Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-08-31
THE BATTLE OF FORBACH.

The special correspondent of the New
York Times, from Saarbruck, gives the
following account Of the battle of For
bach:
The French had made their stand on
two hills divided by a narrow valley.
and also behind an entrenchment on a
plain extending from the side of these
hills up TO a wood which marked the
lett Of the French position, the right
being equally marked by a wood on top
Of the first mentioned and most inacces-
sible Of two hills. On the second hill, in
the middle Of the position, the French
seem to have suffered more than on
the first. Behind a fragment Of hedge
twenty yards in length. twenty-four
Frenchmen were lying. Some had fired
from behind regular intrenchments,
others from behind little improvised
mounds Of earth, others from behind a
few large stones piled one above the
other. The use of new arms Of preci-
sion has developed in those who employ
them a passionate love of cover. In a
stand-up fight at close quarters, such as
was possible enough in the last century,
the enemy would have very little chance
indeed Of returning it. The most mac
Lcessible Of two hills, the Spicklerberg,
as the Prussians call il, with its natural
Notifications of forests on the right, was
assaulted three times before il was taken.
Two regiments had exhausted them
selves in attacking the position, and had
retired, leaving long lines Of dead and
wounded on the slopes, when the Forti-
eth, the most popular regiment in Saar-
brucken, and n Of the most justly
esteemed, advanced under a croSs-tire of
artillery, and with a heavy musketry
fire falling upon it in front and from
above, rushing up the heights, and ended
by scaling them. This exploit cost the
FOrtieth no less than sixteen officers and
six hundred men. OF the scaling of the
second hill I will say nothing, not know
ing even whether it was scaled ut all
until after the French had been gener-
ally beaten. It was down below, on the
plain extending from the side OF the
second hill to the wood which closed in
the French position on the left, that h
decisive moment was made which ter
minated the action in favor of the Prus-
slams. On this plain, lying down behind
their intrenchment, tho French had an
impreguable position, which the Prus-
slams, after being engaged from soon
after ten in the morning until six in the
afternoon, did not attempt to storm, but
fresh troops were coming up during the
action, and Gen. Zastrow, whose corps
d'armee, or part Of it, was within reach
on the line Of the railway which connects
Saarbrucken with Treves, had been
informed by telegraph OF the state Of
affairs beyond VOlklingen, at a distance
Of eight or nine miles from Saarbrucken.
The ~dispOsable regiments of ZastrOw's
corps, among them the Fifty-Second
and Seventy-Seventh, crossed the Saar,
crossed the lofty range OF hills which
here surmOunt its left, hurried at a run
for two miles and a half, and reaching
the wood which closed in the French
position on the left, entered il, attacking
the French in flank and in rear, and
inficting terrible losses upon them
This decided the day, but the French
still did not retire without making a
most vigorous resistance. What was the
meaning Of this battle, which the Prus-
sian killed and wounded amounted 70
nearly three thousand men, the French
losses being estimated by the Prussians
at nearly double that number? The
Prussian official bulletin simply says:
"The Prussians stOrmed the heights.
attacked the French position every
where, and beat back the enemy toward
Forbach." Bat the French must have
been in retreat before the battle began,
and that, no doubt, will be the French
version OF the affair. Even after their
position had been turned, the French
kept on fighting until late at night, and
by the account Of the PFussians them
selves, made their a~ssailants pay most
dearly for their victory. But the Prus-
SLAMS do not mind paying dearly for vic
tory. They can afford it, and il seems to
be the principle on which they are car
rying IN the war, that the expenditure
Of blood is nothing provided only in the
end they gain the day. As the French
gave way, the victorious Prussians grad
ually made for the high road which leads
to Forbach, and marks Of bullets and
balls on trees which line the road on
each side, and on a few small houses
which had the misfortune to find them
selves placed along the path Of the re-
treat, show h a struggle there must
have been. The last desperate stand
made by the French was at a factory a
few hundred yards on their side Of the
frontier. Here the slaughter was fright
ful, and 1t only ceased with the darkness
of night. The next morning the Prus-
slams pursued the enemy far beyond
Forbach, and up to this time have made
upward Of one thousand eight hundred
prisoners. saw about n hundred Of
them brought in yesterday, including
a colonel, lieutenant colonel, and sew
eral officers. Many were wounded, and
many o f~Oot-sore, while others were
in tOlerably good condition, and did not
seem at all sorry to have been taken.
The bearing Of the prisoners generally
was excellent, necessarily, not naughty,
but thoroughly dignifed all the same.