Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-23
AGAINST ASSAULT
Description Of Some Remarkably
Brave Defenses.
THE COMMANDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA
How Gibraltar Withstood a SIEGE
of Three Years.
INVESTMENT OF HAVANA
FHE COMMANDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA
INVESTMENT OF HAVANA

Written for The Evening Star by Robert Oswald
Scalian, Lieutenant Royal Artillery.
In the event of war between Spain and
| the United States. it is generally anticipat-
] ed that the American navy would proceed
| to invest Havana ard demand the uncon-
ditional surrender of that city Such a
course would put to an immediate test the
resources of the Spanish fleet, and the sue
cessful issue of the American attack on
their principal naval station would put a
terrible handicap on all future operations
| Undertaken by the Spanish ships against
ours. One can easily imagine, therefore,
the strenuous efforts that would be made
on the one hard to carry out. and on the
the other 10 repcl any such attack Yet it
is difficult to see how, in the face of a
strong attacking feet in front and an
almost certain attempt from the rear by
the insurgents, aiGed possibly by an in
vadinS force of our own troops, the gar
rison could hope to hold out against the
inevitably disastrous bomhar dment that
must follow a vigorous resistance Moth
lllS save the presence OF a powerful Span
ish squadron could avail to prevent the
city falling at once into our hands
In view of these facts it is interesting
to review the fates of some famous cities
which preferred the horrors of lombard
ment to an igromnious surrender. The
most remarkable instances of recent years
were those of Alexandria and Paris In
both cases the attack prevailed over the
defense, Notwithstanding that the fortifi-
cations of both cities were immensely
strong ard up to date in every particular
However. there We're extenuatng circum-
stances in each case which accounted for
the premature success of the enemy.
Hcmbnrdment of Alexandria.
The contest of Alexandria was short. but
decisive. Within ten hours the British
fleet, under Admiral Seymour, had eff
tectually sileneed every gun on the shore.
Ten thousand shell and solid shot were
Egyptians, and a complete evacuation of
the forts was the result. Yet very little
execution was done by this veritabe hail
of iron, for the great parapets of sand,
which protected tho batteries rendered
harmless the huge 13-inch prOjectiles, and
1t was only because of the havoc caused
by the fragments Of shells which flew
around everywhere and accomplished a
frightful slaughter among the gallant adj
herents of Arab Pasha, Joined to a knowl-
edge that their want of accuracy in aim
ing left the fleet practically unframed,
that the defenses were speedily relin-
pushed to the British admiral. AS every
one knows, the guns were mostly all spiked
or blown to pieces by landing party of
marines, but outside of the forts them
selves. the destruction was very small, for
the presence Of friends as well as foes in
the city forbade an extensive Smelling of
any but the recognized native quarter, yet
sufficient damage was done by the incen-
diary shells to start a fire that almost de-
stroyed the entire town. In this engage
ment the enormous power of the Sl-ton
guns, the projectiles of which weigh over
LOO pounds, was amply demonstrated;
but 1t was also made evident that the
quickly thrown-up and inexpensive en-
bankments of sand formed an invulnera-
BILE 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 them
selves. 1t is even an open question whether
the fleet would not have been repulsed I'M
der such circumstances. Herein lies an
example and moral which those who oppose
all proposals to increase the artillery
branch of our army might well ponder,
for the success of the ships under Admiral
Seymour's comm and showed conclusively
that 1t is useless to expect that the mag
nificent engines of modern warfare be
manipulated even moderately we'll by men,
however brave and willing, who have not
undergone the lengthy and arduous course
of training that Is necessary to turn out
properly qualified gunner.
Siege of Paris.
The bombardment of Paris, though it can
hardly be compared with a possible attack
on Havana. is yet worthy of notice as IL
Illustrating what measule s can be taken to
reduce unwilling city to subsection.
During the month of January, 1871, the
Prussian guns literally rained on the forti-
fications of the beautiful capital the SEEM
ingly impossible number of 10000 shells
each day, and of these more than 800 fell
on a daily average into the city proper; the
devastation caused by the latter in some
Parts was frightful, and the fires in conse-
Guence often threatened to ruin whole dis
tricts. Many houses and walls were thrown
down by the garrison, SO as to leave large
open spaces where shells could do but little
or no damage, yet many a one who had en-
dured the pangs of hunger in silence and
submitted without complaint to the severe
regulations of the commissary general, for
the honor and sake Of La Belle France"
found 1t hard to restrain both tears and in
dignation when, on returning from the
front after long and hopeless struggle
against apparently invincible foe he
could discover nothing save the ruins OF his
former home.
During the civil war there were many
furious BONITA rdments, but they were prin-
cipally directed against important forts,
and in no cSse were the ports or cities
threatened with destruction: in fact the
wonderfully small loss Of life in all these
operations during the momentous struggle
Of 1S61-65 is worthy Of remark, as showing
the completeness of the means adopted to
protect 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 dismantled. A few years before,
however, during the protracted siege o. Sc
bastopol, the combined fleets of France and
England had demonstrated the power and
possibilities OF the cannon Of the period
when arrayed In opposition to even the
most elaborate and scientific systems OF de-
Tense; only the severity Of the climate and
the extraordinary intrepidity Of the Rus
sian soldiers enabled them to keep the al
lies at bay for such a lengthy period.
Gibraltar's Defense in 1910.
Undoubtedly the most interesting story
of siege and bombardment in the anr ais
Of warfare since cannon were first invent
ed Is that Of the unsuccessful attempt of
Spain to regain In ITO the fortress of
Gibraltar. which England had taken by
storm few years before. For three years
and seven months the stronghold was in
vested by large force of all arms and
practically uninterrupted fire from 1875
guns, including some fifty mortars Of lS-
inch caliber. was maintained from Janus nv
II, 1850, till February 2, 1783 Meanwhile
the gallant little garrison was hut ov,ce -,