The New York herald., 1873-12-25
MARSHAL >BAzAINE.
Epitome Of the Impeachment
Against Him
CHARG E S.

PARIS. Dec 8,sIST3.
AS these lines are being written the trial o6 Mar
shal Bazsane is drawing 70 an end, and In . few
days more all the world will be discussing verdict
which will be or permanent importance wherever
armies exist. The poiat at issue has been whether
the commander OF besieged fortress may under
any circumstances, short or actual storming or
starvation. surrender hrs citadel to the enemy,
and IL so what are the precise conditions under
which he may capitulate That is . subject which
is OF interest to Irancesto-day, buy which may con-
Germ any other nation tomorrow ! and as mill
tary precedent it is OF such deep historical moment
that American readers may like to have . full
epitome OF the events which form the Bazaine case
LAID before them. beginning IRON
THE OUTBREAK OF THE FRANCo-PRUssIAE WAR.
The French government formally declared war
against Prussia on the 18th July, 1870. Hostnities
had long been regarded as inevitable, both in
France ana Germany; but when the HohenzoFlern
candidature, which formed the casus beui, was
started by Count Bismarck, the French were not
prepared for great military struggle. their
War Minister, Marshal LebGuf, well knew AT the
nrst rumor of diplomatic difficulties the Marshal
hurried to Napoleon ILL, at st. Cloud, and stated
his position frankly. He said:-s'The Sadowa cam
paign opened eyes to the fact that Prussia had
army at larger, better organized and better
armed than our own. My predecessor, Marshal
Mel, set himself to reform our forces. He armed
the infantry with the chassep0t rife, gave us the
mltrailleuse and brought in a bill which rendered
military service general and compulsory by the in
stitution OF a mobile reserve. But Marshal Mel
died last year, before he could put all the details
or his new scheme into execution, and when
took his place was given to understand that the
outcry Of the liberals against excessive armaments
was so loud that must 60 for retrenchment
Wa hau nfran aH Tha fla en- rJa how pnf
been called out for drill at all this year; they have
no stores, commissarat or arms, and the conse-
quence is that, although we have an effective OF
1,200 900 men on paper, we can only bring 100000
men into the field, even II we summon all our gar
risons from Algeria. 1t will require at least two
years OF incessant preparation before we can meet
Prussia on equal terms" To this the Empress,
who was present at the conference, answered, in
dignantly ELF were q French of1cer would
blush to speak in so faint-hearted way. Do you
count the valor OF our troops for nothing, and do
you suppose that we require to be equally matched
with our foes in order to beat them2 Austeritz
was fought at double odds and the Prussians had
100000 men more than ourselves at Jenap' The
Empress was very eager FOR the war. The men,
aclng progress made by the radical party in the
elections, the insolence OF the opposition
press, and the fact that $1,000 soldiers
had voted against the Emperor at the
plebiscitum, all pointed to the urgency OF
obtaining some sensational military triumph
which should restore the prestige OF the Imperial
name and enable Napoleon III. to strike new
coup d'6t1t against the enemies OF HIS throne
Therefore the Empress followed up her first words
by others equally bitter, and Marshal LebGuf was
so hurt that he retired from the room and asked
for a sheet OF paper In the antechamber, In
order to write his resignation it there and them
EmDarOr m m
mind the ill-temper OF lady. He asked him to
go and do his best, adding that France would not
fight Prussia single handed, for that she was as
sured OF the alliance OF Austria and possibly OF
Italy, and that as to the States OF Southern Ger
many, 1t was smore likely that they would march
the soil OF France than on that of the ambitious
kingdom which was seeking to subdue them all.
These things the Emperor honestly believed. his
foreign Minister, Duke de Gramont, "the greatest
smpleton IN Europe" as Count Bismarck called
him. had been Ambassador at Vienna, and
was persuaded that the Austrians were burn
ing to revenge the humlliations OF 1866 The
Emperor himself, who had lived among Bavarians
and knew much OF Wurtemburg 35 years ago. was
convinced that there would be no friendship be-
tween these Catholic countries and the Protestant
State of the North, and he counted that Sadowa
had made an irreparable breach between them.
He was also so little acquainted with the temper
and strength OF Denmark, Hanover and Saxony as
to think that these three kingdoms would rise in
rebellion against Prussia, and, with respect to
Italy, forgetting how thoroughly the policy or
France in the Roman question had alienated the
gratitude Of Italians, he supposed that Victor En-
manuel would side with the French, to repay the
DEBT OF Soiferino. Marshal LebGuf being little
conversant with diplomatic AFFAIRS naturally ac-
cepted the Emperor's statements as correct; but
when he discovered that the hopes of q foreign
alliance were groundless, he proposed the only
plan OF war which, under the circumstances,
seemed TO him feasible. He suggested that all the
French forces should be massed together and
marched across the frontier to Saarbruck,
there to fight mighty battle-a very
Armageddon-in which, by dint OF num-
bers dash and confidence, the French would
be victorious NOW, first victory gives French
soldiers so much courage, and, consequently, such
an advantage over their worsted rivals that they
win a second battle, after which the Emperor could
have offered to conclude peace It was the plan
OF the Italian campaign over again, and just as the
Austrian Emperor mad accepted the peace OF Villa
franca when by forcing the French to continue the
war he might have checked and eventually routed
them by means Of the Quadrilateral, so Marshal
Leb9uf was OF opinion that Count Bismarck would
consent to make peace too, II the Prussian armies
were twice beaten. However, Napoleon acting
under the advice OF General Frossard, the Prince
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