The Sun.
London, England, 1870-08-24 00:00:00

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MORNING EDITION.

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 1870.

TWENTY-ONE years ago Mr. COBDEN spoke of
crumpling up Russia like a piece of paper. The
phrase was uttered, evidently on the spur of the
moment, at a public meeting at the London Tavern
in 1849, a meeting expressive of sympathy to the
then struggling Hungarians. It seemed extravagant
at the moment of its utterance. It nevertheless
caught the public fancy, and has since become his-
torical. Five years afterwards, the Russian
autocracy had to do battle single-handed in the
Crimea against the united forces of France and
England aided to a slight extent also by those of
J'urkey and Sardinia. The western allies, even while
marshalling their disciplined troops, together with

the petty contingents of the Moslem and the Italians,
found " foemen worthy of their steel " in the Musco-
vites Mr. COBDEN had so superciliously despised. The
crumpling by of Russia proved no more practicable
to the allies, than it had done two and forty
years previously, when the vastest army of modern
times was led across the Niemen by NAPOLEON the
GREAT. Twenty-one years after Mr. COBDEN had
talked thus extravagantly about crumpling up
Russia, the phrase thus absurdly applied to the
dominions of the Czar, or, in other words, to the
Government of St. Petersburg, proves fright-
fully applicable to France! Within a month,

within less than a month, the Imperial
Constitution is nearly crumpled up like a
piece of paper. Within a month the vaunted force*
of the greatest military nation on the European Con-
tinent—as she has proved herself to be during the
chief put of the century last past—have been shat-
tered to pieces, routed, driven back, trampled down,
have been out-manoeuvred, out-generalled, out-
numbered in a series of desperate struggles
by the armies of the North German Con-
federation. France, so long regarded as all but
invincible—France to conquer whom at the close of
those wars of the First NAPOLEON which it required the
utmost energy of the last of a long series of coali-

tions among the rest of the Great Powers of
Europe to terminate has now been met
in the open field by one of the Great
Powers alone that is, by Germany has
crossed swords with her foe, and has had her sword,
in an incredibly short space of time, shattered
almost down to the hilt, nearly dashed
altogether out of her grasp ! The Grand
Army of the Great Nation having advanced with all
the "pride, pomp, and circumstance" of war to the
northern frontier of the imperial dominions,
threatening thence to advance beyond the Saar to the
banks of the Rhine, and thence onwards still to Berlin,
until the troopers of BOURBAKI should water their
horses in the Spree, while NAPOLEON 111.
was dictating terms to the Prussian Government
Potsdam—that Grand Army that was to do such
wonders, has been driven back by a series of
crushing disasters towards its own capital, instead of
advancing towards the capital of its enemies. It has
with dwindled numbers, been compelled to cross in
rapid succession, not only the Saar, but the Meurthe,
and the Moselle, and the Meuse, and the Aisne, and
the Maine, until the Aube and the Seine are now being
fast approached, and the fortifications of Paris itself

are being " made for " almost " at the double,"
as the last remaining defence left to
the sons of France —to the enfants de la
Patric ! The crumpling up of Russia would
have been far less astonishing than this. Beholding
the fate that is befalling France, beholding the ap-
palling disasters that have struck down so large a pro-
portion of her heroic soldiers, we caimot but regard
the fate of our ally as, in one sense, and a very serious
sense, a calamity to Europe. With it the so-called
Balance of Power has for the time being gone
altogether.

THE escape or retreat of Marshal BAZAINE to Mont-
medy will relieve the French Government from
part of, but by no means all, the anxiety it must have
felt on his behalf. Montmedy is due north of Verdun,
some fifty miles from Metz, situated close to the
Belgian frontier, and away from the scene of action.
It is by no means the place a general would, of his own
will, select for the sphere of his operations. The fact
of BAZAINE'S going there shews that he must have
desperately cut his way at all hazards through the
ranks of his enemies. It shews, also, that he was
not at all satisfied with his position at Metz, as some
of the Paris j )urnals solemnly assured us he was.
After this retreat we shall doubtless hear no more of
the fine theories about BAZAINE remain-
ing at Metz in order to engage STEIN-
METZ and Prince FREDERICK CHARLES, whilst
MACMAHON dealt with the CROWN PRINCE.
Severely crippled by his losses in three great battles,
cut off from reinforcements, shut up in or near a ,
fortress, inadequately provided with the necessaries
required by such an army, the French Marshal knew
that his only hope lay in immediate escape.
We are assured that he has succeeded. What will
he do now that he is fairly landed at Montmedy
He is far away from Chalons, and if he would join
MAcMAHoN, he must make a somewhat lengthy
march across country, in face of a numerous and
swift enemy. Prince FREDERICK CHARLES,
leaving a force to watch Metz, will
of course push forward, and pass through
Verdun, either for the purpose of intervening
between MACMAHON and BA7.AINE, or of uniting
his host with that of the CROWN PRINCE,
and making a combined attack upon the two
French Marshals. Should it prove possible to
catch BAZAINE on the Belgian frontier, no
doubt this course will be adopted. The dispersion
of the late Rhine army would leave France almost
without resources. And the position of the French mar-
shal is dangerous, for it is by no means certain that

he will be able to reach his colleague at
Chalons before Prince FREDERICK CHARLES comes
up. If his retreat has been of a disastrous
hind, the risk of being driven over the Belgian fron-
tier must be very serious. If, however, he succeeds
in joining MAcMAHoN the war will then assume a
simple character—the united French against the
united German host, the latter having much the
advantage in numbers and morale.

WHY HAVE THE FRENCH BEEN
DEFEATED ?

A SHORT question is in every one's mouth. " Why
have the French been defeated?" The answer is
' not to be given in a few words. There are, in fact,
many answers, for it is not only one cause which has
reduced that great military Power to its present
hopeless and terrible condition. The first cause was
a political one. NAPOLEON would not believe the
warning which is said to have been given
him by FRANCIS JOSEPH of Austria, that, it
he persisted in making war after the withdrawal
of PRINCE LEOPOLD of HOHENZOLLERN as a candi-
date for the Spanish Throne, he would find all
Germany united against him. NAPOLEON thought
that the only army he would have to deal with was
the Prussian, and that the only vulnerable part or
France was that narrow line of frontier which lies
between Sierck and Sarrguemines. He thought that
at least Bavaria and Baden would be neutral. He
discovered his error quickly enough. Within
a few hours of his declaring war against Prussia
he found the attitude of the South German
States, including even jealous and anti-Prussian
Wurtemburg, so menacing that it was necessary to
send an ultimatum to the courts of Munich, Carlsruhe,
and Stuttgard. The ultimatum was accepted, and
it was a Wurtemburg contingent which took part in
the great French disasters of Woerth. Since then
the same troops have shelved themselves bravest of
the brave in the conflicts that have strewn Alsace
with slain.

The second cause of the French collapse is the
delay which took place in the movement of the
French army. It is now proved beyond all question
that when war was declared Germany was not nearly
ready. The EMPEROR had chosen his own time. His
trusted counsellor, M. ROULIER, had declared that
all was ready. The statement was confirmed by the
Minister of War, Marshal LEBCEUF. Yet day after
day the French force paused on the frontier, divided
into separate corps, well arranged if an attack was
intended, fatally arranged if an attack was to be
sustained. Day atter day the EMPEROR lingered at
Paris; and even when he joined the army no movement
was effected, until, the Parisians growing impatient,
the theatrical battle of barrebriick was fought, and
fifteen days after war had been declared, the whole
French army performed the wonderful feat of driv-
ing out a few hundred Prussians from an open town.
It was the first French victory. It was destined to
be the last. It is now stated that if the French had
pushed on towards Mayence, the German army was
in no condition to prevent them ; and thus even if
the French had had to fall back again
afterwards, the inestimable advantage would
• have been eecured of carrying on the war
in the Quemy's -country, Gad inflicting
upon the Prussian population all the loss and the
misery which have had to be borne by the inhabi-
tants of Alsace and Lorraine. We have already in-
dicated the third cause, the separation of the French
corps d'arma. This arrangement would have
enabled the French to enter Germany at several
points simultaneously. But when it becanw no
longer a question of the French entering Germany,
but of the Germans entering France, the disposition
was fatal. It allowed the Germans to mass any num-
ber of troops against either of the French armies, and
beat them in detail. This they would probably have
succeeded in doing if their force had been only
equal to the French; but the fortnight's delay bad
enabled them to bring up forces far superior in
numbers.

Even if all these circumstances had not been
against the French, there were others which could
scarcely have proved otherwise than fatal to them.
In the first place they had no proper commander.
NAPOLEON, an invalid, scarcely able to mount a
horse, requiring the constant attendance of
surgeons, and travelling with such an enormous
quantity of baggage that when he fled from Metz to
Verdun it took 30 waggons to carry all his impedi-
menta, was not the man to direct such a war as this.
As for LEI3CEUF, he rightly deserves the degrading
epithet of cochon, which the soldiers at Chalons
hurled against his master. He had promised to
place 400,000 soldiers upon the Rhine in 48 hours;

and at the end of the first fortnight he had not
placed more than 250,000 —infantry, cavalry, and
artillery all told. Regiments supposed to be at the
seat of war were not even in France. From
first to last there was no attempt to obtain tidings of
the enemy's movements. The Germans knew accu-

rately everything that was going on in the French
camp ; the French did not know what was going
on even in their own. The maps which they carried
were imperfect, and in one case a general was met

Marching in the very opposite direction to that which
he intended. The delay in crossing the Rhine was
repeated with disastrous effect in crossing the Moselle.
Marshal BAZAINE, after the disasters of Woerth and
Forbach, should have fallen back immediately upon
Chalons. Instead of doing this he allowed two
German armies under Prince FREDERICK CHARLES
and General STEINMETZ to harass his dispirited
troops by repeated engagements, in which they lost
15,000 killed, and 35,000 wounded and prisoners, and

in which they were at last completely surrounded,
hemmed in, driven back upon Metz, and thus
lost to the defence of France. At the same
time the French allowed the CROWN PRINCE,

maarching on th© flank of BAZAINE'S
army, to approach Chalons, where there

was only a force totally incompetent to deal with
him in point of numbers and dangerously disaffected.

One more cause of failure remains to be noted. It

is perhaps the most startling of all, and it will ex.

plain some of the others. We refer to the utter
failure of the intendance system. Marshal LEIKE UF

assured the EmpEnou that the magazines were never

so full. As a matter of fact some were only half
full, some were empty, and some existed only
on paper. Nevertheless the money for supplying
them had been drawn and had gone into the pookets

of sundry officials. One magazine, which had been
debited with a million of francs for biscuits, was
found not to have a single barrel. Corruption, as
deadly as that which prevailed in Austria before the

overthrow of Sadowa, had been eating into the vitals
of France. The people were bearing the burden of

a huge standing army, which, when it came to be
sent into the field, was found to be destitute alike of

supplies and leaders. Never did troops fight more

heroically.

But what can an army of heroes

do without food, without ammunition, and without

generals ?

Too late the French are beginning to' learn the
fons et °rig° of all this misfortune. They have sub-
mitted to be governed instead of governing them-

selves. The ablest men of France warned their country-

men against personal government, but the voices of

FAVRE, THIERS, SIMON, PICARD, and GAMBETTA, were

powerless against the votes of more than seven million
of Frenchmen. By the Plebiscite the Emperor skewed
himself to be an Emperor of peasants; and even now
the unhappy villagers of Alsace and Lorraine are ask-
ing themselves whether it was for this—whether it

was in order to be driven from their homes, or to be
mown down in the battle-field, that they voted
" Oui" on the Bth of May. M. ABOUT, an eye-wit-
ness of the utter collapse of Imperialism has described
it in words of biting sarcasm. The Paris correspondent
of the Independanee Beige has drawn the moral in
words profoundly mournful. " 100 many faults
have been committed during the year just gone by
for us to be able to retrieve them in a few days.
We are undergoing the punishment of our past
thoughtlessness. Deprived of our rights, we hare
forgotten our duty. And now, what an awakening ! "
Western Morning News.