Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-10-08
THE BRIEY iron Mines
Where Germany Gets the Metal TO
Wage War.
sIX.sEVENTHs OF ITS WHOLE SUPPLY
When the Americans Capture Metz,
the Enemey Will Be Reduced to
Sore Straits for Iron Orc.

Nobody belittles the objective
S:,:cc Metz fell to Germany. October
LEI, 1870, Germany has spent time ant
money and human labor as lavishly q
Ishe now spends blood to create a system
OF imprcgnable defenses for the cit.
on the Moselle. which Is now unde
the Thor hammers OF our guns.
Since 1900 she has constructed al
louter chain Of defenses centered ol
the Gravelotte battle-ground. sever
miles west OF Metz. Here on Angus
IlS. 1870 the principal battle Of tn,
Franco German war was fought
Marshal Bazaine from that battle fel
back on Metz, which he so soon after
ward evacuated.
On the north Of Metz these moderI
Idefenses extend as far as Dieden
hofen. which is the German name fo
Thionville. twenty-five miles north O.
Metz The older fortifcations o
Thionville were destroyed in 1908 ant
the ground was laid out in streets
This place is the capital Of the iror
industry of Lorraine.
OF course the reason why the lont
arm of Germany's emplacements anC
REINFORCED concrete and giant gum
reaches so far to the north of Metz !:
her profound conviction. based on ad.
amantine fact, as to the value Of the
Il -,l, 1,.l,, t~ nd ~
these guns and Notifications.
| The Briey iron area Is about eight
miles wide and forty miles long. The
deposit Is about sixty feet thick. The
ore contains SO per cent OF iron
Though this IL not a very high per-
ccntage. the ore Is plentiful and easy
to mine.
The guns OF Essen depend upon the
iron of Briey. which is now siN-sev-
enths of Gcrmany's whole supply.
Near Pont "A Mousson. on the Mo.
selle, about fifteen miles from Metz
where the lines OF the Allies until
lately crossed the river. the big guns
Of the French have been awaiting
their chance: and now 1t looks az
though they had It, Moreover the
Americans have immense guns o.
their own. which are doing their share
in reducing the bristling insQlence oi
the Metz environment.
The present operations before Metz
in a twefoid drive. pR,theeWest an1
from the south at once. point the diff
| ference between the obsolete modes
of warfare Of which Metz was for
merly the target and the scientific
hidcousness of war today.
The Romans had connected Metz by
| military roads with Verdun, Strass-
burg, Toul, Rheims, Lyons, Caesar
called it one of the most important
towns in Gaul. Attila and his COM
parativcly d-mannered Huns plum
dercd II in the fifth century.
But even in the sixteenth century,
when Francis, Duke of Guisc. defend
ed Metz against Charles V and his
10000 men, it had no fortiflcations
worthy OF tne name.
II Is significant that 1t was on the
18th of October 1852, that Charles V
invested the town. Under Charless
primitive artillery fire the duke con-
tinued to build up the defenscs. He
had virtually no artillery, and on the
29th of October he smugsled to King
Henry OF France, through the encmy's
lines. this letter:
"As | have already split four Of the
seven pieces of artillery / have been
firing have decided after careful con-
sideration to load them with hall
charges only.
| 81 shall use them to terrify by the
noise rather than by the effect.
II shall also employ falconets and
other small pieces.
ut Is not my fault that the warning
was not given in good time, so that
might have procured assistance"
OF one Of the cannon-a "culverin'"-
he complained that a foot and a half a
the front end had burst, but II have
had 1t sawn of and I shall still bt
able to use 1t. assure you, sire. the
fault lay not In the overlooking
These guns were so badly cast thai
they will'not endure even the small.
est charge"
| With this artillery "for noise only
the duke still boldly insisted that ht
could hold out for ten months. and HI
wrote letters In all directions (thougf
how he got them through is a mys'
tery) begging everybody he knew t
help him.
| In the meantime he stuffed thu
breaches in the walls with sacks o.
earth, the women aiding; killed th'
horses and salted them and went from
post to post slapping his men on th'
back and bidding them to be Of gooc
courage.
Charles v became so angry at tn
i'll success OF his demoralized troop
that he took to his bed in a high fe
yer.
He withdrew in the depths Of de
spondency December 26. 1852. afte
the loss of 10000 men.
The Duke Of Guise pounced dowi
upon the camp and found cemeteries
groaning sick men and some frozel
to the knees in mires.
"As IL bs magic the French forgo
their own sufferings. the dangers the!
had just escaped, the mental ardo
which had animated them, ant
thought Of nothing but how to succo
these unfortunate Germans, thus alb
andoned with their feet in the snow
administering all necessaries ant
such comforts as poor sick foreigner
want"
1t is possible that the Germans
who are supposed to be great histor
ians. have forgotten this page Of his
tory?
Marshal Bazaine muddled thing
dreadfully at Metz in 1870. H
bro,,oht IN the defense the devious an