The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-10-01
THE SIEGE OF PARIS IN 20.
City Successfully Defended for -Four
Months.

not appear to be under any danger
of siege. the time when the kaiser's
troops menaced the French capital
and were within a few miles of the
Paris forts served to remind the peo-
pie very vividly of the former siege
of Paris by the Germans in the Fran
co-Prussian war of 1901.
There are today in Paris thous-
ands of people who remember the
former siege, and to them the fever
ish activity of a few weeks ago
when tons of provisions were massed
in the city and herds of cattle grazed
in the Bois de Bologne, were preg-
nant with memories.
On September 2, 1870, Macma-
hon surrendered at Sedan and Napo-
leon III and an army Of $1,000 Off
GERS and men became prisoners of
war. That catastrophe brought
down the empire and two days later
the provisional government was set
up in Paris. a fortnight afterwards
the investment of the capital was
complete. The victorious Prussian
army which had captured Macmahon,
had made straight for Paris in the
hope of an immediate entry and the
Prussian cavalry hurriedly complet-
ed the circle Of investment by a rap
i'd sweeping movement around the
city to the west
The siege began on September 19.
The final armistice was signed on
January %. Paris therefore stood
out for four months and there is
little doubt that she would have kept
the flag flying for much longer if she
had been better provisioned and If
there had been the slightest chance
of any assistance reaching her from
without. But by the end of January
her two million population were
within a week of absolute starva-
ton and one by one the hopes of out
side aid with which they had been
buoyed up. were dashed to the
ground.
Everything was in favor of the be-
siegers. Politically Paris was in a
state of confusion. The fall of the
empire necessarily meant that the
government was in the hands Of men
who were absolutely new to the
work of administration. Jules Fa-
vre. Gambetts. Rochefort and the
rest were ardent patriots, but they
were quite inexperienced. I
Their military position was. if pos
sible, even worse. Only isolated
fragments of the regular armies OF
the empire we've at their disposal.
The main armies had suffered sue
cession of shattering blows and were
no longer in being. One corps, saved
from Lenieres, another newly form
ed, large number of marines, sail
ors, ETC., together made up depend
able force of $4,000 men. The
Gardes Mobiles, from the Provinces
furnished another 5000, and the
Gardes Nationales, raised. in Paris
herself, comprised 100000 more.
The military value, however, of the
last body was very slight. They
manned the ramparts of the city but
rarely came into close contact with
the siegers. The real defence fell
On the men in the forts and the mo-
bile army under the direction of Du-
ceot.
These forts formed a ring around
Paris much closer to the city than
the outer ring of modern forts which
are the principal defence today, but
still requiring the Germans to hold an
enciennte of so miles At the outset
the besiegers had only about 100000
men available for the purpose and
their situation was one Of great diff
Guilty, considering the length Of their
communications, their lack of ade-
quate numbers, and above all, the
guerilla. tactics with which they were
harrassed on every side. If there
had been any well-trained French ar
mics in the provinces capable of TAX
ing a vigorous offensive, matters
might have gone i'll with the Ger
mans.
Their difficulties explain the lels-
urely methods with which the siege
was conducted during the first six
weeks when the population of Paris
was scarcely put to serious discom-
fort. But there was no well-trained
field army on which to rely. French
men responded gallantly enough to
the fiery appeals of Gambetta and De
Freycinct, but the raw levies had no
time to acquire discipline and their
bravery was unavailing. Fierack in
the west, D'Aurelles de- Paladines