New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-04-05
An OPERA BOUFFE BATTLE.

Promotion has been quick in the French
"army" from the time when Claude Melnottc
rose from the ranks to q Colonelcy in twelve
months, and Corporal Fritz to be Genera
in az many minutes, down TO the memoraoic
time when Gustave FlOurens was transformer
III brief fortnight from the skuiking ieauoi
of MOntmartre mob to inc Colh-
mander of a corps of National UuaiuS'
The organization. leadership, and achieve-
ments of the Paris nsurgent army are bur
lesoue mon Those of the Opera Boufie, ana
Fritz and Boom are caricatured iii FlOurens and
Rergerot AS in every revolution of the KIND
| which affrights Paris with its passion and
te,rors. the scum of the great city is
the first to come to the seething surface.
| The Commune has elevated to place
men with only the slightest knowledge of pub
lie affairs; whose brief experience in war oper-
atoms has been confined to the direction OF IN
ferna machine cOnspiracies or attacks on the
Hotel de Villo. These have been Entrusted
not only with the liberties and safety OF
city of O million and half of people, but
have had the temerity to lead to battle col
umn of o hundred thousand men, lacking in
arms, deficient in training, and almost wholly
unOrganized.
The natural result was the very ridiculous
conflict which we record this morning. 1t
seems to have been principal feature OF the
plan of campaign against Versailles that the
Government troops in Fort Mont Valerien
were to fraternize with the insurgents, refuse
to serve their guns, throw open their gates,
and otherwise reveal their incapacity to obey
and enjoy good government. On this SUPPOSE
N have al.
and only blind ignorance and folly could
have suggested to the Commune leaders, they
occupied on Sunday night several villages be-
tween Fort Mont Valerien and Versailles.
When morning dawned on Monday, Fort
Mont Val6ren opened a heavy fire upon
them. Then began a desperate struggle to
get back to Paris IN which each individual
insurgent appears to have relied less upon the
organization to which he belonged than in the
strength of his own good legs. Throughout
the day the fort, and few batteries of flying
artillery posted in advance OF Versailles, kept
up continuous fro on the mob. dispensing 1t
in every direction. According TO their own
story, the Communists succeeded, by strenuous
and almost superhuman efforts, in form ing
junction of their columns, with the terri
bic design of advancing on Versailles,
but as the concentration was effected
far in the rear of their previous
position, and behind Fort Mont Valerien,
1t is more probable that they advanced back
ward on Paris than that they reached Yer
sailles In some of the reports, inspired from
Paris, the battle is represented as very
sanguinary affair indeed but as the firing was
confined exclusively to artillery, it is not likely
that the ranks of either army were decimated
What operations followed the flight of the
Communists we know not yet in detail, but
the intimaton that the Government troops
again defeated the Communists yesterday and
that they will enter Paris to-day, would seem
to imply that the mob thus thrown
into confusion has not been collected
again. The prompt advance of Gen.
Vinoy is unquestiOnably the proper policy
for the Government, since pursuit will give
the Communists no time to rally for defense
against the army, or to commit Outrages upon
peaceful citizens. Thus far the sacrifice OF life
has not been great; the danger now is that
the cOwardly mob may wreak vengeance on
the defenseless people of the capital before
the Government is in possession for their pro-
feet ion.