The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-30 00:00:00

the English Staff, the positions occupied by the Tarta

army.

" In advance of our bivouacs of Chang-Kia-Wang, we
had, at about three miles distant, the large town of Tong-
Tchou (with a population of 400,000 souls) which is united
to Pekin by a granite road, the work of former dynasties,
seven miles and a-half in length. This road crosses, at
the village of Palikiao, and by a large stone bridge, the
canal which unites the Pei-Ho to Pekin. We resolved to
pay no attention to Tong-'Thou, where there was no longer
a single soldier, but to advance on this bridge, the front
and rear of which we knew were occupied by the camps of
the Sen-Wang. The French army was to march directly
on the bridge, while the English, deploying on its left,
would seek a passage nearer Pekin.

"At half-past five in the morning of the 21st I passed in
advance of the English army, where my line of march called
me, and left my baggage under the protection of two com-
panies of infantry in a village situated at a league in ad-
vance of Chan-Kia-Wang. I afterwards advanced to
about three kilometres (nearly two miles) from Palikiao,
and we there met the first Tartar vedettes. I then made
the following arrangements

" A small column as an advanced guard, consisting of a
company of engineers, two companies of riflemen, a detach-
ment of pontooners, a battery of 4, and two platoons of
horse artillery, received the order to go in advance under
the command of General Collineau. General Jamin, with
the rest of the battalion of riflemen, with rocket-men, the
battery of 12, and the 101st Reginient of the line, followed
the movement. 'The advance guard was soon checked by
large masses of cavalry, which outflanked its left, to which
point the English army had not yet arrived. General Col-
lineau stopped, and placed his guns in battery. I made
ready to support him with the rest of my troops, when a
fire of artillery, well sustained, was opened all at once on
my right. My chief of the general staff, Colonel Schmitz,
went forward in the direction of the enemy's cannon, and
afterwards returned to report to me that the point from
which the firing was made appeared to be the centre of
their first line of defence. This superior officer did not
hesitate to designate that point as indicating the veritable
position of the bridge, which was hidden from us for some
time after by groups of houses surrounded by trees, and by
large masses of men. I ordered General Jamin to cause
the battalion of riflemen, the rocketmen, and the battery of
12 to deploy to the right, and to advance as rapidly as pos-
sible the battalions of the 101st to form our right.
"This movement left between the little corps of General
Collineau and my own a space which A was of urgent im-
portance to fill up. I sent Chef d'escadron Campenon, of
the Staff, with the order to those troops to fall back on us ;
but the order could not be executed before the entries:tee, in
line, of the English army, for, at that moment, the enemy's
cavalry outflanked our two wings.
" The Sen-Wang cleverly availed himself of these cir-
cumstances to charge on mass*, enclosing us on all sides. In
the centre, the charge, repeated several times with savage
cries, was repulsed by the rocket brigade, the battery of 12,
and the Foot Chasseurs. On the left it was arrested by the
small handful of men xnder General Collineau, by the
accurate fire of Jamin's battery, and by the English cavalry
which was then debouching on the field of battle. The
Tartar cavalry failed equally on our right, where they were
received by the 101st of the Line, disposed with great skill
and coolness by its commander, Colonel Pouget.
" As on the 18th, our troops came out victorious from this
circle of cavalry. These charges having been repulsed, the
position of my left, where the English army has just
deployed, caused me no more uneasiness. I was able to
bring up General Collineau's small corps nearer to me, and
I ordered him, by wheeling to the right, to turn the village
of Palikiao, going along the banks of the canal, whilst
General Jamin attacked in front, marching straight on the
bridge. The village thus attacked with the utmost vigour
was defended foot after foot by the Chinese infantry. It is
hardly possible to explain, except by the inferiority of the
Chinese aims, the very slight loss we experienced from an
enemy so numerous and so obstinate. But the taking of the
village was not to terminate the struggle ; for while General
Collineau, having arrived at the edge of the canal, came in
sight of the bridge of Palikiao and plied it obliquely with
his artillery, I ordered Colonel de Bentzmann to send for-
ward the rocket-brigade and the battery of 12, to enfilade
the bridge and fire on the pieces which defended it. Our
infantry, advancing from house to house, succeeded in
gaining those on the side of the canal, and which covered all
the approaches with their fire.
" At that moment the bridge of Palikiao offered a spec-
tacle which was certainly one of the most remarkable episodes
of the day.
" All the horsemen who were so ardent in the morning
had disappeared. On the roadway of the bridge, the latter
a splendid monument of an ancient civilisation, foot sol-
diers, richly clad, waved standards, and responded, with-
out anything to protect them, by a fire, which, however,
was powerless to that of our guns and our musketry.
These men were the elite of ' the army, and were devoting
themselves to cover a precipitate retreat.

" In half an hour the concentrated fire of our batteries
silenced the cannon of the enemy. General Collineau,
joining to his advanced guard Captain de Moncet's com-
pany of the 101st, crossed the bridge. He advanced on
the right of the road to Pekin, and I followed with the
rest of my troops. It was now noon, and since 7 o'clock
in the morning we had not ceased fighting: but a. the
enemy now disappeared in a state of complete disorganisa-
tion, leaving the field of battle covered with dead, I ordered
a halt, and after two hours' repose my troops were esta-
blished in the camps and tents of the soldiers of the Sen.
Wang, about 7i miles from Pekin.

" In the combats of the 18th and 21st the allied armies
took 100 pieces of cannon.
"In terminating this report, I feel, M. le Marechal, that
the pen is powerless to give a correct idea of what is pass-
ing around us.
" The enemy surrounded us further than we could see;
and the reports of the prisoners and spies, received after
my first despatch, varied—not to speak of the moat exag-
gerated—in estimating the Chinese forces at from 40,000 to
60,000 men.
"All this is so strange, that, in order to explain our suc-
cess, we must go far back in the past, and call to mind the
constant victories of a few handfuls of Roman soldiers over
barbarian hordes.

" I cannot accord new eilogiums to the troops which I
command. I beg your Excellency to call down on all the
kindness of the Emperor and the interest of the country. I
annex hereto the general order No 95, and a return of the
killed and wounded. Accept, &e.,

"DE MONTAUBAN."

The General Order referred to is thus worded :

" Soldiers of the Expeditionary Corps—The engagement
of the 21st August opened our way to the Pei-ho, that of
the 21st September brings us within three leagues of Pekin,
into the very midst of the Tartar camp.
" These immense successes are owing solely to devoted-
ness of your chiefs, and to your own courage.
" The masses of the enemy which rushed on you during
the last few days nover shook you for a single moment.
" You may yet have further trials to pass through, but
you will triumph over all perils, for you are brave and dis-
ciplined in battle." _ _

The General then mentions the names of the
officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates who
most distinguished themselves in the action, among
whom Generals Jamin and Collineau stand first.
The list of casualties contains only 3 killed and 17
wounded.