Chapter I: Preface

It is right to state that a large proportion of the material of these two volumes consists of letters contributed to “The Daily News,” so far as concerns the events written of in Parts II., III., and IV.; to “The Morning Advertiser,” as regards Part I. I have modified, excised, and re-written not a little, only to find the desire, which cannot be gratified, grow stronger and stronger to re-write the whole. As it is, what follows can claim to be no more than an honest narrative of events which passed within my own ken; nor did I allow any consideration to deter me from bringing as many events as possible within my ken. Yet even of these the book makes no pretensions to be a historical record; but it may be of some service to the historian which the late war is sure to evoke.

CONTENTS.

PART I.

THE STROKES OF THE SLEDGE-HAMMER.

PAGE

CHAPTER I.

THE EARLY DAYS 1

CHAPTER II.

SAARBRÜCK AND SPICHEREN 49

CHAPTER III.

COURCELLES, VIONVILLE, AND GRAVELOTTE 109

CHAPTER IV.

SEDAN: BEFORE AND AFTER 217

PART II.

METZ.

CHAPTER I.

THE SIEGE 285

CHAPTER II.

PUCELLA RAPTA 407