The New York herald., 1870-08-21
% Terrible Flsssing In Frasce-He'
~ Long Can They Stand Its


zaine, and still the result, though apparently
accepted in Berlin as decisive, seems immi-
nent rather than determined. Although the
King OF Prussia claims that, as the issue Of
Thursdays battle, he had 'totalIy routed the
French forces, we must remember that he
has made the same claim for every day of the
fighting, beginning with Sunday last. 1t was
asserted by the King in his dispatches that
the French were routed on Sunday in the
battle to the east and south of Metz, and also
in each of the successive battles of Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday to the west of Metz;
but as matter Of fact we have seen that the
French on the day after each of these SO
called routs have delivered desperate battles.
Great reliance, therefore, cannot be placed
upon his Prussian Majesty's hasty and san
guine dispatches, and it may be that, notwlth-
standing this last ''total destruction" of Thurs
day, there is still another fight in the French.
Indeed, 1t Is reported az we write that there
was another battle on Friday. His Majesty's
several remarks also on cutting Bazaines
communication and on driving him into Metz
been ''driven into Metz" every day, and
at one hour we were assured he must
capitulate; yet on Thursday it seems
he was near Rezonvile, with troops
enough to fight the armies of Steinmetz and
Frederick Charles for ten hours, and his COM
munications have not been so badly cut but
be has been heard from every day. In fact,
for the battles Of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday
and Wednesday, both sides claimed the vic
tory, and doubtless the French will match
the German claim for Thursday also. De-
pendence cannot be placed upon the story Of
either side. 1t is only by comparison of the
two stories that we can get some glimpse of
the real state of the facts
One of our dispatches gives a statement of
some significance for those who would con-
template the issue of all these days of game
and murderous fighting near Metz-these days
that repeat the saughters of the Wilderness
and the tenacious fighting of the seven days
before Richmond. 1t is reported as from
British source that ''but little remains of the
splendid army of Prince Frederick Charles"
In all the battles the Prussians have had the
offensive. In the fight in front of Metz the
French had the cover of permanent works,
and from these their artillery inflicted very
severe punishment on the Prussians, while
their own losses were comparatively light.
Doubtless in each of the subsequent days the
French had the cover of extempOrized field
works, for we know that for the past few
years, since our own war had shown the great
utility of this sort Of defence, regular
part of their field exercise has been in the con-
struction of such works. With the splendidly
served French artillery playing on the advanc-
ing lines of German infantry, and the French
infantry, meantime, in great degree if not
completely covered by the field works, it could
not but happen that there should be great dis
parity between the losses of the two armies
and thus while we know that the French loss
has been very heavy, it seems tolerably safe
to assume that the Prussian loss has been
double, if it has not even been still greater.
No history that satisfies the mind has yet been
written of the comparative losses of Grant and
Lee in the great campaign of the Wilderness;
but Grants losses as against Lees could not
the French and Prussians it is not SO bad
as this; for the works with which the French
have covered their lines, since Sunday at least,
have not afforded the troops such protection
as the carefully prepared works in Virginia
afforded the men under Lee But the cases
are in great degree analogous, and no
doubt they resemble, especially in the great
disparity of losses for the respective sides
In case, then, this battle of Thursday shall
prove no more decisive than were the battles of
Wednesday, or Of Tuesday or Monday; in case
the ne WIS of Fridays battle proves true, there
remains this possibility for the French-that
the waste of German force may moderate the
impetuosty of the German advance; that this
German military avalanche in fact, having ex-
hausted its impulse, may be stayed even by
the inconsiderabIe resistance that Bazaine can
still oppose to it. This we say, is only pos
sbility 1t is fact, however, that the Ger
mans have not destroyed the force in their
front with the suddenness and completeness
that their precipitate rush forward seemed to
require. They have taken none of the strong
places in their rear They have passed them
all. Nothing in the history Of war ever made
such conduct safe but immediate and crushing
victory over the force in the field. If an army
by single blow destroys the force that could
keep the field against it, its communications
may take care of themselves, for it is supreme
but in any other event it will be found that the
universal principles Of war apply to these Ger
man armies of to-day as they have applied tc
all other armies. That the Crown Prince may
yet have to reinforce the other Ger
man armies is contingency not so remote