artillery fight around isolated positions, and the object of the German commander throughout was to hold fast the French 1. wing at Gravelotte and maintain a front attack whilst the German 1. wing endeavoured to turn the French right, At 2.30 P.M. the Saxons took Ste. Marie after a short struggle, and by 4 P.M., the French artillery being silenced, 14 batteries were pushed forward in echelon near St. Privat. and poured a murderous fire from a superior infantry weapon upon the Germans advancing across the open to storm the position. Carriages may be obtained at the Hotels (20 to 28 mks.), and a long and beautiful drive taken up the rt. bank of the river past the fort of St. Privat (now Prinz August von Würtemburg) and the (3 m. S.) Château Frescati, where the capitulation of Metz was signed, through Jouy aux Arches (Roman Aqueduct) to Corny (head-quarters of Prince Frederick Charles during the siege, across the suspension-bridge, by Noveant, to the romantically-situated little town of Gorze (Inn: H. de la Croix d'Or, good),, from which the road ascends through a beautiful gorge to the plateau above, dotted everywhere with graves. The road crosses the plateau, leaving the Bois des Ognons on the rt. and Flavigny on the 1., and strikes the S. branch of the Verdun road at Rezonville, The battle-field of the 16th August (Vionville and Mars la Tour, see above) lies to the 1., and Gravelotte to the rt., from which latter place the battle-field of the 18th Aug. may be visited by leaving the N. branch of the Verdun The day was drawing on before the attack on this latter village commenced, but at 5 P.M. the position was ordered to be stormed, and the regiments Franz and Augusta, of the 4th Guards' Brigade, were the first to deploy and advance from Ste. Marie up the open and steep incline towards St. Privat. The withering fire of the French chassepots caused, however, such tremendous losses, especially in officers, that these picked German troops quailed before it, and a halt was called to await the Saxons, whilst the German artillery played upon the village and set it in a blaze, though the French continued resolutely to hold it. In the meantime the Saxon army corps wheeled to its right, and, advancing through the woods between Ron-road at the farm of Malmaison, now recourt and Malancourt, took the latter village after heavy loss, and then, bringing its artillery to the front, directed 16 batteries against the French rt. wing. Canrobert, though unsupported by the reserves, and falling short of ammunition, held out bravely against this destructive flanking fire, but the Prussian Guards, supported by artillery of the 10th corps and other divisions, renewing the attack in front at 7 P.M., St. Privat was taken, the French rt. wing in flight towards Metz, and the battle won. In this great struggle no prisoners, colours, or guns were taken, except 2 Prussian guns, which the French succeeded in capturing. The French opposed 180,000 men to 230,000 Germans, and the loss of the latter in killed and wounded exceeded 19,000 men; the loss of the former is not known, but probably did not exceed 12,000, for the French occupied selected ground, built, and crossing and recrossing the French frontier several times through the Bois des Genevaux, the Bois de la Cusse, Verneville, Habonville, and St. Ail, to Ste. Marie aux Chênes (fair Inn), where the Briey road is struck, and return by this road past St. Privat (handsome monuments to the Prussians who fell here, mostly officers of the Guards and of the Queen Augusta's Regiment), descending through the pretty gorge leading into the valley of the Mosel at Woippy, the route by which the beaten French rt. wing retreated on Metz, or turn S. by the shorter road leading through Amanvillers and along the position occupied by the French. Railways from Metz:-N. to Diedenhofen (Thionville) and Luxemburg (see Rte. 99A). W. to Verdun, and S. to Nancy (see Hndbk. for France). E. to Saarbrücken (see above), and to Strassburg (see Rte. 99B). ROUTE 99▲. METZ TO LUXEMBURG, BY DIEDENHOFEN (THIONVILLE).-RAIL. Distance, 42 m.; time, 2 hrs.; 6 trains daily. Metz is described in Rte. 99. For fuller details as to this Route see Hndbk. for France, Rte. 181. The line from the principal stat. makes a wide sweep S. before reaching 5 m. Devant-les-Ponts Stat., for the use of the N.W. side of Metz, and then descends the valley of the Mosel. 21 m. Diedenhofen (Fr. Thionville) Junct. Stat. Omnibus from rly. (Inns: H. St. Hubert; H. de Luxembourg; H. du Commerce). Pop. 7376. A fortress on the Mosel, now annexed to Germany. The Hôtel de Ville is used jointly for a school and Protestant Ch. Adjoining it is the Beffroi, from the top of which a fine view is obtained over the town and surrounding country. Pepin le Gros resided here and built a small palace, which Charlemagne subsequently often visited. The defences are mainly the work of Vauban, though the place was fortified at a much carlier date. It has been much strengthened of late years, and is capable of containing a garison of 8000 men. In 1558 it was taken by the Duc de Guise from the Spaniards, but restored to Philip II. by the Treaty of Cateau Cambresis. In 1643, after 3 months' siege and 40 days of open trenches, it was again captured from the Spaniards by the Grand Condé (then Duc d'Enghien). In 1659 it was definitively ceded to France, in whose possession it remained until, on the 24th Nov., 1870, the garrison of 120 officers and 4000 men, under Maurice, capitulated to the German commander Kamecke. 52 m. Saargemünd (Fr. Sarregue mines) Junct. Stat. (Inn: H. du Lion d'Or; H. de Paris; H. de la Ville de Strasbourg). Pop. 7000. Prettily situated in the undulating thickly-wooded valley of the Saar, at the junction of the Blies with that river, which, before the war of 1870, separated France from Germany. The town possesses several important porcelain manufactories, and is the centre of a snuff-box manufacturing district. [Branch Rly. N. to 12 m. Saar brücken Junct. Stat. (Rte. 99) Rly. to | Saarburg (see Rte. 99c), on the line from Avricourt to Strassburg.] The line crosses the Saar shortly after leaving the town, and proceeds E. through a pretty country to 76 m. Bitsch Stat. (Inn: H. de Metz). Pop. 2740. The most westward of the defences of the Vosges, at the foot of a steep red-sandstone rock, crowned by the Citadel, a work constructed by Vauban in 1679. The view from the top is fine. Many English were confined here during the wars with the first Napoleon. During the Franco-German War of 1870 it offered a stubborn resistance to the Bavarians, who planted their batteries on the heights to the W. of the citadel, and commenced to bombard it on the 8th Aug., but, after the town had been nearly reduced to ashes, and the barracks and other buildings in the citadel had been much damaged, they were finally obliged to content themselves with leaving a force to surround it whilst they avoided it in their march onward by a wide détour. The line now enters the forest of Waldeck. 87 m. Philippsburg Stat. On 1., crowning the height, are the ruins of the fine castle of Falkenstein, which once belonged to the Counts of Lützelburg. 90 m. Niederbronn Stat. Omnibus from rly. (Inns: H. Vauxhall; H. de la Chaîne d'Or; H. Weissler.) Pop. 3391. This little town is charmingly situated on the Falckenstein stream, at the entrance to a lovely valley inclosed by mountains of moderate elevation. It consists mainly of one single street formed by the high road from Bitsch to Wörth, but a shady avenue also leads from the rly. stat. to the Etablissement des Eaux, and thence into an extensive and shady promenade extending some distance on the S. side of the town. The place is annually visited during the season, from June to September, by a large number of invalids, for the [N. G.] sake of its mineral waters, the principal basin of which is in the centre of the Esplanade. Its medicinal virtue was known to the Romans. The walks and drives in the neighbourhood are lovely (carriages may be obtained at the hotels), especially the excursions to the Jägerthal (4 m.), and the Bärenthal (6 m.), with the castles of Windstein, Hohenfels, Wasenberg, Fleckenstein, &c. There are several large smeltingfurnaces in the neighbouring valleys. This is the best point from which to visit the battle-field of Wörth. The path leading directly eastward across the hills may be followed, or the main road, or the rly. taken to 92 m. Reichshofen Stat., from which a good road leads to the now rebuilt and picturesque village of (5 m.) Froschweiler, which was the centre of Mac Mahon's position on the 6th August, 1870, when the Germans (advancing from Lembach and Sulz after the Battle of Weissenburg, fought 4th Aug.) outflanked and drove him back with great slaughter. The path to the rt. should be taken leading to Elsashausen, in the neighbourhood of which are a number of monuments to the fallen, and the tree under which MacMahon stood during the fight. About m. beyond is Wörth (Inn: H. Cheval d'Or), a Protestant village of 1114 Inhab., situated at the confluence of the Sauer and the Salzbach. It suffered much during the battle, as towards the conclusion there was a good deal of handto-hand fighting in the streets. Near the bridge is a square Tower, the only remaining part of a castle, built here in the 16th cent., and close to this is a remarkable ancient stone Altar, discovered in the neighbourhood. The road leads to (6 m.) Sulz, where the rly. may be taken to visit the (8 m.) battle-field of Geisberg, near Weissenburg, described in Rte. 104. 2 A [Short Branch Rly. S.E. 11 m. to Cirey and N.W. 41 m. to Remilly (for Metz), crossing the line between Nancy and Saargemünd at Bensdorf. 52 m. Saarburg Junct. Stat. (Inns: H. Sauvage; Grand H.). A walled town of 3070 Inhab., the Roman Pons Saravi, on the rt. bank of the Sarre, or Saar. It stands on the boundary line of the 2 languages, French being spoken in the Upper and German in the Lower town. Extensive Military Storehouses and bakeries. Saarburg was ceded to France in 1616. Rly. through Berthelmingen to (N.W.) Bensdorf, and (N.) Saargemünd. 54 m. Rieding Junct. Stat. Loopline branch to Berthelmingen. The railway now quits the plains of Lorraine and penetrates the chain of the Vosges Mountains by a series of tunnels, the longest of which is that of Arzweiler, or Hommerling, 3034 yds. in length. The canal from the Marne to the Rhine traverses the same hill, but in its subterranean course the rly. passes under the Canal. It soon after emerges into the valley of the Zorn, which it crosses upon a bridge spanning with one arch the river and with another the canal. This part of the line is exceedingly beautiful. The rly. is carried in a tunnel under the Castle of Lützelburg to 59 m. Lützelburg Junct. Stat., a little village romantically situated on the Zorn in a narrow defile below the ruins of the Castle of the same name. [Branch rly. (3 m. N.) to Pfalzburg (Inn: H. de la Ville de Bâle), a quiet little town of 3564 Inhab., hemmed in by its fortifications planned by Vauban, but dismantled by the Ger mans, 1873, and before the alteration of frontier of considerable military importance, from its position commanding the defiles under the crest of the Vosges, but best known as the scene of the Conscript of 1813,' the joint work of Erckmann and Chatrian, the former a native of the town. The road from Lützelburg zigzags steeply N. up a lovely gorge, and then suddenly reaches a smiling plateau, after traversing which, nearly a mile, the town is entered by the Porte de France, a handsome military gate in the style of the 17th cent., leading to the large Place Lobau, in the centre of which is a statue to Marshal Lobau, born here. The Ch. (on the W. side) was almost entirely destroyed by the bombardment of the town by the Germans, which led to its capitulation on 12th December, 1870, after 4 months' investment. The great road from Paris to Strassburg passes out on the E. side of the town at the Porte d'Allemagne, and crosses the rly. at Zabern, distant 6 m.] 65 m. Zabern Junct. Stat. (French Saverne) (Inns: H. Boeuf Noir; H. |