1870

BATTLE OF CHAMPIGNY

Charles hastened to the Loire to help Von der Tann, whe had been compelled to give up Orleans on November 9, at Coulmiers. It was the only noteworthy success achieved by French arms during the entire war. The Army of the Loire undertook a great offensive movement; but on the 28th of November its right wing was badly beaten at Beaune la Rolande by the left wing of the Prussians. On December 2 the second battle of Orléans was begun; and two days later the Germans again entered the city, while the French retired to the left bank of the Loire. From November 28 to December 5 the French losses had been heavy. No less than 25,000 prisoners were taken by the Germans.

At about the same time (November 30 to December 2) the Parisian army made a sortie toward the southeast, hoping to break through the German ranks and to reach the Army of the Loire. Brie and Champigny were the scenes of hot engagements. Famous in French annals is the heroic defence of the glass works at Champigny, which has been pictured in one of Detaille's most celebrated canvases. Yet it resulted in defeat for the French. The Parisian army was compelled to reenter the capital, to the mortification of General Ducrot, who had sworn to return to Paris "either victorious or dead." In the north Manteuffel had been as successful as his countrymen before Paris. At Amiens, on November 27, he defeated Faidherbe. To the long list of fortresses which had capitulated after the fall of Strasburg-Soissons, Verdun, Schlettstadt, Neubreisach, and Thionville-there were now added La Fère and the citadel of Amiens. December 6 Manteuffel entered Rouen, the capital city of Normandy. German uhlans scoured the country to the very coast, so that the French fleet, which had accomplished next to nothing during the war, was compelled to blockade the shores of its own country. The victories won in Normandy between November 27 and December 3 completely cut off communica

AMADEUS I ASCENDS SPANISH THRONE

1870

tion between Paris and the outer world, and crushed the last hope of relief for France.

During these eventful days an oft-deferred ideal of patriotic Germans was brought to realization, by the combined efforts of Bismarck and the Crown Prince of Prussia. Under pressure from Bismarck, King Louis II of Bavaria sent a letter to the German princes and the Senates of the free cities, in which he proposed that the King of Prussia should thenceforth exercise his erstwhile prerogatives of President of the Confederation, as German Emperor. On December 18 King William received a deputation from the North German Reichstag.

In the turmoil of war, on December 5, occurred the death of Alexandre Dumas, the elder, one of the most popular and prolific of French writers. His best known romances are "The Three Guardsmen," "The Count of Monte Cristo,” and "The Queen's Necklace." Dumas's annual earnings at one time were nearly 1,000,000 francs.

At Rome, some time after the official announcement of the Dogma of Infallibility had been made, the French garrison, which had so long guarded the Pope's citadels, was withdrawn under the stress of the war. In accordance with an understanding with Prussia, King Victor Emmanuel's troops, under General Cadorna, were ordered to march on Rome. On September 20 General Kanzler, the Papal commandant, capitulated. The Italian Parliament sanctioned the transfer of the royal residence and national capital from Florence to Rome by an overwhelming majority.

Late in October the Spanish crown was offered to Amadeus, Duke of Aosta, the second son of the King of Italy, and was accepted by him. On December 28, the day that King Amadeus I landed at Cartagena, Marshal Prim was assassinated while driving to the Cortes in the Calle de Alcala at Madrid.

EVENTS OF 1871

Army of Loire is Divided-Major Part under Chanzy Falls Back on Paris Minor Part under Bourbaki Marches East - Frederick Charles Drives Chanzy by Successive Battles to Laval Göben (Prussian) Beats Faidherbe at St. Quentin-William I Crowned German Emperor at Versailles-Trochu Makes Sortie from Paris and is Defeated in Battle of Mont St. Valérian-Regnault, the Painter, is Killed-Vinoy Succeeds Trochu-He Surrenders Paris -Bourbaki is Repulsed by Werder on the Lisaine - Manteuffel Comes to Werder's Aid-Garibaldi Comes to Aid of Bourbaki-He is Intercepted by Kettle. at Dijon-Clinchant Succeeds BourbakiHis Forces are Beaten at Pontarlier, and Retire into Switzerland, where They are Disarmed-Thiers Becomes President of French Republic-Belfort Capitulates-Peace Treaty Gives Alsace and Lorraine and Frontier Fortresses, Save Belfort, to Germany, with Five Milliards Indemnity-Russi Violates Treaty of 1856 by Putting War Fleet on Black Sea-Conference of Powers at London Condones the Infraction-Communists Drive National Troops from Paris-French Army under MacMahon Besieges Paris-They Take Forts Issy and Vauves-They Storm Gates of St. Cloud and Auteuil and Enter Paris-Communists Fire City-They are SubduedThiers Negotiates Loan-Death of Auber, the Composer-Japan Retires Daimios to Private Life-Brazil Abolishes Slavery-Great Fire in Chicago-New York "Times" Exposes Corruption of Tweed Ring-Stanley Finds Livingstone.

T

HE French army was in a terrible plight. Urged on by Gambetta, who had assumed all the power of a dictator, the recruiting officers pressed into service men whom they could not arm, whom they could not even feed. To the horrors of starvation were added the terrors of one of the bitterest winters ever known in this part of France. The major portion of the Army of the Loire, led by General Chanzy, who had taken the place of Aurelles de Paladine, fell back on Paris; the minor portion, under Bourbaki, who had been called from the north, marched eastward. Seventy thousand Germans, under Prince Frederick Charles, as they marched to meet Chanzy, likewise suffered severely. The battles between the Loire and Sarthe, at Azay and La Chartre, at Sargé and Nogent le Trou, at Lampron and La Chapelle, all fought between January 6 and January 10,

PROCLAMATION OF GERMAN EMPIRE

1871

were waged over hills and roads covered with snow and ice. One bloody field after another was defended by Chanzy with a courage born of despair. After a final sharp fight before Le Mans, on January 12, the Germans captured that city. Brave Chanzy retired to Laval, where he hoped to reorganize the remnants of his army. His northward march had been checked.

In the north the Germans had also been successful. At Bapaume, on January 3, General von Göben, with an army of 10,000 men, held 40,000 Frenchmen, under Faidherbe, in check. In the night Faidherbe retired to his fortifications. On the 19th he emerged again, only to suffer his last defeat near St. Quentin. General von Göben took 13,000 prisoners.

On this same day the last great battle was fought before Paris. The people had long been almost starving. Toward the last, rats, bought at a franc a piece, dogs, cats, and the animals in the Zoological Gardens were eaten by the famished Parisians. Despite its wretched condition, the city had resisted month after month. After the last heavy siege guns were mounted by the Germans, the bombardment of St. Avron was immediately begun. Each day nearly 200 shells were discharged into the city lying on the left of the Seine. Still, as late as January 6, Trochu declared that the "Governor of Paris would never capitulate.'

At Versailles, meanwhile, in the famous Hall of Mirrors, an event occurred, on January 18, which changed the des tiny of Germany. On that day the King of Prussia proclaimed to a brilliant gathering of German princes and military officers the fusion of the German States into an Empire. On the following day the garrison of Paris made its last great sortie. From the southwestern side of the city, 100,000 men, under Trochu's personal direction, burst forth in three great columns and attacked the lines of the Fifth German Army Corps, composed of 33,000 troops from Posen and

1871

CAPITULATION OF PARIS

Silesia. The fight, called by the French the battle of Mont Valérien, lasted a whole day. It ended with another retreat into the city. The casualties of the French were disproportionately heavy.

Among the fallen was Alexandre Georges Henri Regnault, the well-known artist. Regnault, who was but twentyeight years old when he was killed, had already won the Prix de Rome, and had achieved renown by his celebrated pictures, "Judith and Holofernes," "Salome," and "An Execution under the Moors at Granada," now at the Luxembourg. Most famous of all his pictures is his portrait of General Prim, painted in Spain during the revolutionary war of 1868, and subsequently acquired by the Luxembourg Gallery.

No one in Paris now cared to take upon himself the responsibility of another attack. There was barely food enough to last until February. Having sworn that he would not surrender, Trochu resigned his command. Vinoy took his place. Harassed by the German cannon without, by famine and disease within; crippled by the dissensions among the people; without any prospect of relief from the provincesParisians saw that resistance must soon end. Jules Favre received the commission of saving Paris from utter ruin. On January 23 he proposed terms to Bismarck which were rejected. Unconditional surrender was demanded. In a second conference, on the following day, Favre, in dejection of spirit, came to an agreement with Bismarck. Firing on both sides was to cease on January 27, at midnight. On the morrow a "Convention" was signed, by the terms of which Paris virtually capitulated. A three weeks' armistice was declared, during which a National Assembly at Bordeaux was to decide whether or no the war should be continued. The forts of Paris, with all their war material, were surrendered. The 450,000 men comprising the army, it was breed, were to be considered prisoners of war, but were not