The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1900-03-31
The Severe Privations Suffered
by Besieged Soldiers.
HISTORIC DEFENSE OF PETERSBURG
Paris Forced into Submission bv
Conquering Teuton.

With the relief of Ladysmith on
March came the close of one OF the
noted sieges of this century. Five such
affairs had preceded it, three fought out
under modern conditions from the open
PLAN with mere trenches as dcfenses.
All were marked by fierce attacks, dar-
ing sorties and heavy mortality from
pro)ectiles and disease. Between Plev-
ma and Ladysmitll but one affair" can
be readily recalled which presented a
lew OF the fundamental clements of a
siege. That was Santiago, but it de-
velopcd into successful assault against
'ntrcnchments by an army but slightly
superior i'll numbers, but immensely
superior i'll morale and fighting capa-
city.
Ladysmitll was bclcaguercd from Oct.
30 to March 1. General Sir George
Stewart White had garrison of some
$4,000 men. The foe has been estimat-
ed at from $4,000 to 10000 Beers, while
Buffers relieving force was about
$4,000. This placed the two forces
upon practical equality. But the be-
sicgcrs had the advantage of applying
to Butler the same style of defcnses
that White in his turn was applying to
them. They had a region of prac-
tically inaccessible and unassailablc
hills, well trcncllcd between the relicv-
ing force and the garrison. Modern
methods were applied all throughout
tie campaign, but trenches on kopjcs
at greater elevation than the city and
the relieving forces placed heavy bal
ancc in the hands Of the Transvaalcrs.
1t was siege Of constant lombard
mcnt, at first without accuracy OF fire,
then with such accuracy that the British
were forced to keep under cover con-
stantly. The garrison was reduced to
desperate straits and ready to capitu
late when the ilanking movement made
by Butler succeeded. Whether this was
wholly due to Lord Roberts move
mcnts up northwest is not certainly
known, but it is probable.
| Five other great siegcs in the century
occupy prominent inches in the history
OF modern war Scbastopol, in 1854,
was the keynote of the Crmcan war;
Lucknow, in 1857, was the great tragic
incident of the Sepoy mutiny; Peters
burg marked in 1866 the terminus of
the American war OF the rebellion; the
siege Of Paris was the climax of the
Franco-Prussian war, and Plevna, in
1879, added famous victory to the
! Russians against Turkey. With the ex-
ccption of Paris and Sebastopol, the
ccnturys sieges have been conducted
according to modern tactics and from
the shelter OF no more formidable forti-
fications than redoubts and trenches.
A brief statement of facts concerning
these memorable conflicts is given;
Sebastopol-A larbor town, whose
Notifications were considered impreg-
nablc; siege lasted from Sept. 26, 1854,
to Sept S, 1855; combined English,
French and Turkish forces, $4,000; Rus
sian garrison, 10000; Sebastopol
Icapitulated. .... ..
Lucknow-A stone residence entirely
unprotected; siege lasted from July I,
1857, to Nov 9, 1857; English garrison,
| 100; first relief, Aug. rs by General
Havclock will, 1,4oo men; second relief,
Nov. ID by Sir Colin Campbell with
5000; garrison withdrawn. -. ...
Petersburg-Forti6ed by trenches
and rcdoubts; siege lasted from June
Id, 1864, to April 3, 1865; union forces,
100000; confederate forces, 10000;
General Lee escaped from city to sur.
render three days later to General
Grant. -A.I
Paris-Scries OF stone forts complete
ly surrounding city; siege lasted from
Sept. II, 1870, to Jan. 28, 1871; French
garrison, 488,ooo; total number of be-
sicgcd, .2,314,274; Prussian forces, 4oo,-
600; General Trocllu surrendered the
city to Marshal Won Moltke .-.,3<
Plevna-Well fortified with trenches
and rcdoubts; siege lasted from July 20,
1877, to Dec. 10, 1877; Turkish garrison,
$4,000; Russian forces, 10000; Russian
losses, 1890; Osman Pasha surren-
dercd to General Skobelef.
With the beginning of the Crimean
war in March, 1854, Sebastopol, which
had been called the Gibraltar of Russia,
was the objective point Of all the allied