The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-10-19

PruSSianS at once threw forward troops III Tile
direction Of the village, establishing their re,
serves In its rear, and sending forward sergeants
squads to occupy 1t and the villages OF Grand
Estapes and Petit Estapes, to which It's possession
was the key ST. RemS constituting ne cnle IL SUP up
Landwehr. Make, close to the river and con
siderably in advance, was occupied by outposts
sent forward from the tenth army corps on the
other side Of the Moselle.
The two divisions of the Landwehr stretched
athwart the valley from the bridge OF Argaucy,
where they touched the tenth army CORPS to
near Marange, where they met the hfth army
corps, and to them was confded the duty OF
holding the nat, alluvial tract on the western
bank or the Moselle.
At Maizieres found the headquarters OF Gene
raj Won Hummer, who commands the Landwehr.
The gunsof the PrusSian batteries by Semeeourt
began to he heard.
The roar Of the guns grew louder and louder,
and there came first one heavy "boom,n and then
another from the big guns lying behind at Frene.
court. The officers fdgetted, but would not yet
own that anything serious was taking place.
Their nonc,.alance gave way al last when an AID
de.camp came up at gaop, spreading alarm arm
Generals quarters for instructions 10 guide the
front. In five minutes more We were all In the
saddle, and after short ganop were LOOKING
| upon the scene OF action from the fringe OF the
wood in front of the ChateauX Of Brieux and
Amelange.
To explain the tactics of Bazalne and the man.
brief description Of the ground From Metz to
Maizeres there IS long trough with a nat 20 6ot.
tom-the alluvial margin OF the Mosele. rms
tract Is about four miles wide. .On the west IL Is
bounded by the heights | have already named,
and, nearer Metz by Norlvy and Saulny: On the
east it is bounded by q lower series OF bluffs, on
which stand the villages OF olgy and Malroy; m 6nt
between them and the fiat bottom runs the MO-
sele, impinging considerably on the fiat eXpanse.
just opposite Olgy across the bottom, at the mar
rowest part thus formed, lies series OF villages;
the two Estapes and ST. Remy, with Make anu
LadonchampS, situated respectively little 10 lhe
east aud west 'front.'
There were PrussIan troops in all these places
Bazaine had laid his plan with great art. CoVerea
by the fog he had made his dispositions WIN suca
adroltness that when 1t lifted, little past one
O'Clock, they were already nearly complete; 10
the first instance he directed strong assault on
Ladonchamps. The Lnndwehr outpost held the
place as If they were ten thousand instead OF one
hundred men, and the French sent their infantry
swarming into u, While their artillery piayeu
upon 1t. ,,
vince the French OF their imprudence the Prls
| sian artillery might The white spurts OF smoke
were visible all around the valley. ON the rignt
front the batteries at Semecourt were marc at
| work, and also others nearer, down the nat;
while the great guns at Frenecourt were sending
| she Is at low range right over Ladonchamps
among the advancing French. Then on our iei.'
at Amelange, two otner batteries were man taiIl,
| Ing semi-cross fire; and from the bluil5 on tne
| other side OF the Mosclle. between hgy anu NAL
roy, the Prussian neld artillery was roaring.
| The attack on Ladonchamps was DIVERSION
Suddenly the villages Of Grand anu Petlt Estapes,
| OF st. Remy and Make, were overwhelmed oy
| an avalanche Of Frenchmen. The Ftty-nlntn
Landwehrin in St. Remy would not foil back, as II
| should in common prudence have done, Dut stoou
there in the streets until the French, havlng
PLAYED upon it with their art lery, and rained
chassepot and mitrailleur bullets, finally pu shed
backward the shattered remnant 10 the high road
| by sheer dint OF numbers. The Fuslleer oaitailoh
OF the Fifty eighth regiment occupied Grand Es-
| tapes, and 1t occupies Grand Estapes DOW, put
the occupants are the dead and wounded The
battalion would not give ground anu may oe
said to have been annihiated as II stood-tne men
with their backs TO the walls and their faces TO
| the foe. The other battalions OF the same regl'
| ment suffered terribly.
So far, then, Bazaine had succeeded. Ha Gal
occupied the chain Of villages athwart the valley
and had placed few batteries OF artillery out on
the front to reply to the Prhssian fire. But this
Statu quo he never wished TO nor could maintain.
The Prussan artillery, throwing their projec lies
with the comfortable realization OF such conso-
lation. 1t seems clear that Bazaine would not
have done what he did, v he had not contem
plated something more. That something, have
not the remotest doubt, was sort.e to establish
communications with ThionVille. His tactics
were well conceived. From st. Remy and the
| two Estapes he kept the Prusslan 1re engaged
| with musketry and artillery. He sent forward
| from Grand Estapes great swarms OF sharpshoot-
ers who feared extremely III at the hands OF the
Landwehr. Besides this he massed great body
OF men, nearly $4,000 In ALL on the bank or the
! Moselle, under cover OF the houses OF Make, and
| sent them forward TO cut through the Prusslan
environment where 1t was weakest, close TO the
| river.
The moment was critical one. The Landwehr
had oil been sent forward against the villages,
with the exception OF one brigade that was In re-
serve, but the Tenth army corps had been cross
| Ing the pontoon bridge and YVES massing between
the river and Aueange. There General Won
| voight was In command Of the back operations.
and he gave the order for several regiments TO
| advance. The movement was q sight not easily to
be forgotten. First came the Iusileers extending
at rapid run into s6irmlshing order, and cover
ing the whole plain with their long, thin lines.
Then came the dense columns OF companies Of
grenaders, the bands playing and the col re- un.
Iurled. But all the work was not left for the In
fantry to do; the artillery entered the village
alone, and concentrated their fire on the French
columns advancing by the Mosele. Bazaine Is
singularly weak In field artillery, and the only re-
ply to the Prussian fire was from the sullen sides
| OF Fort st. julien or from the ramparts OF st.
Eloy. But the mitrallleur venomouslY sounded
| It's angry whirr, making the skfTmishers rccoil
narrowly as they crossed the line Of fire, and
tearing chasmS In the fronts Of the solid masses OF
which they were the forerunners.
The artillery and the sklrmisherS were enough
| for the French. Their dense columns staggered
and then broke aparr. They ran pell mel into
| the village Of MaXe; bat when once they had
| walls OF stone and lime between them and the
Prussians, they became obstinate and would 60
| no further. In vain the PrusSlan artillery fired
upon the village, advancing closer anu closer IN
alternate order OF batteries, with precision and
rapldity that could not have been exceeded on
parade. That obstinate battery in front OF Grand
Estapes would not be silenced, and the French
sharpshooters still lined the highway in its front.
| By this time 1t was nearly O'Clock.
AS we stood In this suspense stafI officer gal
lOped along the front line with orders for gene
| raj advance, to take the village by storm. The
advance, he told me- was to consist OF four brig.
AIDES OF the Landwehr. with two brigades Of the
| Tenth Army Corps supporting. In few minut's
more the command came sounding along the
| line, and the men sprang from their cover and
went forward with that steady, quick step, so
| characteristic OF the Prussians' marching The
shells from the battery OF Grand Estapes tore
| through the line; the mitraleur and chassepot
| bullets poured against 1t their leaten hail: but
| still the Landwehr, silent and stern, marched
| steadily to the front. | never knew q more
furious fire than that 10 which the centre OF this
| line was exposed. General Won BranderStein,
| commanding the Thi,d Brigade OF Landwehr,
| was shot down as he rode, and several OF his
were reached, behind which were lying the shat
! tered remnants of the Fifty. eighth and Fifty
ninth Landwehr. The fraternization consisted
OF "HufT'dh I'l'ueSSen :" aud then, '.VOltcurtS
In,1,.er uorlcalfS p! and the line threw Itself TO
the lrUnt In a run. The gunners from the bat
terry drove on The stubborn French had barely
time TO run around the corner before the Land
| wehr were unon them.
The French lett their guns perfOrce. They
male last stand in the villages, but 1t would
have been better for them had they run away at
tlonal warriors in them than the line, are not so
much inclined to give quarter as are the proles-
sional soldiers. With many Frenchman this
afternoon the first shock consisted OF O hayOnet