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1871. MARCH. ENEMIES WITHIN PARIS
German troops enter—"
Occupation" ended—Troubles within—Officier de la Lgion d'Honneur—Destruction
by war—Visit to Versailles—Review by German Emperor—Railway
ambulance—Communists on Montmartre—Mission ended.
THE representative
statues in the Place de la Concorde were enshrouded; guards placed on
either side of positions to be occupied by the Germans. On the morning
of March i, the head of a dense column of troops was seen approaching
the Arc de Triomphe; that monument passed, the "Army of Occupation"
steadily made its way downwards along the Champs Elysées. In front of
all rode a young officer, fair in complexion, his face pale, lips
compressed, expression grave and resolute; his name, as we subsequently
learned, Bershardy, lieutenant in the 14th Prussian Hussars. Some signs
of disturbance were shown among French onlookers; they were quickly
suppressed; all knew that the guns of Mont Valérien pointed towards the
city; that by them stood German gunners. All through the morn- ing
troops poured in, until 30,000 men—the number agreed upon— were within
their assigned places; among them the Leib Regiment of Bavaria, the
losses of which in the war exceeded numerically its strength when
leaving Germany. It was now that the striking contrast in physique,
venue, and discipline presented by the newly-arrived forces, as compared
with those to whom we had been so long accustomed, was strikingly
apparent to all spectators; doubtless to Parisians themselves.
Forty-eight hours,
including one entire day, was the period mutually agreed upon as that
during which the German forces were to remain within Paris. Precautions
against collision between them and the populace were so successfully
taken that crowds looked on and quietly listened to the foreign bands
within their precincts. In other parts of the city, however, signs of
restiveness were visible. Among the German troops, on the contrary, all
was orderly and soldierlike. Early on the morning of the 3rd,
"evacuation" of the city began, and within a few hours was completed.
Not until the rear column had passed the Arc de Triomphe did the mob,
that meantime hung upon their flanks, begin to "demonstrate"; a section
of the withdrawing troops faced round; the demonstrators fled
helter-skelter. The work of sweeping and burning refuse in the great
thoroughfares was soon begun; it continued during the day; by evening
Paris looked as if it had not been entered by a victorious army.
During the following
night, internal troubles assumed the first definite shape of that in
which they were soon to culminate. The National Guards withdrew from the
Parc de Monceau some of the guns entrusted to them, together with their
equipment and ammunition, to arrange them in order on lvlontmartre;
others were taken to the disaffected quarters, as Belleville and Vilette;
while a definite plan of further action was come to by the Communists.
In the emergency so presented, no apparent action was taken by the
responsible authorities; citizen "soldiers" were permitted to retain
arms, the use of which they had recently learned; with what result was
speedily to be seen. During the next few days scenes of pillage were
enacted, wherever stores, of whatever kind, existed; barricades were
thrown up; other preparations, in various ways, made alike for defence
and offence. As events developed, the commandant appointed to the
National Guards was repudiated by the men; they demanded that they
should have the right to elect their own commander and other officers.
Battalions displayed the red flag; marched to the Place de la Concorde;
placed the emblem of Revolution upon the statues there, and upon public
monuments elsewhere. On the 10th, as the Germans marched from
Versailles, the Communists placed on Montmartre the remaining guns,
making a total of 417. Seven days thereafter the horrors of the Commune
began.
While the German army was
entering Paris, I had the honour of being entertained at a dêjei2ner by
the members of the Ambulance de la Presse, on the occasion of the
distinction of Officier de la Legion d'Honneur' being conferred upon me
by the Provisional Government. The venerable Professor Ricord was
pleased to make me the subject of a toast, alluding in kind terms to my
association with the French army and ambulances; then, taking from his
own button-hole the rosette of the Order so highly prized, he placed it
in mine.
An excursion to a little
distance beyond Montrouge revealed a sad example of destruction houses
reduced to heaps of rubbish, with here and there a fragment of cracked
wall left standing among them; masses of charred timbers; furniture and
what had been ornamental pieces strewn about in fragments among debris
of various kinds, including dead animals. From among ruined walls of
gardens and conservatories green young shoots of plants, revived by
sunshine of early spring, served, by contrast with the scene of
destruction around, to impress us the more. Were it possible for crowned
heads of Europe to make a similar round, it might ensure peace for one
generation. So thought we as we continued our walk through miles of
devastation.
Making a journey to
Versailles, the party of which I was one passed by the heights beyond
Meudon, on which were ranged the guns until recently employed in
bombarding Paris, but now parked preparatory to being sent back to
Germany. Several of them were seriously damaged; others presented traces
of work done by them in "the terrible battery," also visited by us; its
condition, abandoned to ruin. Thence we looked towards Vaugirard and
vicinity, where greatest destruction by its shells took place. At
Versailles, while dining in the grande salle of the Hotel des
Reservoirs, then filled with Prussian officers, we saw among them Prince
Leopold of Hohenzollern, the nomination of whom to the Spanish throne
was the ostensible cause of the needless war now ended. Visiting in the
Chateau the Galerie of Louis XIV., it was seen converted into an
ambulance ward, its paintings damaged and torn as a result of wind and
weather admitted through windows kept open for purposes of ventilation.
The less severely wounded had been dispatched to Fatherland; those
remaining were too seriously injured to admit of being removed; in cots,
above the heads of which stood canvas representations of the "glories of
France," shattered frames of recent conquerors lay in agony.
Under the wing of a Times
correspondent, I witnessed on the heights of Villiers a review by the
German Emperor of three corjs d'arme'e, consisting respectively of
Bavarians, Saxons, and Wurtembergers, all under command of the Crown
Prince of Prussia. As the troops took positions assigned to them, it was
observed by our friend, who had accompanied them from Rhine to Seine,
that their numbers scarcely equalled half of those who entered France.
An impression was said to exist among the Bavarians that more frequently
than other corps they were so placed as to bear the first brunt of
battle, and thus exposed to more than was fair of risks in action. It
was further said that considerations of creed and politics had much to
do with such an arrangement; hence some fears were expressed lest
unpleasantness might now occur. All present, therefore, felt a sense of
relief when, as the Emperor, surrounded by his brilliant staff, rode on
to the ground, a cheer burst from all ranks assembled. The inspection
over, the troops marched off, the Crown Prince at their head. Next day
the return to Berlin began, the pride of victory no doubt saddened by
memories of thousands from among them, to be left buried in alien soil.
Being given an
opportunity of testing railway arrangements for transport homewards of
German wounded, I embarked at Pantin station in a train of that
description. It was fully occupied by wounded men, for whose
requirements and comfort every arrangement was complete, including staff
and attendants. While in the train I was most courteously and hospitably
received by the staff. The journey taken was somewhat long, nor did I
get back to disturbed Paris till late at night.
A visit to Montmartre
enabled me to see the manner of disposal and position of guns from the
Parc de Monceau, now in hands of the Garde Nationale, who have openly
declared for the Commune. My companion and myself, recognised as
foreigners, were courteously escorted, first to one battery, then to
another, comments meanwhile freely made by those accompanying us in
regard to their plan of action. Still, as far as we were able to
understand, no counter-measures were taken by the authorities; and so
the rising flood of revolution increased in volume and power, to burst
disastrously three days thereafter.
In obedience to orders I
quitted Paris for England by evening train on March 14. Early next
morning I was with my beloved wife, whose anxieties and fears during my
absence had told upon her health. So ended the important episode in
which I had taken part. |
