The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-22 00:00:00

THE WAR.

THE SIEGE OF PARIS.

NOW AND THEN.

" How different," writes Herr' Wachenhusen to the
Colagne Gazette, "it is now with our outposts from
what it was in the beginning of the siege ; then
it was still summer, the lark sang high above the fields,
and the little birds looked down in mute surprise from
the trees upon the busy men beneath, who with axe and
saw were cutting down all the beautiful shade-giving
stems in the branches of which they had been wont to
send forth their melodious strains. What has become of
those glorious parks? Where are the trellised vines, the
flower-borders, and the scented nosegays? Where the
graceful pavilions, the statues and vases, the orangeries,
fountains, and kiosks ? Whole rows of gabions, heaps of
fascines and palisades cover the sward. Where once the
spray from the fountain besprinkled "the green carpet,
whose shady avenues of roses and jasmines intermingled,
all along which joyous men and women wandered, there
stand now abattis on abattis, forming a perfect
labyrinth out of which the most careful are
scarcely able to find an outlet. Where formerly
happy shouts and laughter were heard from those
at play, a hoarse call from beneath a Pickelhauber
is now heard, and the point of a bayonet is thrust in one's
face; the palaces are desolated, the graceful domes and
roofs are shattered by grenades, the Chinese pavilions
have been converted into stables, the costly mirrors are
broken, the most beautiful articles of furniture have
gone piecemeal into the grates, or have been used for the
construction of barrfcades. Where is the lustre and pomp
of the rich, for the sake of which they have so often
trembled on 'change, and to preserve which they have
passed so many sleepless nights ? Where is the cabin
constructed with so much labour by the poor man ? The
war has devoured it all, and God himself is no longer safe
in His own house."

THE CAMPAIGN ON THE LOIRE.

THE GERMAN MOVEMENTS

The Versailles correspondent of the Cologne Gazette
writes :—" In the Loire districts our nets are being spread
out further and further, and after the occupation of Blois,
Tours, once the seat of Government, is now completely
undefended, and, as it were, offered to our troops if they
choose to take it. It is possible that an advance will
then be made direct upon Bordeau.x. It is also on
the cards that the direction of Bourges and Nevers will
be taken. At all events there is no longer any
thought of a firm stand being made by the French
hosts. The 9th Corps, it appears, after its occupation of
Blois, has continued its march upon Tours by various
roads, and yesterday evening already the report reached
here that on the other side of Blois the important
terminations of the wood of Remboise Montrichard
in the south, and Remboise in the north, have been occu-
pied by them. At the same time the cavalry division of
Prince Albrecht, which had already a few days ago taken
possession of the important railway junction of Viron,
must have spread itself out, as the occupation of the not
wholly unimportant town of Romorantin, situated about
midway between Blois and Bourges, is likewise reported.
The 3rd Corps, too, which must be considerably beyond
Blire, on the Loire, will doubtless have reached the
neighbourhood of Bourges, that important artillery depot
of France, so that we may sooner or later hear of more
important operations in that quarter. In the meantime
those portions of the Army of the Loire and the Western
Army which held themselves with such determination in
the presence of Gambetta and of General Chanzy
between Beaugency and the forest of Marchenoir, from
the 7th to the 10th December, will find their line of
retreat, either to Tours or direct westward, seriously
threatened, in consequence of the occupation of Blois and
the advance of the 9th Corps along the opposite bank of
the Loire.

THE LATE MANOEUVRING ON THE LOIRE
Some light is thrown upon the mysterious operations of
the French during the last few days by a correspondent
who writes to the Times from Oneques, December 14th.
He has the following observations :—Great is the mys-
tery of war. We left Orleans to go to Tours, and we
seem to be on the straight road to Paris.. On the 9th of
last month the small Bavarian force under the command
of General von der Tann, after making a gallant stand at'
Coulmiers, was obliged to retreat before the French army of
the Loire. Five weeks afterwards, after marching inces-
santly, and fighting eight battles, we find ourselves in sight
of the wood behind which the battle of the 9th was
fought, with the self-same army before us in a stronger
position than it has ever been in before. Ido not know
that it was possible to avoid this, or that the German
strategy has not been as perfect lately as it proved
itself at the earlier stages of the war. Possibly,
the tactics of the enemy have improved, but the
task of preventing a French army from reaching
Paris from some quarter or another is evidently not an
easy one. We have so much to do. There is Tours to
take, the South of France to invade, the Army of the
Loire to beat, innumerable lines of communication to
keep up, and a vast extent of territory to oc-
cupy, while the greater portion of the army is
held firmly round the forts of Paris ; whereas the
energies of the French need only be directed to the
one point of raising the siege of Paris. They have
made up their minds to sacrifice everything to this one
end, and they seem to have intrusted the task to a
General not altogether unworthy of the confidence which
has been reposed in him. After holding us in check for
four days in Meung, he disappears mysteriously into the
woody country which lies in his rear. He abandons a
strong position, but we find it is only to take up a stronger
one directly on the road to Paris, and from which he can
receive reinforcements from the west. Still he does not
do this without considerable loss. Hitherto the roads by
which his army has retreated have been as devoid of any
traces of an army in retreat as any turnpike road
in England; but to-day it has been different. Numerous
broken-down waggons, chassepots scattered profusely by
the roadside, and knapsacks partially emptied of their
contents, attest the fact of a certain amount of hurry and
confusion; but the most significant sign of all was a
column of prisoners which we met on our road to this
place. The Army of the Loire is now' on the high road to
Paris,by way of Chateaudun, with no German army any
longer between it and the one which is investing the capi-
tal, but with an army of inferior force behind it. It
has, moreover, its western communications open, so that
it can receive reinforcements from the side of Le Mans,
and we have reason to believe that its advanced guard is
at Chateaudun. The quantities of prisoners which it
leaves behind is a bad sign of its morale, but it may be
that those who remain are gainers by the departure of
men who can be no great source of strength to the army.
We know from the experience of the last fortnight
that it can fight tolerably well. The question now,
is, can it reach Paris before we can overtake it, and
hold us in check while it co-operates with a sortie from
that city ?