forward
against the centre of the French line. At the same time shells fell upon
the reserves, which consisted of National Guards, and which were drawn
up upon the incline of the heights looking towards Paris. They were
young troops, and for young troops nothing is so trying as being shelled
without being allowed to move. They broke and fell back. Their
companions who were in advance, and who held the crest of the heights,
saw themselves deserted, and at the same time saw the attacking column
coming forward, and they too fell back. The centre of the position was
thus lost. A hurried consultation was held, and Montretout and Buzenval
were evacuated. As night closed the French troops were falling back to
their bivouacs of the previous night, and the Prussians were recrossing
the trench which formed their advanced posts in the morning. The day was
misty, the mud was so deep that walking was difficult, and I could not
follow very clearly the movements of the troops from the house in which
I had ensconced myself. What became of General Ducrot no one seemed to
know. I have since learnt that he advanced with little resistance
through Rueil and La Malmaison, and that he then fought during the day
at La Jonchere, detaching a body of troops towards the Park of Buzenval.
He appears, however, to have failed in taking La Celle St. Cloud, and
from thence flanking La Bergerie, and marching on Garches. Everything is
consequently very much where it was this morning before the engagement
took place. It has been the old story. The Prussians did not defend
their first line, but fell back on their fixed batteries, there keeping
up a heavy fire until reinforcements had had time to be brought up. More
troops are ordered out for to-morrow; so I presume that the battle is to
be renewed. If it ends in a defeat, the consequences will be serious,
for the artillery can only be brought back to Paris by one bridge. The
wounded are numerous. In the American ambulance, which is close by in
the Champs Elysees, there are about seventy. In the Grand Hotel they are
arriving every moment. The National Guard at Buzenval behaved very
fairly under fire. Many of them had not been above a few days in
uniform. Their officers were in many cases as inexperienced as the men.
During the fight entire companies were wandering about looking for their
battalions, and men for their companies. As citizen soldiers they did
their best, and individually they were made of good s