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CHAPTER III.
At a quarter to two in the morning, at his headquarters at Mouzon,
Albert, Crown Prince of Saxony, set the Army of the Meuse in motion; the
Royal Guard were beat to arms, and two divisions marched, one upon
Villers-Cernay, by Escambre and Fouru-aux-Bois, the other upon
Francheval by Suchy and Fouru-Saint-Remy. The Artillery of the Guard
followed.
At the same moment the 12th Saxon Corps was beaten to arms, and by the
high road to the south of Douzy reached Lamécourt, and marched upon La
Moncelle; the 1st Bavarian Corps marched upon Bazeilles, supported at
Reuilly-sur-Meuse by an Artillery Division of the 4th Corps. The other
division of the 4th Corps crossed the Meuse at Mouzon, and massed itself
in reserve at Mairy, upon the right bank. These three columns maintained
close communication with each other. The order was given to the advanced
guards to begin no offensive movement before five o'clock, and silently
to occupy Fouru-aux-Bois, Fouru-Saint-Remy, and Douay. They had left
their knapsacks behind them. The baggage-wagons did not stir. The Crown
Prince of Saxony was on horseback on the heights of Amblimont.
At the same time, at his headquarters at Chémery, Blumenthal was having
a bridge built over the Meuse by the Wurtemburg division. The 11th
Corps, astir before daylight, crossed the Meuse at Dom-le-Mesnil and at
Donchery, and reached Vrigne-sur-Bois. The artillery followed, and held
the road from Vrigne to Sedan. The Wurtemburg division kept the bridge
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