The Sun.
London, England, 1870-08-12 00:00:00

THE BATTLE FIELD OF FORBACh.

The special correspondent of the Telcyraph visited the
field of Forbach, or Saarbruck, as it is sometimes caged.
He relates his impressions :—Until I reached the base
of the heights upon which the French had taken up their
position, I had no idea of the steepness of the ascent;
and, had I been asked if any infantry in the
world could storm those heights under the
fire of a force posted upon its advantageous
ridges, I should have scoffed at the idea as utterly absurd..
Nevertheless, the battalions of Germany accomplished
what must ever remain a wonder to their brothers in
arms. The ascent to the Alma was a farce to this
position, as an old Crimean officer and I both
agreed. The French had three lines of defence,
one above the other, each one of which was more
formidable than the one already vacated ; their flanks
were protected by thick woods, and an open country for
them to retreat to in the rear. Everything was in their
favour, but notwithstanding this, the Prussians gained a
moat decisive victory, for at sunrise this morning there
was not a French soldier within miles of the Forbaoh
heights. I ascended from the plateau exactly in the
centre of the Prussian attack ; the hill is covered
with brushwood, and rises to a height of some 800 feet
above the plain below. As I passed on my way the Prus-
sians wore burying their dead, and I stood by and listened
to the simple funeral service that was pronounced over
the bodies of a lieutenant and sergeant of the 89th
Regiment, who were buried where they fell, in one
grave. As the bodies, rolled in their cloaks, were
lowered, an audible sob by my side made me turn round.
I found that it came from a fine, handsome-looking fellow,
who apologised to me for his manly grief by saying, " Ah,
sir ; I can't help it ; he was the kindest friend and the
best lieutenant in the regiment." Proceeding up the hill
I found the Prussians lying thick, whilst every here and there
the grey coat and red trousers of the, 24th French in-
fantry appeared. On the top of the first ridge there
were little heaps of French and Prussians mixed, whilst
on the second ridge the French uniforms lay thickest.
Upon reaching the brow of the hill a heart-rending sight•
met my eye. It had evidently been the last stand of the
24th ; for their uniforms, mingled with the Prussians,
lay to the number of seventy-five in a very small
space. Facing the road, with a smile on his face,
lay the major of the French regiment. In one hand
he clasped a sergeant's hand, and in the other a lock of
hair wrapped in a bit of paper. Both the sergeant and
he lAA have been shot at the seine time. The woods to
the left were, as I anticipated, filled with wounded,
whose piteous cries wore heart-rending to hear. On the
crest of the hill the Prussian uniforms lay very thick.
I counted more than 150 to about 30 of the French. This
was the hard-fought-for point, and where all the slaughter
took place—l say advisedly, slaughter, for it was nahing
less. The unfortunate men were still being carried into
Saarbrucken at twelve o'clock to-day ; I leave you to
imagine theiNsufferings all night long without a drop of
water. All branches of the service seemed to have suf-
fered ; for I picked up a lancet and some surgical instru-
ments close to the body of a doctor, who had evidently
been shot whilst employed in attending to a wounded man.
Here I saw a French soldier of the line, his face still
bearing a stern, determined look upon it, even in death,
while close by his side lay the protector of his Fatherland,
with his face to the enemy and his helmet in his hand.
The gallant behaviour of the Prussian troops is
beyond all question; and after they have taken such a
position, defended as it was with the greatest gallantry,
France will have enough to do to keep them out of Paris.
The Prussian loss in killed and wounded is about 2,700;
the French must have lost also very heavily, but not
nearly so many as the Prussians. Their victory
—for a victory it was—cost them dear, and the battle
of Saarbrucken has quite eclipsed that of IConig-
gratz. Late last evening the 13th division of the 7th
Army Corps took the French town cf Forbach, and the
advanced posts of the Prussian army are almost in sight
of Metz. The Crown Prince also sent a telegram late
last night to say that he had driven back Marshal
MacMahon, so that the French are retiring in every
direction, and in the present state of things I
do not see what is to prevent the Prussians
from being very soon on their road to Paris. The
3rd, the 7th, and Bth Army Corps have now formed
a junction, and their outposts are already a long way
over the French frontier. The regiments that suffered
most in the sanguinary conflicts of yesterday were the
3itth, the 40th, and the 12th Regiments ; the 39th had
only forty men left in one company, and no officers. If
you consider that their companies are 200 strong, instead
of 100, you will understand the loss of life is fearful. The
Prussians also lost a general, whose name I could not
catch. The way in which the people of Saarbrucken
have behaved to the wounded will ever be
remembered as one of the great features of
this struggle for Fatherland. The women were abso-
lutely running about on the field of battle giving drink to
the wounded, and every house in the town at once turned
its& into a hooltal. Oman sada, _with wit() aiid

eatables, lined the road to rorbach, and all possible means
to alleviate suffering were employed. The wounds were
almost all Chassepot bullet wounds, and are much less
dangerous and ugly than those made by the larger Prus-
sian bullet. Most of the wounds from the Chassepot are
in the head and feet, while those from the needle-gun are
in the body.