The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1870-08-11
nasr OF OPERATIONS or yEEE
FRENCH EOECES.--NE!SS:.S ga fs1-

The base of operations for the French ~
mics forms an acute angle, running East by
South, and South BY Wes:, with tho he'd
quarters at what we might term the Two *
tremities. We say ''might'' because, iE iaci,
Metz and Strasburc are not really he ex-
tremities, the lines extending North 81 Msiz
at ThiOnville and Southwest Of StI;lsIu- ~
Colmar, or at Belfor;, if tie cable kilograms
are correct. IS regards Beifort, however, IT
docs not seem possible that the right wing oi
Marshal Mcmahon can be located 80 Tar
South, the town being not les than seventy
mikes from S,rasburg, and Is, in fact, le-~ :
defensive position froH Invasion from Ger
many than from invasion from SwitzrlaEd.
But admitting Bei:o-t to he the cxtr,i:e
right of the French, We haze the following
fortified places which The army covers: Be
ginning a, Belfort, the line runs in an East
northeast direction a distance Of twenty
miles 10 MulhoIse, or Mulh2U=en; thence
Northeast for anotl er twenty miles 10 Ncui
Brisach, where It take Il noIIherf. coarac
for thirty miles TO S;r:sbGrg- Continuing
North it first strikes Hagucnau some sever
teen miles distant, and reaches tic angle
at Lauterbcrg, eighteen miles dista..!
to the northeast Here The line MAKE
sharp turn, and ET.Gs along
the Lau,er river TO Wissenburg, nine miie-
northwes. Of Lauterbusp. Continuing wost
by south, and consequently forIninga digTes-
sion, il next meets Ef;che, some tweIIty-twn
miles of, continues westward for some fly
eight miles to Metz then turns 10 Tie north
and goes up to Thionviilc, distance o.
seventeen miles, where II ends. This wogid
give a total of I'll miles for the mii:!arv l;Ie:
but if we begin AZ s:rasbrrg, ignoring Bel
fort, Mulhouse ard Nouf Blisich, TIE length
is reduced to about al nailes-a line By no
means too long when we take into cgns:tc-a-
ton the immense force concentrated along i,
and the perfect railroad system, which faciii-
tates the moving Of troops 20 any para.
Wisscnburg is situated on The right banl:
of the Lauter river, directly on the frontier Of
Bavaria, nine miles ncr,hwes, Of taa:crlm-r
and abou; thirty milos northeast Of sitrasbarg.
Its population is about coco. Tie .a-.i.;ca
tons here are very strong and have, sircc
the accession OF Napoleon, been G-57:iy
strengthened. Along The l.auter rive- :" TIC
city OF Lauterburg Is cgniinuor5 lins t.
works, known As the Lines OF SHisso!:iurs..
They were forced by the .iuslria'. IN l..:i;:,
and in consequence the city soon ;,!lcr sGrTga-
dered.
OF Weissenburg the Aew Iora- I,ijlas
says: a
At Weissenburg The French frontier do
sends from the mountains into the hoauti.i
and fertile plain OF Alsace, following ,lre
River Lauter 10 the Rhine, which !T'ng,
enjoys for her eastern boundary from t';,.
Lauterburg to Basic. The ''NCis-Cnhurg
Line was built under the direction of Mar
shall Villars during the war of the Spani-l
succession, and consisted of 4 chain OF light
works running from the left bank 81 thc
Rhine, along the Latter, nearly - I"iIss-
Weissenburg itself being surrounded with
walls and towers-while above il stood he
majestic five-bastioned s'BUrgfeSting. Ilis
whole line was abandoned in 1861, by impc-
rial decree, though the works were not r:.zc;i.
The same decree degraded Hagenau, which
never had served very important PAT
poee as a fortress, unless in guarding The IN
perial jewels of Friedrich 1.