, 1870-08-16
TIE WAR m EUROPE.
rhe French Fleet tn the Baltic
sketches OF sxrnIsuud nnd Akc1.
thc Towns Expected to be Al

The French Fleet tn xuo 00AttC~
sketcne. OF strassuud aad Ase1s
tho Tesvn~ ExPeciud to be At
tucked.
Ftsn the xsss Fork atFuH, Aug. IL
The Indications ate that the ErencA lcet will
shortly attack Sttaisund and Kiel. bat which
OF those pl4ces is uncertain. u the t1Est, then
the objective point is Berlin; II sha last place
n.1ned il assailsd, Hamburg IL the city aimed
a. s.ra1,nnd il strongly fortified city of q, 900
int1sIitsntz, eitusted o. he Strait d. .deiien,
b5 which il iaaeaa11te1 fron tbs Island Of Rugs.
Il il 120 miles north by west Of Berlin, and
IL entirely surrounded By water, the only
approsrh to it hon thee mainland being
" bridges, Of which there are three. The
port is aotlarge, and = eneu1noered With slal.
lows. Sera1theleas, It can safely harbor three
hundred vessels, tHhich ia. about the number
.annnally arriving .and 7dep4Hing.. The city,
besides its, Ampart xE.d e1part trade, does
douriahtnx bus.neaS ii abp-building, sugar
refining. ae., and is considered ore OF the
wealth1est placea n Prussia.
The history Of 6trzlsund has been yaried
and interesting. Founded in 1909 bI Prince
Jasomir, Of Rugeu, 1t Was peopled BY saxons,
and wna growing rapidly when it wAa destroyed
by the Lubeekefs Il, 1211. subsequently re-
built, it WAS united to the HauseAtic League,
and Tor yaazs After it vas prize alNays con-
tested for by tie Princes Of Ru8eu. the Dane',
Swedes, Ho1sndetA Luneabursars, and Neck
lenburgets. During tho thirty Iea1s. war Stsa!-
sund had the honoe Of giFinE the drat check
to the arms Of Yallensteln. That great COM
1uander had sworn that be would take Shsl-
| ruud and destroy it, "eren though It were
fastened by chains 70 hes,5ea;" a, f'9t @ the i'm. i'm.
Hiege, during which he loat 1900 men, be
was compelled to retire. B5 tbs treaty Of
| WestphxliA the pl1cewa coded to the 6aedes,
| who kept it till 1913. when the great Elecsor
| Of Dtandenburg took it aftez terrible bonn
1asament. which destroyed !, 800 houses. He
it was again Leeieged by the allied forces
| OF Den1park, Prussia, and sa1ony- Charles
! XII. himself defanded the town fol
some time, but be wxs finally compelled
to retire, and it soon After surrendered The
French took It in 1907. Two years later the
delivering Germany from the French, and was
shot while leading eortie In the Fahrstrasse
| HIS hcai1leas body lies buried here in the
Cemetery Of Kencifcr, the head itself being II
B1unewiek preserved in spitita. In lS1s
stralsund Has coded 10 Prussia The fortli
which large sums Of money hare been e1psn1
cd, consiak Of = series OF forts looking sea
ward and sweeping the nar7ow strait Ea1th
| works connect theae, And in the rear OF tbi
town, covering the bridge referred to, are ala.
ssslsnns i. not p9ee1aBBIe aBe 1s nos ooala
from ita aituation, 10 rendered so. It csn
however, offer stout resistance, and, II Ut
tucked, will undoubtedly give 'shu French
wAsm reception.
Kiel ia aituated 1t tho extremity OF buy O
the Baltic, in what wa1 formerly known as tn,
DuchJ Of Holstein. Ihs hazbof Is exeeed,nSl
fine, having the appearance Of lake. Kid i
hfty- three miles nnrth-northcast OF HIM
burg, with which city it is connected by rail
road, and contaiua i population OF abou
II, 600. Untl 1866 the fortihcAtions were no
very formidable. kiel had previously beel
uEder the sovereignty OF tho HI e 81 Den
mark; but II 1864 tha Duchy Of Ho{atein VA
occupied By the PEussians ard AustEixas, Al,
in 1866 pnass,a annexed 1t. Sinca then it hA
been gressly strengthened, hut it Is not equa
to stralsund- Commercially. it is very i'm
| pottant city, md ssreteHicaliy it woul
provo Of immense valne to the French by On
athng them TO move on the 1lapk aud tazt q
Hamburg. The forttess Of Fredericksokt, all
uAted 1t the entrance to the harbor, is the out
post Of tho defenccs, aud is to'erably st1oas