The San Francisco call., 1898-05-01

cent wears were those of Alexandria and Paris. In both cases. the attack prevailed over the defense, notwlth- standing that the Qualifications of both cities were immensely strong and up- .to-date in every particular However. there were extenuating circumstances in each case which accounted for the premature success of the enemy.
 The contest at Alexandria was short but decisive. Within ten hours the British fleet, under Admiral Seymour. had effectually silenced every gun on the shore. Ten thousand shell and solid shot were poured in on the thor oughly frightened. Egyptians, and complete evacuation of the forts was the result Yet very little execution was done by this veritable hail of iron. for the great parapets of sand, which protected the batteries, rendered harm less the huge thiTteen-inch projectiles. and it was only because of the havoc caused by the fragments of shells which flew around everywhere and ac- complished frightful slaughter among the gallant adherents of Arabf Pasha. joined to a knowledge that their want Of accuracy in aiming left the meet practically unharmed, that the de- lenses were so speedily rellnqulShed 10 the British admiral.
 .... As every; one knows, the guns were mostly all spiked or blown to pieces by a landing party of marines, but outside Of the forts themselves, the destruction was very small for the presence of friends as well as foes in the city for bade an extensive shelling of any but the recognized native quarter, yet sui ficient damage was done by the incen- diary shells to start fire that almost destroyed the entire town. In this en- .gagement the enormous power Of the eighty-one ton guns, the projectiles of which weigh over HOO pounds, was amply demonstrated; but 1t was also made evident that the quickly thrown up. and inexpensive emDankmentS or sand form an invulnerable defense against even these terrible weapons. and there can be little doubt that, in the hands of experienced gunners, the guns of the harbor batteries would have given a much better account of themselves It is even an open ques- ton whether the fleet would not have been repulsed under such circum- stances.
 The bombardment of Paris, though 1t can hardly be compared with pos : SipFe attack on Havana, is yet worthy of notice as, illustrating what measures can be taken to reduce an unwilling city to Su5jection. During the month of January 1871, the Prussian guns literally rained on the Qualifications of the beautiful capital the seemingly i'm possible. number Of 10000 shells each day. and Of these more than 500 fell on a: daily. average. into ;fhe city proper,
 the: de.vastaton caused by the latter in soIae- part was frightful, and the fires :inr conSequence often threatened tc ruin whole: districts.
 During. the Civil War there were ;: many furiQ7ls bonibardments, but they were: pEncipally .:directed against i'm .portant .ferts. and in no case were the :eerts aI nities threatened with destruc- ton; in fact; the wonderfully small loss of life in all these operations during
 lne iIl0nlentoGs struggle of lS61-65 is worthy of remark, as showing the com .pleteness. of the means adopted to pro- tect the defenders from the dangerous missiles; the more noteworthy since. in
 nearly every case, the forts in question . were very severely handled and many of them disn1antled.
 Undoubtedly the most interesting
 storIs.of siege and bombardment in the annals. of warfare since cannon were first invented, is that of the unsuccess-
 full attempt of Spain to regain in 1779 the fortress of Gibraltar, which Eng
 land had taken by storm few years