The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1870-08-11
The Military Situation in France.

during tic precious ,etea, e"dt,tg Jdy 30,
1881.
The Military Situation in France.
telegram from Mr.. FREDERICK GAIL.
LARDEr to our able contemporary, the
Courier des Eats U,is, furnishes the first
Indication OF the losses of the French army
In the battles of last week. Mr. GAILLARDET
lays that the relics of the First and the
Seventh Corps under IMAGINATION will remain
1t Savorne for the present and that they
are now about fifty thousand strong. As
'hese two corps were nominally hundred
thousand strong and contained at least
Lnety thousand fighting men before the
hattie of Inst Saturday, the amount of
their losses in that fight, in killed,
wounded, and prisoners, must have been
1t least forty thousand That this
figure is not exaggerated also appears from
The care Of the French authorities in keeping
secret the official returns Had the losses
not been very large they would certainly
have been published by the Government or
tho losses OF FnossARDs corps, which was
routed at SaarJruck at the same time that
IMAGINATION was crushed at Ilagcnau, Mr..
HAILiARDEr affords no indication hut rs
they fought obstinatcly all day and retreated
in comparative order at uirhtiall, they must
have been less than MACMAHoS's, though
still considerable, say from twelve TO twenty
thousand.
MIR. GAILLNRDEr gives much more
favorable picture Of the present condition
and resources of the French army than has
been gathered from other sources Accord.
ing to him, the remains of FRossARD's
corls arc already assembled under the walls
Of Metz, aud the corps of DE FAuLY, which he
says has not yet been engaged, is also in
the same intrcnched camp. Tic Third Corps,
hitherto under the command of Marshal BA-
LAINE, but now under G. en-. DE CAEN, is
there likewise making, os we are told one
hundred and fifty thousand fighting men at
that place. In echelon between Metz and
Nancy lie the Eighth Corps and the Impe.
rial Guard under BoURBAKI while the
Fourth Corps, under l. ADMIRAUG.T is mainly
at Nancy. The Sixth Corls, likewise fifty
thousand strong commanded by Marshal
CANRoBERT, Las, Mr.. GAILLARDET says,
also arrived from Ch.lons upon the theatre
of hostilitics THIS makes in ALL according
to his estimate, three hundred and fifty thou
sand veterans already in Lorraine without
counting the Gardo Mobile These numbers
are probably somewhat exaggerated but II
is safe to presume that, after deducting the
guards of railroad station E, forage trains,
local gnrrsons, and oil the many drafts
which arc made upon the effective force Of
an army in active campaign, the French
Commanderin Chief will DO able TO bring
into the field for fighting near Metz, any
day within the next week n body of two
hundred and fifty Thousand men.
Against this force, what is the strength Of
the Prussians? Leaving out of view the
imaginative figures, none of them official.
which have reached us the fact most signh-
cant ms to the numbers under the command
of Gen. Won MoLTKE is that he has boldly
made his campaign thus far with three col
umns 80 far apart from each other that
neither could march 10 the others assistance
In the case of an overwhelming attack from
the enemy. No general of sense could ven
such an army as tho French with less than
one hundred thousand men in each of his
columns. The French report that the army
under the Crown Prince FREDERICK VII
LIAM, which defeated IMAGINATION az HaPe-
nau, consisted of one hundred and forty
thousand men; and if We take one hundred
thousand as the original effective force
n NJ A. NJ AnpN'a nd 10 ia not i'm,
probable that the Crown Prince may have
brought as large n number az this TO the at
tack. That the Prussana have out general
led the French is unQuestionable; aud it IL
always the part OF good generNlship to attacl;
with superior force. Assuming, then, that
after the losses Of battle the Crown Prince
still has one hundred and twenty five thou
sand men and that Won STEINMETz, who
commands the Prussian centre and who de
feated FRossARD at Saarbrhck has one hun
dred thousand men and that the Pruss ar
left under Prince FREDERICK CHARLES, II
equally strong, we shall have as the aggrc
gate of these three columns, when concon
tTated for battle near Metz three hundre,
and twenty-five thousand men. wiz Thu
force re sufficient TO Ossail With reasonabl
probability Of success a position like Tn
great intrenched camp where the main bod
of the French army Is now postedf la LuIr
bers the Prussians are evidently the strong
or; but the advantage of position and tn
intronehments Of the French more than GU
weigh this excess.
But here again the question s not one
numbers or of position so much US Of brain
The gcncralship Of the Prussans has litl
erto been immensely superior 10 that Of the
antagonists but ii is Il question whotL,