The Sun.
London, England, 1870-08-23 00:00:00

LAST WEEK'S BATTLES.

In a summary review of the events of last week, the
Berlin correspondent of the Times observes :—" The three
more victories achieved within the last six days will per-
haps be included by history in the one comprehensive name
of the battle of Metz. Not only are Pange, Mars- a-
Tour, and Rezonville, the three villages at which these
successive engagements were fought within a .ew leagues
of each other, but the objecl62f the struggle was the
same on each occasion. The }-I'.enoh fought to make good
their retreat to Chalons ; the Germans to prevent it. The
French armies, having been repeatedly defeated in their
eastern provinces, had fallen back upon Metz, whither they
hoped to draw their reserves from Chalons and some oiher
places not yet invaded by the enemy. Owing, however, to the
Germans following close to their heels, there remained no
time to bring up the reserves. Accordingly, the main body oi
the French, if they would avoid being taken prisoners at
Metz, were obliged to continue their retreat westwards,
and themselves join those reinforcements which had found
it impossible to join them. But thnermans were again
too quick for them. On the 14th the first or northern-
most army of Germany appeared before Metz. Being
at the outset of the campaign placed further vtest than
the two other armies under the command of King
William, it had all along been a little in advance of them
in their united march into the interior. It was now just
in time to prevent the departure of the enemy, and hold
him fast till the arrival of aid from the two other armies.
This was effected at the fight at Pange on the 14th inst.
General Steinmetz, who commanded the German
forces in this engagement, caught the French still
on the right bank of the Moselle, and though fir
too weak to prevent their departure, delayed it for a
whole day, with considerable loss on both sides. On the
15th Marshal Bazaine left Metz for Chalons. In the
meantime the second and Much more numerous army,
under Prince Frederick Charles, crossed the Moselle at
Pont-a-Mousson, south of Metz, and, marching almost
due north on the other side of the river, thrust itself
between Metz and Verdun, or, in other words, occu-
pied the road which the retreating French had to
tread in order to reach Chalons. On the 16th the collision
occurred at Mars-la-Tour, the French coming upon the
Germans who stopped their way. It was the second act
of the fragmentary battle of Metz. Even more decisive
than the first, it resulted in the French being nailed
to the spot, and driven back in the direction of the
fortress they had just quitted. But it was all-
important for the French Commander-in-Chief to effect
the contemplated junction with his reserves, and so he
made another attempt to cut his way westwards. On the
morning of the 18th the conflict was resumed near Rezon-
ville, about 15 miles nearer Metz than Mars-la-Tour, and
here the French were utterly routed. After a long
and sanguinary struggle in which some of their corps
were completely shattered, the rest were driven
back to Metz, cut off from their connexion with
Paris, and obliged to abandon all idea of E ffecting
passage in that direction. After this the French army is
split up into two divisions, the one enclosed in Metz, the
other less numerous one waiting at Chalons the arrival of
the enemy's hosts, whom it cannot hope to withstand.
Already the Germans are fast approaching the famous
camp. While Prince Frederick Charles, and it seems
General Steinmetz also, are still before Metz, to compel
the inevitable surrender of the garrison, new much too
large for the casemates and provisions of the place, the
Crown Prince, with the third or southernmost army, is
pushing on by way of Nancy, Toul, Commercy, and
Bar-le-Duc, and will reach Chalons in a few days.
Before he gets there, a portion of the troops still oppo-
site Metz will probably likewise proceed west, and making
for Chalons by the more direct road of Verdun and
St. Menehould, reinforce the Crown Prince in time ::or
the grand finale to come off in the ancient battlegrcund o
the Catalaunian fields. All the three actions at range
Mars-la-Tour, and Rezonville were hotly contested. The
first, at Pange, lasted from two o'clock p.m. to nine
o'clock p.m. The ,Germans, who could bring ealy
their foremost troops into the field, were considerably
outnumbered by the French, yet attacked and laid
hold of them with that resolute gallantry which has
distinguished their conduct throughout the campaign.
The fight of the 10th at Mars-la-Tour lasted twelvg hours.
Here likewise the Germans were numerically very much
inferior to their adversaries. If two days previously the
van of General Steinmetz was ordered to delay the begin-
ning of the retrograde movement of the enemy, a similar
task was allotted to the van of Prince Frederick Charles,
on the 16th, when the march of the French hadlito be
[stopped until more troops had time to come up and
finish them. By the 18th the Germans were assembled in.
force, when the third battle, that of Rezonville, ensued.
It occupied nine hours of bloody strife. In it the Germans
probably were as strong as the French, or perhaps
stronger, as the fact of the King's taking the command
seems to indicate a previous reunion of the First and
second Armies.

THE PRINCESS Ro . YAL —Her Royal Highness the
Crown Princess of Prussia has come to the assistance of
the wives and families of those who are now obliged to
serve in the army, with the generosity and practical tact
she always shews when fa good wor.k. is to be done. She
has given orders that twenty families shall be furnished
four times a week with good soup and meat from the kit-
chen of her farm at Bornstadt. For those who have lately
become mothers a special diet is furnished from the
kitchen of the New Palace. Her Royal Highness satisfies
herself by personal inspection that her orders are properly
carried out.

THE. COLLIERY EXPLOSION NEAR WIGAN.—The
inquiry into the calamitous plosion at Brynn Hall, near
Wigan, was opened on MoneTty. No evidence was taken,
and after some discussion as to the composition of the
jury, the inquiry was adjourned. Another of the injured
men recovered from the pit has died, making in all
nineteen deaths from the explosion. Mr. William
Rickard, miners' agent, has received from Mr. John Lan-
caster, one of the members for the borough of Wigan, and
director of the Wigan Coal and Iron Company, a cheque
forSloo, to employed in the relief of the distress which
the accident has caused..