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Show Miscellany The Franco Prussian War By HERBERT TEMPLE (European Manager of the Inte national Isews Service.) Article IV By the mldd e of August 1S70 he French were in desperate straits On August 14 the German bombardment of Strassburg was begun Strassburg s n the fighting zone of the present war and maj at any t me become the scene of a battle S nee 1S71 the town has been an important German mill ary post trie kaiser maintaining more tl an 30 000 troops there n time of peace On the same day that the bombard ment of St assburg commenced the first German army near Metz made a sue cessful attack on the French corps un der Baza ne thereby baffl ng the at empt of that commander to retreat to the 1 ne of the Marne This deve oped into the sangu nary series of battles at Co orobey Noui y Vionv 1 e and Rezonvi le on August 14 16 and 18 finally won by the Germans but w th tremendous losses The engage ment at Colombey Nou y on August 14 known as the battle of Cource es or Pange was won by the Germais under Von Steinmetz but It was a cost y vc tory The batt e raged all day a ong a long line The Pruss ans lost oOOO men k ed and -Bounded wh e the French losses amounted to 3o00 but t e super or num bers of the Germans forced the French to retreat This German victory prevented the junct on of Baza ne s arm with that of Marsha MacMahon at Chalona The next da Baza ne was bltterl ce ured b apo eon for ordering the retreat On August b at tonville occurred the battle of Mars la Tour the bloodiest en gagemen of the Franco Prussian a up o tha ne It was won b the e ond German a my under Prince F ederick i Char es but at terr ble cost The tat e ed veterans of Baza ne s French army were the aggressors assaulting the -Ger man position w th dogged determination. The fighting began In the early morning and lasted far Into the night being marked bv aeton shing bravery on both s des B the unexpe ted unmask ng of a French m tra le se battery Prince Henry of Reuss and n any other German nobles were kl led At this the ictory was claimed by the French but the Ger mans fouDht on and finally dro e the enemy back on Gra e otte During the fighting there was a Ba a klava charge by a German regiment of ca ajry on a French batten by whlcn it was dec mated but to this the German victory was largelj due In th s great battle Germany lost twice as many men as at Koenlggratz, los ng about 17 000 In kl led and wounded The French loss was estimated at about the same figure After a dav of rest during which both sides buried their dead and co ected tl e wounded and Bazaine concentrated h a men at Rezon le for a de Islve conf lc there was fought on August 18 the bat tie of Gravel ote the most sangu nan engagement of the war perhaps one of the greatest battles in history Two un dred thousand Germans commanded by King Wl am himself we e opposed to 130 000 Frenchmen The f ght ng lasted twel e hours and the resu t was long In suspense but final y the French right was outflanked and Baza ne s men were forced to retreat in utter route to the protect on of Me The French army was thus completely defeated cut off from communication vith Par s and bottled up at Met. In this batt e the Germans were said to have lost 25 000 and the French 19 000 Another est mate of the losses put the Ge man k led and wounded at 20 000 and t e French at 13 000 Bazaine was now shut up in the fortl flea t ons of Metz which town was in vested by t e German arm under Prince Freder ck Char es S mu taneous y tbe bombardment of Strassburg was renewed A despera a trench sort e from Strass burg was rep lsed and the Germans were driven back fron Phalsburg MacMahon reached Cha ons with 150 000 men and was there Jo ned by Emperor Napoleon About the same tin e Pruss a la d c aim to Alsace and Lo ra ne and King W 1 liam appointed m tary gove nors for those provinces The loss of Alsace and Lorra ne was the bitterest blow trance rece ved in the war a hum! atlon from wh c the French nation has not vet re covered It was to wipe out the s ng of 1S70 that France moved he f st troops toward Alsace and Lorraine when the war of 1914 began On August 20 MacMahon n arc ing to the re ef of Metz was cut off by the t ird and fourth German arm es unde the king and crown prince and forced to retreat On August '4 MacMahon fted ha camp at Cha ons which was occup ed by t e Germans on the fo ow ing day y 1th m nor engagements foug t n ate August at Vr zy V try Versan and other small towns In which success was about equa y dlv ded MacMahon s a my con t nued to retreat unt 1 September 1 when began the two day batt e at Sedan just south of the Be g an border the dec slve bat e of the war (End of fourth Insta Iment Continued tomorrow ) |