Year: 1870

Opening Operations Of the War.
| Already the contest in Europe shapei
itself a little. With the rspidity o
movement and directness Of purpos'
that the railroad and telegraph assure
the French army is concentrating 81


Metz, one of the most strongly fortified


posts of France, situated on the Moselle


at about two hundred and fifty miles
distant from Paris. Metz is connected
by rail with every important point on
the Upper Rhine, and, on the Other
hand, through Luxumburg with all


Belgium and the eastward lines to


North Germany, while by the line oi
the Moselle it is within easy striking
distance Of that part Of the Prussian
frontier which was formerly the Rhine
provinces, and ia distant about one


hundred miles from the Rhine al
Bingen. From this position, therefore,
as q base, il is possible to approach the
Rhine at any point that circumstances
may require The fact that the Empe-
ror was about 10 leave Paris Yesterday
to take personal command Of the force
concentrated at Metz, and that the di-
vision commands have already been
assigned to Mcmahon, Canrobert and
Bazaine, indicates that his Majesty
means to lose none of the possible ad,
vantage Of q first blow, and also that
he means TO fight in the enemys coun-
try if possible. Railroads, however,
move as rapidly on one side of the
Rhine as the other; and since it is now
ten days since the war excitement first
arose, and AT least five days since
war seemed really imminent, We cannot
suppose that Prussia will be caught
mapping, Napoleon will really gain
little if any advantage by celebrity and
readiness, since for the work immedi


ately before him he does not possess
these in greater degree than his antag-
onist. The alarm is already too old
for the war to surprise Prussia, and the
greater immediate strength of France
would only he important if the whole
available force Of either side were con
centrated in one general action; and
that this will occur is in the highest
degree improbable.


There is, however, one phase ef the
war that implies more for France thsn
for Prussia. Evidently the navies on
either side are counted for very active
part in the struggle. France has a
strong, eminently effective nsvy-a
better navy than has ever yet figured
in any European war Prussia has a
good naval force but in this direction
is far overmatched, and her ambition to
become great maritime power Is
likely to meet with some brusque sur.
prises before many days go by. The
cooperation of the French gunboats
with the troops on the Rhine and
the intention to blockade and lombard
Prussian ports show the facility with
which France launches all her power,
while they will also open some new
views of continental war Old a. the
Rhine is in all the glory OF war, innu-
merable as have been the bloody en-.
counters waged within sound Of its
waters. ii is not familiar with the kind
of fighting most known on such com
paratively unhistoric streams as our
own Cumberland and Tennessee. But
it is to have a vision Of that sort of war
Truly the time when the old marshals
wasted months of the summer days
in the effort to dodge one another
on the Rhine, and when the success
OF campaign turned on the
point whether one general could pass
the river in presence Of another
or could fool him and pasa it some
where else, is very positively gone :;
happily gone, too for the breyity of the
war, since a little gunboat now steams
into the stream at the chosen place,
adjusts her battery with the dslibera.
ton of a foppish parson in his pulpit,
and opening her hundred-pounders on
the enemys position, settles the whole
question, covers the passage, and even,
il need be, takes part in the subsequent
battle, and does much to danoralize
the foe by delivering blows that he is
utterly impotent TO return. All
this comes in now in Europe,
as il came before in America,
and il comes in best for France;
for whatever force Of this ,ort Prussia
might have fit for use on the Rhine is
corked into Prussian ports by the French
blockade, and the boats of France have
the river at their pleasure, since the
only fleet Prussia has out, except far
away in the Mediterranean, is the feet
in the British channel which Is already
matched with French feet posted TO
watch, and mag even presently give us
that rarity in modern days, the battle
of fleet in open waters. This il a
contest where waiting and plodding
cannot lie induIged, and hard hitting on
land or water must come soon.