The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1870-09-17
$he Prussian Plan of the q hpaivn
against rranee.-A Git ,;lar
Statement. fx

The Prussian Plan Of the q (hpaign
against Franee.-A Git J$lar
Statement. eJ
A correspondent of the NewL1or Her.
f5ei iosi, 's sa,s: setter dated o"''''D August
And now think am able dAbs commu-
nicate a very curious piee bf intelli-
gence, for the accuracy of hich can
vouch. 1t was told me yeferdav. and
shown to me in black and Aite, and in
such manner and by such Emerson that
there can be no doubt whatever Of its
j truth. 1t is as follows:
You no doubtrenemberh how it was all
along, until barely week ago. expectcd
that the French would take the initiative
/ IN this war, would either cross the Rhine
at Strasburg, or move across the Bava-
! rlan frontier and carry on the war in
their enemy's country. You also proba-
bly re"ollect how every one believed that
the Prussians would take the defensive,
would first occupy the line upon which
they would have Landau as a centre, ,
then fall back on the Moselle, and finally
make stand at Nlayenee. Lately, Won
cannot have forgotten (for it occurred
within the last few days) how astonislcd
the world was when the Prussians, and
not the French, took the initiative: and
then, instead of the war being carried
into Prussia by Napoleon, it was carried
into France by the Prince Royal. The
latter change of tactics every one put
down to accident, or, Mt any rate to the
fact OF the French not being ready to
cross the Rhine when they ought to have
done SO.
Well, have, within the past few
hours, been shown an official document
which proves beyond all donb that from
the very first the plan OF the campaign
determined upon ut the prussian head
quarters. was exactly line for line and
movement for movement what is HOW
being carried on.
! Bismarck and Moltke never intended
that shot should be fired in Germany.
They knew month ago exactly tho state
Of forwardness or rather the state of
/ backwartlness, of the French army.
i Wherever horses or provisions were be-
\ ing gathered together for. the French,
there was Prussfan agent taking stock
of the same. At Berlin, and indeed
throughout Germany, there were but
four persons admitted to Know the plan
of invading France, and not allowing
France to invade Prussia. These were
Bisnsasek, Moltke, Blamenthal and the
King. The idea was of course fostered
that the French would certainly invade
! "Fatherland," fos by SO doing the ma
tional spirit as4s rendered all the more
i intense. The secret was well kept, so
we'll that throughout Europe every one
believed Prussia would have to act upon
/ the defensive, and that French armies
would be fed on German ground. And
this belief worked in onother way for the
advantage of Prussia. It made the
: French all the more careless about pro-
viding for the feeding of their army.
They believed that in one or two days
at most after taking the field they would
be in the valley of the Rhine or that OF
the Moselle, aud have all the corps and
stores ut their disposition. But what il
| tell = GA what have myself seen in !,
\ document which admits of no possible
doubt, that so long ago as the 23tl of July
! the exact day upon which tile prussiaus
would cross the frontier in force, and the
very places where they were to cross
were already settled and named by the
initiated few who directed affairs
/ What if tell you that the advance
npo.. w Wissembourg (when, l wonder, will
my letter containing an account of that
affair, turn up? the subsequent follow.
= ing of the French troops, the breaking o1
their line by attacking them somewhere
in the valley of the Saar and the forcing
ofthem back upon Metz or Nancy, if they
j were utterly beaten before, was all map
Z ped out by q master hand in the great
art of war twenty years ago! For the
truth of what here state will be res
ponsihle. 1t is impossible for me to state
where or how got the Information bu
j what say is the fact, and one hardly
knows which to admire most, the heat
J that planned the attack upon the enemy
II that expected to be the invader, or th'
|. marvellous secrecy with which the inten
,, tions of the Prussian leaders were con
eealed 50 leng:as there was any reason
for doing 90. j, a38s H. :; -. +: ~"
y The FALL, ExEcT1oNs.--The following
is~a correct listS the elections to b.
' held this year in the several States men
toned:
s4 California. ...---... September 6
NJ 3>or