The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-02 00:00:00

THE RECAPTURE OF ORLEANS.

The official report by General D'Aurelles on the battle
of Coulmiers, which resulted in the recapture of Orleans,
on the 9th and 10th of November, has at length been
published. It is •a remarkably businesslike document,
free from all bombast,—After a Council of War, held' at
Tours towards the end of October, it had been decided,

the General says, to attempt a combined operation for
the occupation of Orleans, to be attacked on the west by the
troops under his orders, and on the east by those under
General des Pallibres, both acting on the right bank
of the Loire. Various circumstances postponed the
execution of the project, but on the 6th instant General
des Pallibres marched from Argent and Aubignyville, by
Gien and-the Forest of Orleans, on the last-named town,
so as to arrive there on the evening of the 10th or Morn-
ing •A the 11th, according to circumstonces. To give him
time, the remainder of the army, under d'Aurelles, did
not move till the Bth, when they took up positions with
the view of attacking the enemy on the following morn-
ing. They commenced at 8. A . portion of General
Peitavin's forces quickly cleared the village of Baccon,
and proceeded to attack that of La Riviere and the
Chateau de la Renardibre, where the Germans were
strongly posted in the houses and in the park. Those
battalions briskly attacked and speedily carried the
position. On the left General Barry's troops marched
against the centre of the enemy's line, but were
checked by a heavy artillery fire, and it was half-past
two o'clock before they reached Coulmiers, where they
found General Peitavin's skirmishers already engaged.
" These skirmishers, whom those of General Barry now
joined, threw themselves at the double, with cries of
Vive la France!' into the gardens and wood to the south
of Coulmiers, and passed through them, in spite of the
furious resistance of the enemy, but could not take the
village. The enemy, who' was there entrenched, and who
had accumulated at that point the greater part of his
forces and of his artillery, made the most strenuous efforts
to maintain himself there in order to cover the retreat of
his left wing, whose situation was rendered dangerous by
our advance. To put an end to this resistance the
General-in-Chief called up General Daries and
the artillery reserve, which, after a heavy can-
nonade of more than half an hour's duration, finally
silenced the enemy's batteries. At that moment
the Sharpshooters supported by some of General
Barry's battalions, led by the General himself, resumed
their forward march, and made their way into the village,
driving out the enemy towards four p.m." There was
some sharp fighting also on General Barry's left, where
Admiral Jaur4guiberry commanded. His troops were for
some time exposed to a heavy converging fire of artillery
from St. Sigismond and G6migny in their front, and also
from Coulmiers, not yet attacked by Barry. A bat-
talion of. the 37th seized the village of Champ, but
was driven out again by heavy artillery fire and by
columns of infantry. The Admiral held his position
till four o'clock, whcn a battery of 12-pounders came
up and overpowered the German guns. Pending
its arrival, the 37th of the Line and the 33rd Mobiles had
suffered heavily. At five o'clock there was a general
advance of Jaureguiberry's troops, and the villages of
Champ and Ormeteau were carried, the French artillery
sending its shells after the retreating Bavarians.
General Reyau, who commanded the cavalry, and whose
instructions were, if possible, to outflank the enemy on
the right, was supported by the Paris Francs-Tireurs under
the Polish Colonel Lipowski. But his cavalry, says the
report, "met with serious resistance, and his artillery
lost many men and horses, expended all its ammunition,
and was obliged to retire." General- d'Aurelles sums up
his report by saying that all the enemy's position were
taken ; that captured Bavarian officers admitted their
losses to be considerable ; that the forces opposed to him
were the Ist Bavarian Army Corps, with Prussian
artillery and cavalry; that the result was the evacua-
tion by the enemy of all the entrenched positions
he held behind La Mauve and in the environs of
Orleans, and his retreat from Orleans on Artenav,
leaving behind him 2,000 prisoners without reckoning
the wounded. The state of the ground, soaked by rain
and snow, rendered pursuit impossible, but a reconnais-
sance pushed as far as St. Peravy led to the capture of
two guns, a convoy of ammunition, and one hundred
prisoners, including five officers. General d'Aurelles
speaks highly of all Isis troops, and particularly praises
the Mobiles, who were for the first time under fire, and
who displayed, he says, dash, steadiness, and solidity. He
estimates the French loss at about 1,500 killed and
wounded, and does not attempt to compute that of the
Germans except as regards prisoners.