The Sun.
London, England, 1870-10-31 00:00:00

THE SORTIE FROM MONT VALERIEN.

The special correspondent of the Standard, writing from
Tours on the 26th, says :—We have received also the
German accounts of the sortie from Mont Valerien, with
which we are perfectly satisfied. The sortie, to begin

with, was only made, according to the account of the
King, by. twelve battalions, and could, therefore, have
only had for its intention to take some position held by
the Prussians, and not to engage the whole force
their army. The.mere fact that the combat lasted forthree hours shews that they were not easily repulse d
The most important item of the King's telegram, 311
which appears conclusive as to the success of the attempts'
is this sentence : All the town of Versailles Ws:
alarmed. All the town of Versailles would usti
have been alarmed unless the sortie had proceede
a very considerable distance. In the last Placei
the official telegram speaks of one hundred prisoners, 11,flii
two cannon taken. It would have been singular enough
if at least 100 wounded men and two cannon, probable
of the main body, which extend,d over a large extent °f
ground. The Gazette de France published a notice
4
previous to the receipt of the German official news' ":
follows :—" We learn at the present moment that 3811
cessful sortie took place last Saturday in the direction of
Bougival, under the protection of the guns of l‘f°nd
Valerien. The enemy was dislodged from Bougival suif
driven back on Versailles, where he established hinis,s.„
behind barricades thrown up. So sharp was the sell.'"
that the troops of St. Germain were called up in all hasj",,e
to the assistance of those of Versailles." The Gazette `;
France does not give its authority for its news, but 01
arrived prior to the German telegrams, and is in no W3c
contradicted by them, it gives in all probability the ret
truth concerning the engagement. For the official account
we shall have to wait for the arrival of the next balloc°
It is evident that up to the present time, so far frol°
gaining ground, the Germans are losing it before Paris;
and if the French have such continued success with
paratively small numbers of troops, what may be expeeted°,l„
them when Trochu is able to act with hundreds of thousahu-
instead of with tens of thousands? One effect of till;
sortie will unquestionably be that a far larger number °
the Prussians than heretofore will have to be kept
stantly upon guard in the trenches, to the injury of tho
health, and to their increasing discontent at the hardships
that they are compelled to undergo to gratify the arabitios
of their leaders.

•
From some cause or other—most probably bad weather--
the balloon post from Paris has entirely ceased since
the 19th.
It is suggested, by more than one English writer tll3
the Germans do not let the whole truth be known re.;
specting the French sorties from Paris. The latter lA'
claim, at least, some partial successes.

The Berlin papers continue to apologise for the long'
continued inaction of the German armies before Paris:
The warmaterialrequired has been greater than was auticli
pated, and the difficulty of transporting it has increaser
in proportion. "After the fall of Toul," says one paper,
" the railway only became available as far as Nantes
near Meaux, owing to the blowing up of a tunnel, asoo
everything had consequently to be conveyed 50 or .„
miles by road, which the scarcity of horses and vehic4
',':
and the destruction of almost all the roads for a vita;
radius round Paris rendered very laborious. The delay
has been solely caused by these difficulties, and not by an/
political considerations."
Amongst the oddities of the war, the NouvelliM (14
Versailles, a daily paper published in French, and c°ll'
ducted under German superintendence, has already beehli,
noticed. It is devoted to vigorously denouncing ,
French, and applauding the German, style of conductit
the war. The Noavelliste refers in the following terres,
the military executions in some districts of France wilicnf
have been spoken of in the newspapers of Tours as acts
4;
Vandalism and savagery. It says :—" One has enlY:a
look into history to recall by a hundred examples hew
with what rigour the French generals have always 9r„
plied in an enemy's country those laws of war which 31:rt
now in France described as des conventions barbares• '"?
will be enough to quote two memorable lines from a letter
of Napoleon L, written on the sth of March, 1813,
Prince Eugbne, who then commanded the French train'
on the Elbe On the slightest insult from a Prtosi°
town or village, burn it, were it Berlin itself.'"