The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-09-18

lng the fields on both sides Of the road for {
The small hamlet Of Horyillc was held by q
strong German, picket, which the French drove
Of the German administers and the presence
of numerous small bodies Of cavalry demon
ress would soon be seriously disputed.
He, forthwith adopted the specific method ol
practically threw The whole OF the foreign ie,
Rion into extended order, The movement
'noe some time to execute, as the front, thus
ING. from fSnk to Hank, fully two miles. Beau
morehais, could not. of course, exercise personal
ommand over a brigade split up into sectional
but each unit had its definite instructions.
or left. Taking every aiyantose OF cover, and
never wasting n shot which had not n target
selected by the section commapder, It was, II
ipg, units and fire !onG-rnnge vollcys at every
visible body OF the enemy in the direct front.
sighted the skirmishers wcrc advised to gain
th Ho6 best shelter o6tein2Rlc within l500 to
volley firing at the guns.
In a phrase the %oleninR stage OF the battle
would be q duel between the long-range rifle
and the long-range cannon, between the tiny
bullet and the screaming shell. Which would
Beautiful positions had been selected nv the
Prussian artillerists. Five hundred modern
guns OF the latest type and %fattest trajectory
any army corps that strove TO force a passage
along the Metz road.
The KaisHr's stan relied on the machine.
Nansittart relied on the man who directed the
machine.
At 10 o'clock the heavy staccato notes of the
crack OF the rifle fire. and Beaumarehais at
once strengthened his irregular but unbroken
gade.. The commander OF u third brigade re-
seived orders tolodge his men In half battalions
At 'ro various Jus points + t II the rear Of the extended
and Majors the exact time and direction OF any
deeisiMys m2vement IN support Of the skirmish-
ers. The General himself, stationed with the
fourth and last brigade on a cross road be-
tween Mars la ToIr and CONTAINS, occupied
the centre of the base Of the triangle formed
by those two villages with Gravelotte at the
apex.
From that base the French attack advanced
roughly speaking, followed. the same semi
circular line at q distance Of about a mile.
ted singly and in small groups behind every
tree, house and mound ove' an area of near
" three miles.
The Third Brigade, in compact bodies. sup
piled supports at different centres. and the
Fourth Brigade. a dense mass Of 5000, men.
ent lines of the attack.
The German centre. consisting Of 250.000
direct front. while the north and south wings.
of 10000 men each. were posted on the tanks
of THE the F PTt&Sfhin %o fTo Sp5y. numbering 25o,ooo
defined army corps, marching parallel to each
marchais's division. Midway between lay
the French guns and cavalry.
savored OF an affair Of outposts rather than a
Kaiser ~gleefulIy exclaimed:
charlatan than the third Napoleon. He is
marching into the trap. By / O'CLOCK l shall
Count Holbach. the commander OF the Ger
man artillery division. and his subordinates.
ticp. were nor so Sura of the pNppllpDpn of OK
These experienced officers well knew the
own side. The welI-placed German shells
must have wrought havoc IN the now clearly
centage Of loss among the gunners was grow
ing, more serious minute by minute. Slight
leaden gusts swept away the batteries. and a
ers. showed already q heavy list OF casualties.
Eagerly did the German leaders look for
came not. save perhaps a slight increase in the
frequency and severity Of those terrible gusts.
im nStIsnt s n IaI and IL s Mi more impst lent e Az
The devil take them" he cried. Where
"A phiegmatic officer. by his side answered:
There are no guns. 1t is n stroke Of genius.
either hurry up our own blttalions or fall back
SSp:9n them There is no alternative. We are
The General turned angrily upon him. You
had better take that message to the En-
with pleasure The other turned his
No. ne; not yet. ! did but resent your
his present position
The:oficer made no reply. and they both. for
a little space, watched, the progress OF events.
In a battery beneath them. on the right. fully
half OF the Officers and men were disabled.
to work them. As they looked. a leaden shower
of extra severity fell against the hillside. Five
nnllinro hFnnnnh fhFAn nnn DUIn ftun ~
another. The survivors quite coolly reappor-
toned their duties. Three guns out OF six
The object lesson was not lost. Count
Holbach,s face was set firmly as he said:
,a vT tbee | Pde@ a9 fae t EE@R E@@ed G9i; a sb1n6r and ID
one il not two infantry divisions, II not sup
piled, within half an hour l will retire every
The Kaiser's face flushed when he read the
message. But he was slowly learning self
necessary Instructions for the despatch OF the
much-needed relief.
When II, came. the roles quickly changed.
inning-it. was their turn to ndure a bad
quarter of an hour.
nolbach to the commander OF the Hanoverian
crumpie up the centre Of the French crescent
and strive to take the outer horns in flank
a'! Nor y %er e1 tSe f f6Peien i lesio ane which through
out had borne the brunt Of the shell fire. made
OF the STUN from which retreats are manu-
featured.
There was now every prospect Of n sanGuin-
airy, encounter. were il, not that Beapmarchais
had his imperative orders. based solely on the
clock. and at present justified almost to the
second.
A few minutes before II he threw forward
the Fourth Brigade 20 check the rapid on
slaught OF the Hanoverians. and at the same
time sent out several aides with emphatic in
structions for a gradual but definite falling
back upon Horville.
Each quarter:of an, hour since 8 A. NJ. "a
mounted messenger brought &c, Vanslttart a
written report from Beaumarchais
When Jerome received that dated IL A. NJ.
he smiled appreciatively and handed it to Dau-
bison. saying:
Instruct the artillery to take up position
and send n warning for immediate readiness
to the commanders of the three army corps"
By II 80 the German infantry came within
the fire zone OF the French artillery and halted
for supports,
Count Holbach. on, his own responsibility,
threw forward one battery after another TO
constantly ~apprised o., his actions,
The excitement of the situation was rapid
ly working the EmDerOr uD to boiling pOint.