Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-08-28
FORBACH.
A Detailed Account of the First Prus.
. sian Victory.

A Detailed Account of the First PruS.
sian Victory.
A special correspondent of the New
York Times, dating from Saarbrucken, the
Sth, gives the following account of the bat
tie of Forbach:
The French had made a stand on two
hills, divided by a narrow valley, and also
behind an intrenchment on plain extend
ing from the side of the second of these
hills up to a wood, which marked the left
of the French position, the right being
equally marked by a wood on the top of
the first mentioned and most inaccessible of
the two hills. On the second hill, in the
middle position, the French seem to have
suffered more than on the first Behind a
fragment of a hedge twenty yards long
twenty-four Frenchmen were lying. Some
had fired from behind regular intrench-
mants, others from behind little, impro-
vised mounds of earth, others from behind
a few logs and stones piled one above
another. - L ....
The use of new arms of precision has
developed in those who employ them a
passionate love of cover. In stand up
fight in close quarters, such as was pos
sible enough in the last century, troops
who did stand up to receive the fire of the
enemy would have very little chance of re-
turning it now. The most inaccessible of
the two hills, the Spickleiburg, as the Ger
mans call it, with fertilization of forests
on the right was assaulted three times be-
fore it was taken. OF the scaling of the
second day I say nothing, not knowing
whether it was scaled at all until the
French had been generally beaten. 1t 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 the decisive movement was made
which terminated the action in favor
of the PrussiRns. On this plain,
lying down behind their entrenchments,
the French had an impregnable
position, which the Prussians, after being
engaged from soon after ten in the morn
ing until six in the evening, didn't attempt
to storm but fresh troops we're coming up
during the action, and Gen. Zastraw,
whose corps darmee, or part of it, was
within reach on the line of the railroad
which connects SaArbrucken with Treges,
had been informed by telegraph of the
state Of affairs, beyond Volklingen, at a
distance of eight or nine miles from Saar-
| brucken. The regiments of Zastraw corps,
among them the fifty-second and seventy
| third crossed the Saar and the lofty range
of hills, and hurried on at a run for two
and half miles, and, reaching the wood
which closed in the French position on the
left, entered, attacking the French on the
| flank and in the rear, inhicting terrible
losses upon them This decided the day,
| but the French still didn't retire without
making the most vigorous resistance.
What was the meaning of the battle in
which the Prussian killed aud wounded
amounted to nearly three thousand men !?
| The French losses were estimated by the
Prussians at nesrly double that. The Prus-
sian official bulletin says simply that the
Prussians stormed the heights, attacked
the French position and everywhere beat
back the enemy toward Forbsch; but the
French must have been in retreat before
the battle begun, and that, no doubt, will
be the French verson of the affair. Even
| after their position had been turned the
French kept on fighting until late at night,
and, by account of the PrussiRns them
selves, made their assailants pay most
| dearly for victory. As the French gave
way the victorious Prussians gradually
made for the highroad which leads to For
| bach, and the marks of bullets and balls on
the trees which line the road on each side,
and on few small houses which had the
misfortune to be placed along the path Of
retreat, show that the struggle must have
been terrible. The last desperate stand
| made by the French was at q factory few
hundred yards on their side of the frontier.
Here the slaughter was trightful, and il
only ceased with darkness. The next
morning the Prussians pursued the enemy
far beyond Forbach, and up to this time
have made upward of 1900 prisoners.
saw about 100 of them brought in yester.
day, including a Colonel and Lieutenai
! Colonel and several officers. Many were
wounded, many more foot sore, while
others came in in tolerably good condi,
ton, and did not seem at all sorry to have
been taken. The bearing Of the prisoner
generally WAS excellent, necessarily no
naughty but digni6ed, all the same.