, 1870-11-07
FRANCE.
The Chateau ct the Prince Ma.
poieon.
Points Of Advantage Held by the
Besieging Army.
Mistakes In tho French Defence.


In tho French Defence.
Progress and Prospects OF tho Siege
trRoN Orr SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
M8SpoS, o.. =
II you turn to your map Of Franco you Will |
fud the above named place. which. before |
this lettar reaches got. may becoTe celebrated
in The history of tho eiego OF patis. lying on
All cmincnce tIo and half lieus {abous SIX
nilee) wet from tue inner wallis Of the capital,
aid atout five ualcs northeast from Versailles.
70 begin with, will etata that there arc Two
Menlona lying near caol. other, xad sh4t the
one am speaking Of is ths eo.caned C.a:s.n
Mandon, the late tesldsnce ct Prince Sapo-
.on, and which, befors the war, counted near
Is its 5000 inhabitants.
OF Ill the flne views have had, from various
po.nts, Of Paris. none could equal the one
Which I had this morning from the terrace Of
Prince Safoleon's chase au. which now serves
tho Seventh Koglnent Of the Kings ureua-
diers ~ fortified euc1mpment. Ths court
of the chateau: Immediately in fEcnt Of that
part Of III. the building ,;t that - f1ess H
ssss enass h,s Desa eeaa ,sssa ass by 'as 4.
French into regular fortified camp. They
had 10 tiue to nL1eh it, howeye1, for On the
l9lh ult., the day Of the firnt battle before
Paris, they evacustcd the chsteau. leaving be-
u1ents* with large number Of round willow
ba-kets reauy for tho bresetworks; also hun
dre1H Of carts, whee1uarroNs and utensils Of all
klnds nhicl. to the preaelt occupants Of the
chateau. arc very useful IN the Preparation Of
tho positions for their heaT5 aisge guns. which
f., L. - -
terrible sesulta. This chateau, according to
tho ol'is ion which formed after careful ex-
ANIMATION, nu.t ia tho great point dialogue
Ut tho terieSers. Immediately in .ss trout
are tie gates of de baa 1eu1on On tho eaes
shorts Of The Seine, loaaiu1 IT,; tho
F., ranbonfF aFersalse, 6. Belloacourt, On
;ns ;nto ~ r..so " - river. and leading
nns,hv.. aud .AuteuiL To the
ne ne! te!t ..nteuiI. All there gates, together
| Will .ne railroad bri"ge Of the circular rail
| way. tlat epal-s the Seiue near the cemetery
Of Gleuclle and the Qaai do Versailles, ~ we'll
as the fine brioge called pont Grenalle cou-
nec.iig the Quai a'ors.y with the
complete eonsfol u tSs 1sease hssiseas opasl Sstl
te1ica planted on the eminenco Of Chateau
Mendon. Tie strongest Of all forts, Fort t3u
/ Mont Fatetien, may endeavor to prevent the
Germans fron planting apy batteries upon
] Ill
distance " too great to cause them any SERIOUS
trouble. AS to tue new fort OF Moutratout,
which tho French have hurried]y erected be-
tween the Talerien and Fort lie Pass, aiisce tho
lightning Of the war, it is not il position to
be Eery e1eetise galust the hs'sie eiug batter
the he'ghts Of Bellevue, in possession
Of the Germans. These heights command
the e,n1uence Of Moufretout and
tlaus prevent the latter from disturbing the
batteries al Mnndor, under the cover Of which
an sssaulting party could enter any or ali the
above mentioned gates OF Paris. The distance
from Fort du taiettan to Fort d'1hHy il over
four mica. The latter fort ia a little to the
right and in front Of Mepdon, about 4 mile
dissaut, aud en- plateau far below tho high
est point OF tic latter, and COM
however, that the mission OF the batteries Of
MeIdon, o. any Others that will bs planted it
various points, will 10 to msak the advance Of
as.ailng parties. This would incur too heavr
lass on the part Of tho assaiian.s and thu
King u 4veEse to sacrificing many more lives,
hut The batteries Of heavy siese guns vii co1,:
tent thcmtelyes with throwing from selected
positions their terrible messengers OF war into
the verE heart OF Paris, and tLeu re will 500
Nhethef the Parisihns are made Of as Rtern
etuh ~ the Alsatian etraebourgers wore, who
stood siege OF over si1 weekH. Many who
have been in Patis but hase no knowledge
OF he Topography Of the surround
.ng country, expressed their doubt about
the Germans being ahta h,uhArd Paris
~ishont first haS.n9. taken come OF i,s sur.
rounding forts. 1fihey would, however make
discover the error Of their hypothes1s. Men
don, Bellsvue. and the heights OF St. Cloud
are only foE OF tue many vulnerable points
which Paris has. Why the French should
have left theee exposed poiIts out Of thai1
general nlan of f9ftifsing Paris, il hard to
bF i've forts ID1ssy, .TauvEes, Stout1uugo,
Acstre. and dIvry} Ill within cannon-shot
distance frorn each other, on its east 1t
aas ns 'ia1ss chAranton, Nogent. Rosny. Noisy,
qnst,de4i @ dih,u" h.r1., besides two re1outs aud
kssny sri - '":Ecen 4...s. S0issy Z Yo1 s9d
oe1vil1iets and tl,c fortified st. Denis, again
suLlisideu into the three forts La double
Conrunue, Fort dc Ia Bricho and Fcrt do 1~Est.
d Iht1c il Latweeu st. Denis and the T1leEieu
on the ~eet l. distance OF about twelve ki1o-
metres, no fort, nor from the Talerien to
eight kilometres. Tie hurIied!Y thrown-uE
entsenclluente at Montretout* between For
Falesien and St. Cloud, do not deserve the
rame Of fort. Indeed, am Informed, while
writing th', By an officer Of the Rings Grena,
3icsr, Who are stationed here. that the French
have already abandoned there works, as they
have Acndon and tie entrenehnents, Just it
rear Of DellrEue, near the farm Of Des
Bruye1s. and nov occupied By the Fifth Jaeger
battalion. Il ia evident that the French. it
have alHays .placel great dependence upon tht
EatnEal barriers which the corsee OF the Seint
!. forms on the west side Of the city. The
Mont Faletien beng 415 feet above the Seine
orerlooks the whole plain on Its right ~ far a,
Mout1etout, the Boie de Bonlogue. (Which, b,
the was. the French have not burnt down Al
J threateued.) On it's immediate front, and tn,
, rlxins Of Seueliy on its left. Had the Freucl
cut down or set fire to the woods Of St. Cloud
lying betucentheS Sa1erien and tile former pla.e
. they would have gained infinitely more tbs,
. BY the destruction Of the Nendon Park, or b.
. cht1disb1y cutting down their bs&utifu
. trees that lined their magnificent roads in OF
deE to TetAra the advance Of the Germans, 4
1csult which they completely failed to accom-
paish for the stnile reason that - the aell
; IN France have no fercte arpuad them. th,
. troops when they came to spot where ths
rosd *ae barrcaded with trees Or p2vini
l eiones tuabr OF the roads In France II,
i, pared with fat paving ssoncs). they stmp!,
! ! made detcuy oi few hundred yaz1is throuei
! the helds. The pionrers, instead Of preceding
tho Army ~ is the usual custom. in this cas-
5 followed a1I repaired the roads after the col
! umns had reached their destination Sain
Cloud Invested OF its woods would be e1pose
= to the fre Of Eale1iea, aIa it would hxye beel
difficult matter for the Germans to naaintail
( battery there. but under cover OF the wood
, the fire from fa1etien cannot prevent its BAT
series from throwing shells into Grene11
! | and the Adjoining suburbs Of Paris. hay
! written the Atoye Ines hureiedlr, within Sigh
ct the mepaeed caoitslL Here Lee before N
I | in I'll It's grand extent, the city whoee met,
! will coon be tried l can see it4 walls, with it
E ntnety-txo bastions, defantly challenging th
: bse1ege1s. with the aid OF my glass. which, 3
, the way, has done good eefylce II Crosby
i I can zee the Guard Mobile drilling on II
= fields nclth OF GfeuelIe. Besunl them th
q Hotel des lnvAli1es raises it, coetlr guide
Dome high in the air, hut thay that irhshit It
inter1nr hang thtir heads down with shan,
u and grief, On account Of the sad fate that ovel
!. came their once victorious fsg. The Arc
Inomrhe. With its masni6cen: and forebodin
+ | towers above surrounding buillDgs. N
its Fight must fill sne hear:
J. of r4rieiars with renewed teso1utio
TO die In The last ditch. Pesc,, the twin 81:
ter statue Of Resistance, standing eide by SIC
~ith the 1stt.t. tas, too, its xdors1., no doab
nut they dare not raise their voices now II
n feax nf icing denounced h trsitoss- An Eni
: s:shnss tast tfcm Paris Eises glowing :
sout.t Q! the hesoic resolutions Of the Fan
4, ,ars- II you we're to believe the GRATIS ar
5. snueg!t d.thEcngh Englishnnau. the PEusssa1
II befuEe Paris will al be destroyed 1t one +
+ oioT By the EEeat irferoaI machine, which
= CERTAIN eArsslao m1huf2c uter has Just NJ
- - l<Eed. According to this sc:cuut. there Al
"a over 6to, COO Ft-pcb Guard Ho61fss and Gun
1e tatso"dh u Paris, and thst Paris Is amp
6 prov1s;s'Eed for Fix months. Anfi that. ia IN
ss geani.ne, fha "a, armies nos forming being y
ae the Loue nil CONC to the 1eluf o. u
Y d!1mtd city. AL this repeat merely
p" eiTe you reflex Ct the feelings aud ilnslo'
L. that not Cnly I'll! French hearts her-aeont, b
t. oTe1toms &1.o the more reflective nlnus
e, the ubiquitous travelling Eng1i.hmau. de