| 656 | 657 | 658 | 659 | 660 |
| 1 | 171 | 343 | 514 | 685 |
|
of the heart.
CHAPTER II.
On the 31st of August, 1870, an army was reassembled, and was, as it
were, massed together under the walls of Sedan, in a place called the
Givonne Valley. This army was a French army--twenty-nine brigades,
fifteen divisions, four army corps--90,000 men. This army was in this
place without any one being able to divine the reason; without order,
without an object, scattered about--a species of heap of men thrown down
there as though with the view of being seized by some huge hand.
This army either did not entertain, or appeared not to entertain, for
the moment any immediate uneasiness. They knew, or at least they thought
they knew, that the enemy was a long way off. On calculating the stages
at four leagues daily, it was three days' march distant. Nevertheless,
towards evening the leaders took some wise strategic precautions; they
protected the army, which rested in the rear on Sedan and the Meuse, by
two battle fronts, one composed of the 7th Corps, and extending from
Floing to Givonne, the other composed of the 12th Corps, extending from
Givonne to Bazeilles; a triangle of which the Meuse formed the
hypothenuse. The 12th Corps, formed of the three divisions of
Lacretelle, Lartigue, and Wolf, ranged on the right, with the artillery,
between the brigades formed a veritable barrier, having Bazeilles and
Givonne at each end, and Daigny in its centre; the two divisions of
Petit and Lhéritier massed in the rear upon two lines supported this
barrier. General Lebrun commanded the 12th Corps. The 7th Corps,
commanded by General Douay, only possessed two divisions--Dumont's
658
Page
Quick Jump
|