THE WAR IN EUROPE.

Southland Times, Issue 1311, 23 September 1870, Page 2

THE WAR IN EUROPE.

The followiag are the latest telegrams received from Europe via San Francisco : Loktdow, August 10th. Paris telegrams of Tuesday and to-night do not change the aspect of affairs. Houses and trees at all distances Within five thousand yards of the fortifications of Metz, are destroyed. La Patrie, describing the scene in the Corps Legialatif yesterday, siys when Ollivier attempted to speak a second time, the Deputies of the Left rushed for him and would have murdered him, had not the members caught him and promptly interposed. An expedition, comprising 350 French war ships, with 40,000 men, is preparing to sail for the Baltic ; hence Elsinore is reported to be the basis of French operations. France, it is said, intends to bombard all the Prussian towns on the Baltic, and land an army numbering 100,000 men on its coast, thus taking Prussia in the rear. A Prussian despatch boat is watching the progress of the French ironclads. Strategists profess to make out that the battle at Metz, notwithstanding late engagements, will be on very equal terms. The French Baltic Expedition is considered an effective flank movement. The following is the text of a proclamation by the Emperor of the French, which was issued by the E npress Eugenic as Regent. It is dated Palace of the Tuileries, Aug. 7 :— " Frenchmen, the opening of the war has not been favorable to us. "We have suffered a check. Let us be firm under this reverse, . and let us hasten to repair it. Let there be but one party in the land — that of France ; a single flag— that of the National honor. I come among you. faithful to my mission and my duty. You will see me the first in danger to defend: the flag of France. I conjure all good citizens to maintain order. To agitate would be to conspire with our enemies." Pabis, August 10th. Nearly all the theatres were closed lasfc night. It was remarked that the crowds about the city, though enormous, were very quiet. The work-shops were generally^ closed yesterday. The caricatures on war~ subjects disappeared from the shop. . windows because they were offensive to the public. The crowds about the kiosks, where the newspapers are -sold, were enormous ; people would fight to get the journals the moment they were issued. Q-eneral Millinet h:;s asked for a command in the Army of the Rhine. Large numbers, of the Gtarde Mobile. ; are leaving Paris for the Army. A de-i tachment went off to-day amid great cheers from the crowd around the station. The Moniteur announces that ■ the Mediterranean fleet has sailed from Brest for a destination unknown. A letter from the camp at Chabns to the Journal Officiel represents the Garde Mobile full of Military spirit and anxious to meet the enemy. The Moniteur says — the English Embassy has received advices that the „ Prussian losses at Weissenburg were enormous. "We may hope," continues the Moniteur, "to soon resume the offensive and cause the enemy to pay still more dearly for his first success." r In the Corps Legislatif, to-day, the project of Deputy Keratry for calling under arms all the unmarried men of the classes of L 859 to 1864, inclusive, was extended to etnbrac^ all the men from the age of twenty-five to thirty-five, who _ are not married, and not already members of the Garde Mobile. The projects of armament presented by the Government • were adopted, ■with the addition of the proposition offered by Keratry, as . previously amended, and with a further special article voting the thanks of the Corps to the army, which merits much from the nation. The credit of four million francs for the families of the ' Garde Mobile was increased to twenty- - five millions. : Deputy Cremieux submitted a pro- 1 position as to commercial contractsfalling due between the present date and the 30th of August .be prolonged . one month. Jules Favre protested against the measure, aud Cremieux and Jules Simon insisted upon its necessity. They said — to defend the country the mind must be free of care. The project was voted as urgent. Circulation around the hall outside was by this time stopped by the crowds, and several detachments of troops surrounded the building. The masses, however, were - not disorderly. ■ , • : A Bill for the National defence was adopted unanimously, by 273 votes, amid applause and excitement. A voice was heard " now let Prussia look" us in' the face." General Cruet announced the formation of the new Ministry, and read the list, of names as follows :— Count . Palikao,^ Minister of "War; Be '"'Li f TodrD'Auvergne, Minister of Foreign Affairs ; Henry Cheverau, Minister of the Interior ; Grande Pacet, Minister of SPRING & SUMMER GQODS,

Justice; De GJ-enerourly, Minister of Marine; Pioce Malle, Minister of : Finance ; Jerome David, Minister of Public Works ; Jules Brole, Minister of Public TnsTuctim ; Clement Duvernois, Minister of Commerce ; Ba<sor Bollault, President of the 0 »uncil of Stafe. The "Tribune's" despatch fro n its Paris special correspondent on Tuesday night says: — " N"o pen can do jnstic? to the co lfusion and scandalous tumult in the Corps Legislatif. It was known in advance by many members that an order had come from Metz to turn out Ollivier, the Emperor seeking to propitiate Paris by sacrificing the most unpopular and least responsible of his advisers. Ollivier, himself, had not the least suspicion of his fate ; he came smiling into the Chamber only to leave it pale, terrified, and ruined. The strong minority of fifty-three for Jules Favre's proposal for a revolution was partly due to the knowledge that Ollivier would be succeeded by purely personal and reactionary Ministers. The in-coming Ministry is worse chan the out— going one. Its appointment is a reckless defiance of public opinion, and I do not believe it will last a week unless a great victory should be gained by the French, which is not at all upon the cards. This population is in no mood to be ruled by the Cassa^nac and Jerome David set, and the garrison of Paris is not strong enough and not united enough to put down any popular rising."

4

AN ENGLISH OPINION ON THE "WA.TC.

Reviewing the war question the London Times says: — There can be no doubt as to the side on which the world's sympathies will be enlisted, and, whatever may on former occasions have been the offences of Prussia, she will in this instance have on her side all that moral support which is seldom denied to those who take up arms in self-defence. It is otherwise with France, whom nothing short of a long victorious career will rehabilitate in European opinion. It is still difficult to conceive what infatuation can have committed the Emperor Napoleon to a course which is as impolitic as it is criminal. We cannot admit that foreign war was prompted by the necessity of guarding against disturbance at home. The Plebiscite had re-established Imperial omnipotence in France. In Emile Ollivier, Napoleon 111. has found as passive and as serviceable an instrument aa in the more brilliant and genial Rouher. Legal opposition, showed utter incapacity for organization, and ultrademocracy was dying of its own rage. "WTiat better foundation to his throne could the Emperor wish for than his eight millions of peasant votes ? Or how could France lie more helplessly at his discretion ? It was, it seems, fated that the ideas of the First Empire should from beginning to end be the bane of the Second. The Emperor himself, however, had drawn the proper line of distinction that was to separate the two epochs. The Empire of the 2nd December was to be Peace, and Napoleon 111. had good reason to doubt the popularity even of his successful and not wholly unrighteous wars. But the Prussian war now opening will, when the first feverish enthusiasm abates, appear indefensible even to the most selfish and vain-glorious patriotism.

STBATEGICAJi SPECULATIONS.

It is likely that the Frensh (in the absence of Russian intervention) meditate an irruption in imposing force into Germany on some point south of the Maine. The French fortresses of Metz and Thionville, and the country connecting and in rear of them, may be safely trusted to a part of the great force ; and the bulk of the army, with the Emperor in command, will probably cross theRhine somewhere between Mayence and Mannheim. To pass the river at this point would more effectually separate the Prussians from the South German States, than to pass between Mannheim and Strasburg. From a military point of view the Prussian alliance with these states is, in spite of the accession of resources, a drawback ; for the weight of a French advance between Mayence and Mannheim would necessitate the march of a strong Prussian army south of the Maine, and the strength of the Prussian position lies in the defiles opening on the valley of the Saal, riz., Baireuth-Hof, Kronach, Schleitz, Coburg-Salfield, with the line of the Thuringian forest. Of course the real strength of Prussia against an attack from France lies finally in the line of the Elbe ; but that is beyond our present purpose. Looking at affairs from a Prussian stand-point it may be urged that the Prussians, knowing the safety of the Lower Rhine to be well assured by the possession of great fortresses, will mass the bulk of their forces near "Wurtzburg, the centre of many great roads of communication, where they are sufficiently near to hold out a hand to the Bavarians, and where they cover their own frontier; for the French, having no base on the Rhine nearer than Strasburg, would inevitably compromise their communications by an advance across the Maine. Under these circumstances, what advantage would the French gain by passing the Rhine between Mayence and Mannheim? This difficult question, we doubt not, the French Emperor and his councillors, appreciating to a nicety the strategic disadvantages under which they must labor in invading Germany by any route, have it in their mind to trust to the issue of great battles, in which the certainly superior equipment of their men, and their probably superior discipline, will offer better chances of success than the pursuance of a war of manoeuvres.

THE MITBAHiLETTB.

France introduced the rifled field gun into the campaign of 1859 against Austria, the Austrians having no weapons of that nature in the field.. The Prussians were all armed with breech-loaders in the war of 1866, the Austrians being entirely

armed with muzzle-loaders. The French are about to introduce the mitraillcur into the war of 1870. As far as it is at present known the Prussians have not yet adopted an arm of the kind, though it has been no secret for a long timo, that in vu-ious countries the arm has been constructed in various patterns. The Montigny woipon is an assemblage of barrels co'ita : ned in a wrought-ir >n tube, mounted much 0:1 the same principle as an ordinary field-gun, which it resembles somewh-it in form. When the weapon is set at full-cock ready for firing, a second of time is sufficient to give a complete revolution of the firing handle and to discharge the 37 barrels of which the weapon consists. When the one set of 37 cartridges have been fired, the gunner raises a loading lever, thereby opening the breech, and withdraws the empty cases by means of the plate, which now performs the part of extractor of 37 cartridges in one. The plate is lifted from the grooves, carrying with it the empty cases, and can be immediately replaced by a plate filled with loaded cartridges, and the operation is repeated. This weapon has been fired 12 times in a minute, throwing thereby 444 rifle shots in that time. The waggon and limberboxes at present carry 3034 rounds of cartridge, but could readily carry more. A year ago the French mitrailleur batteries were already numerous. . They consisted of eight guns each, each gun served by three men only, chosen from the non-commissioned officers of the Horse Artillery of the Imperial Ghiard. With this complement of men the weapon should throw about 300 shots per minute for four or five consecutive minutes, to very considerable ranges, and with an admirable trajectory. In the experiments at Woolwich with the Montigny mitrailleur, 36 shots out of 33 (one was a miss fire) were placed in a target 18ft by 15ft., at 800 yards distance; and the practice at 1000 yards was nearly equally good. If then, as there is reason to believe, the French army has now taken the field liberally equipped with such terribly destructive weapons, we may reasonably anticipate an effect at least as great as was the effect of the breechloaders in the war of 1866. Taking all. circumstances into consideration, we are disposed, with a well-informed writer some short time ago, to place the value of a single mitrailleur rather above than below that of 120 infantry. Supposing this calculation to be correct, a French battery of eight mitrailleurs would equal in value an ordinary infantry regiment, whilst there would be this advantage, that only 24 men would be exposed to the enemy's fire instead of 960.

* STRENGTH OF THE BELLIG-EREJTTS

"We take from the Constitutionnel the I following details with regard to the forces which. Prussia will be able to muster in the struggle : — In time of peace the effective force at the coramaud of Prussia is about 313,000 men, including the volunteers for one year. The total of the military schools, the rolls of the landwehr, the invalids, &c, may be estimated at 13,000, which leaves 300,000, distributed as follows : — 203,000 infantry, divided in 358 battalions each at least of 560 men ; 55,000 cavalry, with 55,000 horses, divided into 370 squadrons of 147 men and 139 horses; 33,000 artillery, with 10,000 horses ; 6700 pioneers, and 3100 in the baggage train, with lt>Oo horses. When the mobilisation of the Federal array is completed, it is composed of three divisions — 1, the field troops or movable corps ; 2, the troops of the reserve or depot ; and 3, the defence division, formed principally from the landwehr. The following figures will give some idea of the force of these three divisions when on a war footing : — 1. Field Division. — Infantry, 358 battalions of 100 men, 358,000 men. Cavalry, 74 regiments of 4 squadrons, of 600 men and 7L3 horses each; 44,400 men and ■53,000 horses. Artillery, 1170 field pieces and 13 regiments of heavy artillery ; . pioneers, baggage train, &c. — 138,000 men, 133,000 horses. Total, 540,000 men, and 186,000 horses. 2. Eeserve Division. — On receiving orders for mobilisation, the 114 regiments of infantry form a second battalion ; the battalion of chasseurs a pied a fifth company; the regiments of cavalry a sixth squadron ; the regiments of artillery a division of three batteries ; the battalions of pioneers, one company ; those of the baggage train, one division. So one will have: — Infantry: 114 battalions of the line, and 16 companies of chasseurs a pied. — 117,000 men. Cavalry : The sth and 6th squadrons of 74 regiments, in all 148 squadrons ; 25,000 men, 28,000 horses. Artillery, pioneers and baggage train : 46,000 men, 9000 horses. 3. Defence Division. — Infantry, 194 battalions* of landwehr of 800 men plus 11 battalions of reserve troops — 155,000 men. Cavalry : 216 squadrons, -which are rather weak. Artillery, 216 companies. To these must be added the pioneers of the landwehr and the baggage train. Total, 20,000 men and 6000 horses. This brings the grand total of the three divisions of the Prussian forces up to 906,000 men and 178,000 horses. "We are indebted to the Expose de la Situation de Vhmpire of the session of 1869 for the following statement of the military resources of France : — j The active army numbers 448,711 men, who are thus distributed : — In France, 378,852; in Algeria, 64,531; in Italy, 5,328. By the law of the Ist February, 1868, which created a Garde Nationale Mobile, every Frenchman between the ages of 20 and 25, who is not comprised in the contingents of the active army, is liable to serve in this garde, to which is assigned the duty of garrisoning the French fortresses and providing for the domestic defences in time of war. The available strength of this body is 381,723 men. Besides these, there is a reserve of 1 198,548; so that the total figure of the French army reaches, 1,028,982 men. Of the "448,711 men spoken of above as con-

stituting the active army, 11-1,431 were on furlough. NATAL ATMAIVIEXT. The strength of the French navy on the Ist January, 1869, was 55 armorplate 1 screw steamers, mounting 1032 guns, anl representing 23,920 horsepower ; 231 screw steamers, not armorplated, mounting 26 L8 guns, and representing 50,638 horse-power. In addition to these there are seven paddle-wheel corvettes, 3i despatch-boats, and 10 transports, aggregating 116 guns and 10,225 horse-power. The sailing vessels comprised two line-of-battle ships, 10 frigates, 6 corvettes, 25 transports, and other armed craft of smaller proportions ; the sailing fleet amounting altogether to about 100 ships and 900 guns. At the beginning of 1869, eight armor-clads and 23°non-armor-clads were under construction, and doubtless some of these ships have been set afloat before now. The . personnel of the navy wa3 as follows : — I Admirals, 2, vice-admirals, 16 active, 10 reserve ; rear-admirals, 30 active, 19 reserve ; captains of ships, 130 ; captains of frigates, 286 ; lieutenants, 825 ; ensigns, 600 ; other officers, 323 ; total, j 2241. The number of sailors was about j 40,000, a number that can be increased in j time of war by naval conscription. The ' marines number about 30,000 officers and men. Prussia. — The entire navy of the North German Confederation does not exceed 89 ships, carrying 563 guna. Forty-four of the ships are propelled by steam, eight are sailing vessels, and the remainder seem to be merely armed boats for co;ist-guard service, Three frigates, one corvette, and two ships of the line are armor-plated. Other European powers not actively engaged in the war are as follows : — Ctreat Britain-.— 367 steam ships of different sorts. Twenty-three of these were armor-plated, and 15 more armorplated ships were under construction. Only 19 sailing vessels were to be found in the whole fleet. The main strength of the fleet consisted in 44 line-of-battle ships, 32 frigates, 21 corvettes, 36 sloops, and upwards of 100 gun boats. The personnel of the navy, according to the navy estimates for 1869 70, was about 4200 officers, 30,000 men, 7000 boya, 7250 coast-guard, and 14,000 marines. Russia. — 267 ships. The armorplated force consisted of 13 monitors, 4 frigates, and 3 floating batteries, 6 ships of the line, 8 frigates, 18 corvettes, 7 clippers, about 100 gun boats, 22 transports, and 13 schooners, come under the class of noncuirasses. ~ Several armorplated frigates were also under construction.