The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1870-10-20
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. METZ

NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. METZ
Rf;:: 80 Z: kes:!Ias r.: 8;
0f The fFeoehtTheirT Temporary See.
eess-AFFival 81 the Prnssian Rein
zaine'. Array RspaIsea s.d Drise',
a s:sS 80 s3aeE.' Oh '.e
From the New York Herald.l
LONDON, Oct. Is, 1870.
A letter dated at Mezieres-les-Metz on: the
9TH inst, from correspondent. says:
To-day battle was the most iRaR0Ffant
. s i.ase sss sowslsslsEl.IX& n,
and earthworks around the fortress. He
had at least fifty thousand men engaged.
The Russians were considerably more nav
merous. !
THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM. IL
The morning was dull and misty, and Us /
reached the eminence at Polk l could bataly
see Mont y. QuestiA absAs ,thc., feg u the
valley. the SIMS r. VI stitching upon itswarm
gray back. 1t seems as if general armistice
had been declared, for even the forepost fire
had dropped. o.
POSITIONS OF THE GERMANS. tr
In the bOmlardment Of the two previous
days the position occupied by the batteries Of
German heavy guns was at Frenecourt, near
the commencement Of the rise Of the hills, At
some distance to the southwest of MezidcA
To speak te,Ipfciscy, they xereaa@d, he'd
in the low heights Of Lehorimcnt, on The
rising ground, bcypa which stands an OBJ
servatory, which commands the whole plain.
Maranagc, the headquarters Of the Prlissian
Third Army corps. is considerably in the
rear Of this position. These heavy guns, Gu
riously enough, belong To the State Of Hesse
Darms,adt. Bat the Pr,issians pushed their
batteries considerably beyond Frenecalrt.
They had six field batteries midway between
it and Semecourt, and on the 9Th they lad
passcd forward seventh battey Is FAT as
Semecuurt itself -..,g ... -,
THE FRENCH FORCED To EVACuATE A
.:. -.... ..... VILLAGE. Do. ,-,s .,.... g.
From the several positions tho boml,arl-
ment of Fort Steloy had been going forward,
and also 4 shell fire into the village of La
dOuchamlS, some little distance neaNr Metz
than Strcmy, on the line of railway. Till
lately this village had leen reckOned nclltral
territory, but on the I'd Of Oc;oberthe French
had seized it and established 4 battery in
front Of it. The village itself was burned
the same night by Prussian shells; hut still
the French retained the position, and the
Prussian fire for the last few days had been
partly directed to the dislOdgnent of the
enemy from position which was important,
as the occupation of it could enfilade the
whole front across the valley. On the 9th,
nearly thousand shells had been thrown
into Ladouchamps and the neighborhood,
and late in the evening the French had
evacuated the shattered fragments of once
smiling village.
PRUssIAN OCCUPATION OF THE POSITION.
The PrIssians at once threw forward
troops in its direction, establishing their re-
serve in the rear and sending forward ser
geants' parties to occupy it and Grande and
Petites Etapes, Villages 10 which its poser
sion was a key, 'Stremy co,sstimfmgiits chief
support, and here lay the Eifty-ninih regi-
ment of the Landwehr. Maze, close to the
river and considerable in advance, was occu-
pied by Outposts sent forward from the Tenth
army corps. On the other side of the Mo-
selle the two divisions of the Landwehr
stretched right athwart the valley, from the
bridge at Argancy, where they touched the
Tenth army corps, to near Maranage, where
they met the Fifth, and to them was coniided
the duty of keeping the fiat alluvial tract on
the western bank of the Mcseiie At Mazieur
l found the headquarters of General Won
Hummer, who commands the Landwellr.
The men, to great extent, were located in
barracks, which they had them
selves constructed, and which did great
credit to their ingenuity.
THE FIRE OPENED
About ! o'clock l was sitting at lunch
with two staff officers i'm an arbor in General
Runners garden, when the guns of the
Prussian batteries by Frenecourt began to
give tongue. Only few Frenchmen were
loafing around at Ladonchamps. One of
the officers said, ''There will be nothing seri-'
Gus to-day; there istoO much mist in the val
Icy" When was on tho heights st Frene-
court l couldnot zee the village in the valley
below, and the catlnpedral of Metz, or con-
slant landmark next 10 St. Quentin, was ut
terly invisible. But the roar Of the guns
grew louder and louder, and then came first
one great boom and then another from tie
big gun lying behind at Frenecourt. The
officers fidgeted but still would not own that
anything was the matter. But their non
rhalancc gave way when ain ai.l-de-camp
came up ut the gallon, spreading the alarm
rs he went and dasliing on to the
quarters for instructions to guide
he front. In five minutes more we were oil
IN the saddle, and after short gallop we're
cooking out on the scene of action from the
rinSe of the wood, in front Of the cllateux of
Bryeux and Amelargc.
THE BATTLE GROUND.
To explain the tactics of Bazaine and the
manner in which they were foilci, | give Il
,rief description of the ground From Metz
O Mezieres there is long trough with flat
'ottom, the ailuvial margin Of the Moselle.
This tract is about four English miles wide.
IN the Yves; it is bounded by the heights
,a,e already named, and nearer Metz by
Norvy and Saulny. On the east it is bounded
" lower series of bluffs on which stand the |
'illages of Olgy and Malroy. But between
hem runs the Moselic, infringing consider
bly, on the fiat cxpansc Just opposite Olgy. |
Across the bottom, at the narrowcst part thus |
ormed, lies 4 series of villaSes-the two |
Tapes and Stremy, with Make and Ladon- |
hamIs, respectively, slightly to the east and |
vest of the front, more or less. There were |
russian troops in all these places. The dis
'ositions detailed TO me by the staff officer
BAzAINE's PLAN OF ACTION.
Bazainc had laid his plan with great art
Indcr cover of the dense fog he had made
is dispositions with such adroitncss that
hen it lifted, n little past o'clock, they
ere already ali but complete. In the first
1stances he directed strong assault on
The landwehr outposts held
he place is if they were 10000 instead of
90 men, and the French sent their infantry
~arnling into it with their artillery placed
pom it. ''Only an attempt TO recover
quoth my friend of the
aft, as he lit fresh cigar. ''Thc guns will
'ach them the folly of that" And as we
,me back 10 our arbor certainly it seemed
rat if any argument could be convincing
he Prussian artillery must beso. The white
,urts of smoke were visible AL around the
alley on the right front. The batteries at
renecourt were hard at work, and also 9TH
IS nearer the town, while the great guns at
were sending shells at low
.nge right over LadonchamIs in among the
French. Then, on our left, at
melange, two other batteries were main
lining a semi-cross fire, and from the bluffs
, the other side Of the Moselle, between
Icy and Malroy, the Prussian field artil-
~ were roaring.
THE FRENCH ADVANCE.
But my friend of the staff was not, for an
Dur or two at all events, to see the arlor.
he attack on Ladonchamps was diver
on. Suddenly the villages Of Grande and
elite Etapes, of Stremy and Make were
by cataract Of Frenchmen.
he Fifly-ninth landwehr in Stremy would
1t fall back, as it should have done in COM
on prudence, but stood up there in the