The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1870-08-09
The Untues of Last Week.

extended from Landau in the Palatinato to
Trevcs In Rhcnsh Prussia, distance of
about one hundred and thirty nilcs and the
French faced them with their right at Hage-
nau and their left at Sierck. OF the number
of tho forces actually engaged on either sido
we have no means of Judging with certainty;
Tut tho fact that Gen. Noy MoLTKE, the
Prussian COMMANDMENTS Clicf, did not hcsi
tate to move in three independent columns,
separated from each other Ivy distances Of
sixty miles or more, and with nvnc Iut tclo
graphic Communication with headquarters
would lead to the conclusion that neither of
these columns could havo been less tlIan
eighty thousand strcng.
MoLTREs plan was TO attack Tic Frcnch
right under MACMiuoS near WissNlbourg,
TO rcalS through the French centre at Sanr.
lruck, and at the same time to advance from
the direction of Trcvcs upon Scrck aud
Thionvillr, driving hack tho left of tho
French forces. A Plan like this, involving
thr,o o,-~iatc battles, and. rs tho event
shows, two of them of tho first Importance,
could only have been under ,aNen by COM
nandcr confident alike in the superb. num'
Der Of his troops and their superior fighting
uunlitics What is surprising is, that each
of these la;lles resulted in decisive vic
tory for the Prufsans.
On the eastern extremity OF tho llnc the
Crown Prince of Prussia advG4Sced against
MAcMAuoS, the most esteemed Of all the
French generals, who had under him
his own CORPS and part If not all,
of that of Gen. FAIILY. The result
here was the total defeat of MACMAuoS
after a sauguinary contest and his retreat
In the direction Of Btchc, abandoning AL
SAGE to tho Russians At tire same time
Zen. GoEDEy, commanding the Prussian
centre attacked the French under FEossARD
at Saarbrick, and, after prolonged and Oh
situate combat, with heavy losses ON both
sides, drove them from the field, and succeed
ell in interposing his own troops between the
soutcd corps of FRossARD aud the broken
army of IMAGINATION fleeing from Iagcnau,
and in breaking It's communication with the
French headquarters. simultaneously with
chose two t,-o". h",'lo", third of less ca
Pruss.an right by the troops under Prince
FREDERICK CHARLES, who pressed forward
with equal fortune, and drove the left wing
Of the FreIch out of Sierck into Thonvillc.
1t was even reported that they had captured
tho last named place but this is impossible.
In tho face Of such an accumulation OF
disasters, it is NOT surprising that the French
Government should be as much demoralized
ls its army, and that both the Ministry and
the Empress regent should Issue terrified
appeals to the people. calling upon them to
rise TO save the country from the new inva-
ZION of an almost resistles conqueror. With
facts 30 stupcndous before US, it is useless to
speculate upon the probable Developments
Of tho future 1t is manifest that France il
almost as deeply Inundated by this defeat as
by that Of Waterloo. There the EmperoI
had stakcd all upon the issue of single
field here the Prussians have won every
thing In three separate and remote, yet con
temporrn eous battles. In the beginning O
tho present war the French rushed to tn,
frontier, in tie confident hope of Gccumu
lsting there an overwhelming mass o
soldiers before their heavier aud slower an
tagonists could be ready to sustain thei
onslaught. Such was the programme; bu
how different is the Ierformanccl Tn
French armies outnumbered the boaste,
French Elan repealed the traditional Juri
Frances crushed beneath the stcadness an
pcrtinacity Of the North; the French dis
cipline met with greater discipline til
French FIRE silcnccd by dcadlicr weapons
the result q disaster without parallel d,
feat everywhere the relief even Of triln
collateral victory nowhere
We have said that We will not spccula,
upon the effects this Unprecedented calaIn
ty but there 10 one point upon which publ
curiosity is active, which we will presume I
discuss. II is generally supposed that I'll
defeat of NAPOLEON must lead TO the expu
sion Of himself and his family from Europ
This is not improbable. Indeed, we are col
ldcnt that such will be the ultimate col
clusion; Lut this conclusion cannot
reached OF onco. The unanimous feeling
the French people today is to drive the il
vadcr from their soil-Iy gigantic cff6r
TO retrieve their misfortune, and wipe ava
the dislonor that Los fallen upon theI
They will rise as one man for this purpos
and they will, of necessity rally around Il
imperial standard, and fight under tho lei
oftho Emperor, But another defeat like Il
present, or even proiractcd course ofp0rti
and fruitlcss advantages, would be sure
result in the downfall Of the BoNAPARTE
but as yet such IN event is out of the OUT
ton.
After the battle of Sodowa the Prussia
hnltcd. The read to Vienna was open
them. Tho fate Of Austria seemed TO
entirely in their hands, and superficial {
soTvors expected that they would hasten
strip the Hapsburgs Of al their German
possersions Bot the great intellect Il
now rrcsldes over the aggrandzoment
Prussia is too profound TO be led into q
such delusive enterprise. Tho progress
the Pruseian armies was staysl at q pc