New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-09-03

! Avoid with Metz, and Etanges with Metz.
The corps opened the attack with tho
first division near Montbois, and
| with the second division near Noiss-
vile. The enemy in force attempting
| to advance on the latter point was repulsed
with much force by the prompt service of
| the corps Of artillery and the reserves of
| infantry. Darkness closed the fight.
On the extreme left division of horse
approached Mercy and Lehaut; their bat
| terry advancing with occasional pauses to
| fire. The thirty sixth regiment Of the ninth
second army had advanced on Easton. On
| the same line.at the extreme right the third
! division of cavalry advanced to Ogg, where
| its battery opened on the enemy north Of
| Perigny. At eight o'clock the enemy re-
| coiled at all points from tho left bank of
the Moselle under the guns of Metz.
Pursuit was stopped by the fire from the
guns of the fortress. The field was covered
with the dead. Only few prisoners were
taken and a few trophies, owing to the ac-
| tivity of the fortress, the heavy FIRE Of
| which tore through the Prussian masses.
General Steinmetz, who came in, was in
time to give orders for. the night, and the
following day to prepare for repewal Of
| the conflict. The result was, the enemy in
one quarter was driven from the wall back
| into the fortress, and in another quarter :
| large body was left to retreat on Paris and
| fall into the hands of the second army,
| which was moving rapidly on tho left bank
of the Moselle, leaving the first corps and
| two. divisions Of cavalry OH the east of
Metz.
The army the next day moved to the left
| without resistance, passing the MOselle at
! AIRY and Coinyon. The Seventeenth Corps
| was beyond Ars ,sur- MOselle; the Eighth and
Ninth Corps were at GOrza while the second
army was marching rapidly towards Metz
on the Verdun road. After the victorious
| fights at Vionville and Flavigny, the task
OF the first army this day, was to act as the
right of all the lines of attack, holding the
| left bank of the Moselle, while the second
! army moved so that the front would
! extend from the north toward the east,
thus bringing the first and second armies
between Metz and Paris
On the seventeenth no offensive mOve-
| ment was made the Prussians resting in
sheltered position near Gravelotte; the sew
! enth corps contenting itself with repelling a
| slight reconnaissance In the rear of the
| forest of Vaux.
| At this moment General Steinmetz, re-
connoitering at the sOuth of Gravelotte, in
the forest of Ognatti, discovered the enemy,
| north of GravelOtte. The farms Of st. HUI
bert and Point-du-Jom were occupied about
| noon.
General Steinmetz, hearing cannonading
at ViOnville, and having been advised that
the head of the ninth corps was engaged,
| gave orders to resume the attack.
General Steinmetz's corps depfoyed on
the south and east of the heights of Grave
lOtte !; formidable artillery practice fol-
lowed. Fifty cannon presently augmented
to eighty. opened On the enemy's batteries.
While advancing steadily along the high
road. the accommodating party encountered
battery of mitrailleues, from whence q
fire was opened upon them. A strong ont
post, well sustained, was then<placed, Rnd
the enemy made no serious attack that day.
On the eighteenth the first army ire
manned quiet, the enemy. equally SO, while
the second army advanced to ViOnville and
Mosie-aux-C Chenes to renew the fight. Stein
metz's staff remained by the batteries un-
der a shower of projectiles, but hardly had
an hour passed before the French batteries
were silenced, and the French began tOre
| tire.
The infantry of the seventh corps, in ths
| meantime, in woody gOrgeT between
GratelOtte and POint-du-Jour, but Galtze's
brigade, posted near Ars to guard the
Moselle valley, was already engaged in
| combat 1t took the village of Vaux and
the heights of Fiessy, where it sustained
itself
In the meantime the seventh and eighth
corps, coming from Rezonville, opened the
attack with heavy artillery practice, while
the first division of cavalry. took the first
sheltered position behind it. The infantry
attacked the enemy in the wood Of Geni-
vaus, and silenced their guns again. Owing
to the density of the wood, the hostile forces
intermixed, and Germans and French frc-
quently fired into their own ranks.
The Prussians carried the leghts and
farm OF Ste Hubert, with severe loss.
Further advance was impossible. The
French artillery was withdrawn, and the
Prussian became silent. Supposing the en-
envy gone, Hartman's cavalry crossed de-
file with two-horse and battery and the
Fortieth Uhlans, and pursued He found
that the enemy had not retreated, but was
sheltered from the cannOnade by troops
which had advanced.
| The men encountered murderOus fire
from the chassepOts. from cannon, and from
instantly numbered the roads. The Prus-
sian batteries soon .seopened, sheltering the
cavalry. The duel continued until dark,
when the Prussian main body fell back
At four o'clock in the morning the
Prussian artillery re-opened, :the French
replying until silenced. At the left,s be-
tween ViOnville and Arman, Villiour,1 in
fantry fire alone was heard at first, but
soon the artillery began, showing the ap-
proach of Prince Frederick Charles. The
German infantry held tirIhly and kept the
enemy busy.
The French all day used the chassepots
from the trenches at distance of two thOu-
sand two hundred yards; inficting dismay
and severe losses, but they were neverthe-
less in desperate condition; being sur
rounded and attacked on all sides, their
only chance being to retreat to the fortress.
d At p. NJ they made an effort to cut
through our lines to Paris. Line after line
OF ritieInen, firing over each others shoul-
ders, and shouting wildly, pushed from the
heights to the ravine, through the trees.
The Prussian infantFy,. thinned and weak.
ened, began to waver, but the artillery
proyidentially opened, and hurled back the
enemy with great slaughter. The Prussians
then assumed the offensive; reinforcements
arrived. the King having approached and
dispatched troops to the front, whose aid
was decisive, winning the day. On the
nineteenth the enemy took refuge in Metz.
PARIS, September 2.-The journals state
that the reported insanity Of the King of
Prussia is confirmed.
Nj. Ihlers has not appeared in the cham-
bers for three days. He is III.
A large force of Turcos has arrived at
Toulon from Algeria. ~ s
Another force of Kabyles is coming, al |
of v h IN are equipped and mounted at their
own expense. They are numerous enough
to form a corps d'armee.
Vieuxte1nps, ;the violinist has been ar
rested as a spy.
Especial to the New York Herahl
"BRUssElS. September g. $50 p. M-Sey-
eral hundred Prussians andtwO thousand
Frenchmen. who were forced into Belgian
territory, have laid down their arms.
Especial to the New York Times.I
I PARIS, September 2, Evening Paris