prussians have not as yet
commenced their march on Normandy, though they have
cut off communication by rail and telegraph. They
appear not to have moved down the Seine below Con-
flans, close to the forest of St. Germain, and command-
ing both the Seine and the Oise, a position there-
fore, of the highest strategical importance, which
they have been allowed to occupy without striking a blow.
The forest of St. Germain affords excellent cover for an
army, and as it is intersected by long, stately broad ave-
nues, offers none of those impediments to the march of an
army usually to be found in wooded districts. The town
of St. Germain will probably form the headquarters of
one of the Prussian corps. From the terrace to Mont
Valerien, the distance as the crow flies is between four and
five miles. The Seine winds through the plain between
the two hills, which are connected together by the minor
heights of Celle St. Cloud, Bougival, and Marly-le-Roi.
From St. Germain to Versailles there is a capital road, well
paved in the centre, and kept in a capital state of
repair. With the occupation of Versailles the in-
vestment of Paris is complete. All this region,
however, has been utterly stripped of all supplies ;
and to feed their army the Prussians must send
foraging parties to Chartres and Rouen. All the
railway bridges between Mantes and this place have
been blown up, and the very unnecessary precaution
has been taken to mine the tunnel of Role-
boise. All these precautions are superfluous ; they
cannot delay the Prussian advance more than a
few hours, as there are no bridges on the road visa
the right bank of the river. If, as is highly pro-
bable, the caterers for the Prussian army mean to
come to Rouen, I do not see what there is to prevent
them. The National Guard and the few troops quartered
hero would no doubt do their duty well ; but Rouen is an

open town, and so surrounded with hills on every side,
that a batteryof artillery planted on any one of themconld
utterly paralyse all the efforts of the inhabitants to defend it.
As for the National Guard sallying forthto meet regularly
organised troops in the open, it would be courting certain
defeat, and exposing the town to very unpleasant reprisain.
Havre is very differently circumstanced, and could
hold a large army at bay almost indefinitely. Therefore,
as I do not think it likely that it enters into M. di
Moltke's plan to Spare 40,000 or 50,000 men from the siege
of Paris, I think Havre safe enough. Bat with Rouen
the case is very different, and we may expect thiP thilans
M any time.

FRIENDS ON THE BATTLE FriILD.—I am happy
to say a severe example has just been made
of three Prussians, who came from the town of
Duren. It appears that these three ruffians had
disguised themselves, two as Jobanniber and the
third as a clergyman. On the field of the 18th
they were observed by a Prussian wounded officer to lean
over the bodies of the dead, and to take an unneceseraily
long time over places where no assistance was required.
He watched them carefully, until a sharp cry
of pain left him in no doubt as to their
horrible errand. They leant over a man, who
evidently refused to permit them to take from him the
things so dear to the dying soldier—perhaps the portrait
of his wife and mother—perhaps the few rings that
brought to his memory the faces of his children whom
he was never more to behold. The wounded officer
drew his revolver and hit one of the wretches ;
the report drew the attention of some army policemen,
who, hastening to the spot, secured the three inhuman
brutes. Their knives were red with the blood of their
victims, and I am happy to say the shrift was short and
eummary.—Correspenuleitt of Telegraph before Metz.