Upon intelligence of these advances, the Elector of Mentz paid a visit to the King of Prussia, at his head quarters, and left his minister, the Baron d’ALBINI, to attend to the affairs of the recovered places.
In the beginning of April, the blockade was more closely pressed, and the preparations for the siege seriously commenced. General d’OYRE was made commander in the city, with a Council of sixteen persons, to assist him in restoring the means of its defence. A person was placed at the top of an high building, called Stephen’s Tower, with glasses, which enabled him to overlook the country for nine miles round. He had a secretary with him, that his view might never be unnecessarily diverted, and was obliged to make a daily report of his observations. The beating of drums and ringing of bells were forbidden throughout the whole city, that the besiegers might not know in what quarters the corps de garde were placed, or what churches were left without the military. All prospect houses and trees within the walls, which could serve as marks to the fire without, were ordered to be demolished. Many days were passed in bringing further stores of provisions into the city; after which an account of the stock was taken, and there were found to be
· 24,090 sacks of wheat.
· 1,465 of other corn.
· 996 of mixed grain.
Of which 26,551 sacks, it was stated, that 23,070 sacks of meal could be made. To this was to be added in sifted meal of wheat 109 sacks, of other corn 45 sacks, of mixed grain 10,076 sacks; making in all 33,300 sacks of meal. There were besides
· 43,960 rations of biscuit.
· 7,275 pounds of rice.
· 13,045 of dried herbs.
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Of forage there were 10,820 quintals of hay.
· 54,270 of straw.
· 1,518 sacks of oats.
· 2,503 of barley.
·
The Council estimated, that the garrison had corn enough for nine months, rice for seven, and herbs for six. There were fifteen hundred horses, and it was reckoned, that the straw was enough for ten months, the oats for four-and-twenty days, and the barley for eighty days. The garrison was numbered, and found to consist of 22,653 persons; of whom to each soldier was allotted, for the future, 24 ounces of bread, per day, in lieu of 28, and 4 ounces of fresh meat, or 3 ounces of salt, in lieu of 8 ounces of fresh. The allowance of the sick in the hospitals was changed from twelve to eight ounces.
During these preparations for a long siege, the diminution of the number of inhabitants, by means of the clubs, was pursued. On the 8th of April, all persons, not useful to the army, were ordered to leave the city, unless they would take the new oath; at the same time, it was said, that, on account of the foreseen want of money, the soldiers, employed on the works, would be no longer paid, but the other workmen would continue to receive their salaries.
The garrison made their first sortie, on the night of the 10th and 11th, proceeding towards the Rhine. Kostheim was immediately taken, and the attack upon the Hessians succeeded, at first, but a reinforcement compelled the French to retire. About this time, the Commissioner Reubell went to Oppenheim, where he delivered a proposal for peace to the King of Prussia.
The village of Weissenau was contended for, on the 15th, 16th and 17th, and finally destroyed, the French soldiers, who remained upon the spot, subscribing 460 livres for the inhabitants.
On the 18th, nearly the whole of a French convoy of 90 waggons was taken by the Prussians. On the 20th the Imperialists erected a small fort on a point of land, near the Main, and the French, on the other hand, perfected a battery, at Kostheim, with which they set on fire some stables.
The price of provisions was already so much increased in the city, that salt butter cost 48 creitzers, or 16d. pence per pound.
In the night of the 28th and 29th, the French landed in three vessels, and destroyed a battery, erected near the Main. On the 1st of May, at one in the morning, they attacked the Prussians, at Hockheim, and set the village of Kostheim on fire. The Prussians repulsed them with loss, but they remained in Kostheim, notwithstanding the fire, which continued for three days; they were then expelled by the Prussians, but soon returned with reinforcements, and a sanguinary contest commenced, at the end of which they continued to be masters of the village. A numerous garrison was placed in it, which, on the 8th, was again attacked by the Prussians, but without effect. Thus the greatest part of May was spent in contests for villages and posts, in which the French were generally the assailants. In the night of the 30th, they beat up, in three columns, the Prussian head quarters, at Marienborn. Having marched barefooted and with such exact information, that they passed all the batteries unperceived, they entered the village itself, without resistance, and, it is supposed, would have surprised the commander, if they had not fired at his windows, beat their drums, and begun to shout Vive la nation! Three balls, which entered the apartment of General KALKREUTH, admonished him to quit it, and a sentinel stepped up just in time to shoot a French soldier, who had seized him. Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia immediately arrived with some troops, and the French began to retire, leaving thirty prisoners and twenty killed of 6000, engaged in the enterprise. The loss of the Prussians was considerable; amongst the rest Captain Voss, a relative of Mademoiselle Voss, well known in the Court of Prussia.
On the 4th of June, the allowance to the garrison was ordered to be two pounds of bread and one bottle of wine for each soldier, per day.
In the night of the 6th and 7th, the cannonade was very fierce, on both sides; in Mentz a powder magazine was fired by a bomb, and blew up with a dreadful explosion.
The scarceness of provisions increased, so that a pound of fresh butter cost six shillings. Horseflesh began to be consumed in many families.
On the night of the 9th and 10th of June, the garrison made four sorties, which ended in considerable loss, on both sides, and in the retirement of the French into the city. On the 10th, they attacked, at eight in the morning, a post near Gonsenheim, retreating without loss, after killing an officer and several men. This was their first sally in open daylight.
General Meusnier, who had been wounded near Cassel, on the 7th, died on the 13th, and was buried the next day, within the new fortifications, all the officers of the garrison, with the members of the convention and clubs, attending.
Some fire ships were now completed, which a Dutch engineer had conducted from Holland, to be employed by the besiegers in burning the bridge of boats over the Rhine. It was thought, however, that their explosion would damage the city unnecessarily, and they were rejected. In the night of the 15th, one of these floated down the river, whether by accident, or by the connivance of the inventor, is not known; the inhabitants were in the utmost terror, but it struck against the quay, and, being immediately boarded, did no damage.
The trenches were opened, in the night of the 16th and 17th, but, the workmen having been ill conducted, were not covered in, at daylight, and were compelled to retire, leaving their implements behind them. Two nights afterwards, the work was renewed in good order and without loss, the King of Prussia, his sons and the Duke of Brunswick surveying them from a neighbouring height. The first balls fell in a street near one of the gates, and all that part of the town was presently deserted.
The 24th was a distressful day for the inhabitants. Four days before, the King of Prussia had sent a general passport for such as chose to come out, and 1500 persons, chiefly women and children, had accepted his offer. A short time after the gate had been opened, dismay was spread through the whole city by an account, that the Prussians would suffer no more to pass and the French none to return. The bridge was covered with these unhappy fugitives, who had no food, or shelter, and who thought themselves within reach of the Hockheim batteries, that played furiously upon the city. Two children lost their senses through fright. At length, the French soldiers took compassion upon them; they carried several persons into the city under their cloaks, and, the next day, their remonstrances against the inhumanity of the German clubbists, who had sh
ut the gates against this defenceless crowd, obliged them to permit the return of the whole number.
For several succeeding nights, the garrison made sorties, with various effect, interrupting, but not preventing the completion of the parallel.
At sunset, on the 27th, the besiegers began a dreadful cannonade and bombardment. On this night, the steeple of the church of Notre Dame caught fire; and during the alarm, excited by an immense volume of flame, arising in the midst of the city, the Austrians completely carried the French posts, near Weissenau. The next night was equally terrible to the inhabitants; the flames caught several parts of the city, amongst others the cathedral; some of the magazines took fire, and eleven hundred sacks of corn were burned. The church, formerly belonging to the Jesuits, was much injured. The French, intending to retaliate their last surprise upon the Austrians, made a fruitless attack upon the Weissenau redoubt.
On the 29th of June, at mid-day, the French were driven from a point of land, near the Main, called the Bleiau. In this affair, a vessel, with 78 Prussians on board, drove from her anchor, owing to the unskilfulness of the crew, and, during a fire, by which eight men were killed, made towards the city. The Prussians were taken prisoners, and exchanged the next day. At night, the bombardment was renewed; the Domprobstei, or palace of the Provost, was burned and several of the neighbouring residences; in other parts of the city, some houses were reduced to ashes.
The next night, the church of the Franciscans and several other public buildings were destroyed. A dreadful fire, on the night of the 2d and 4th of June, consumed the chapel of St. Alban. Families in the southern part of the city now constantly passed the night in their cellars; in the daytime, they ventured into their usual apartments; for the batteries of the besiegers were by far the most terrible, at night, when the whole city was a sufficient mark for them, though their works could scarcely be discerned by the garrison. In the daytime, the exactness of the French gunners frequently did great injury to the batteries, which, at night, were repaired and used with equal effect against the city.
St. Alban’s fort was now demolished, so that the besieged withdrew their cannon from it. Elizabeth fort was also much damaged. A strong work, which the French had raised, in prolongation of the glacis, divided the opinions of the Prussian engineers. Some thought it should be preserved, when taken, because it would command part of the town; others, that it should be demolished. The latter opinion prevailed, and, in the night of the 5th and 6th, General MANSTEIN was ordered to make the attack with three battalions. He perfectly succeeded, as to the nearest part of the work, but the other, on account of its solid foundation, could not be entirely destroyed. In the mean time, two battalions were sent, under cover of the darkness, to attack the Zahlbach fort, a part of which they carried by storm; but the reinforcements, immediately supplied by the garrison, obliged them to retire. Two Prussian officers were killed; one wounded, and another, with one-and-thirty men, taken. The Prussians lost in all [...]83 men; the French had twelve killed and forty-seven wounded.
On the 6th of July, the French repaired the damaged fort, the distance of it from the Prussians preventing the latter from hindering them.
At night, General Kleist carried the fort, at Zahlbach, by a second attack, and demolished it; at the same time, some batteries of the second parallel were perfected. The French could not support the loss of this fort; on the 7th, they attacked the scite; carried it, after a severe contest; and rebuilt it. At night, they were driven back again and the fort entirely destroyed. In the same night they were driven from Kostheim, after a furious battle, by the Prussian General Schonfield. During this engagement, the rapid succession of flashes and explosion of bombs seemed to fill the air with flame. A Prussian detachment having been posted on the road to Cassel, in order to prevent the garrison of that place from sending succour to Kostheim, this road was so strongly bombarded by the French, that seven bombs were frequently seen in the air at once. The loss was great, on both sides, in this engagement, after which the Council in the city resolved, to make no more attempts upon Kostheim, on account of the distance.
The following night, the fire was less than usual, but a few bombs and grenades fell in the city, where the inhabitants had now learned to extinguish such as grounded, before their fusees were consumed. They also formed themselves into parties for the ready suppression of fires. The next morning, the garrison saw the works of the besiegers brought to within two hundred and fifty paces of the walls.
About this time, the sickliness of the garrison became apparent, and General d’Oyré informed the Council, that, on account of this and of the fatiguing service of the works, he feared the defence could not be much longer continued. He lamented, that the troops of the line were so few, and the others so inexperienced.
For several nights, the works of the besiegers were eagerly pushed, but still they were not so forward, as had been expected. Some of the besieging corps began to be sickly; the King of Prussia having resolved to employ no more labourers, it was reckoned, that the soldiers, for eight-and-forty hours of work, had only eighteen of rest. On the other hand, they were assured, that the garrison must be equally fatigued, since, in such an extensive fortification, none could be left long unemployed.
The French had been, for some time, busied in forming what is called a Fleche at the head of one of their forts, and this was thought necessary to be destroyed. It was attacked in the night of the 12th and 13th by the Austrians; but so much time was passed in their operations, that the French fell upon them, in great force, about two in the morning, and beat them away, with loss. The Austrians were as little employed as possible in services of this sort.
On the 13th of July, another battery was stormed by the Prussians; but, as the officer, unlike the Austrians, advanced with too little caution, his party was much hurt by some pieces of concealed cannon, and the enterprise failed.
The night of the 13th and 14th was passed in much agitation by the garrison and inhabitants. Several of the public buildings were set fire to and burned by grenades. The works of the besiegers were now greatly advanced. The garrison made five sorties in this night, and were repulsed in all, losing an hundred men, while the besiegers lost eight killed and one-and-thirty wounded.
On the 14th of July, a cessation of arms took place from seven o’clock in the morning till one. In the city, the French celebrated their annual fête; General d’OYRE and the troops took the oath, and MERLIN delivered an address to them. In the Austrian camp, the Prince de CONDE was received with a feu de joye. During this cessation, the soldiers upon the different outposts entered into conversation with each other, and the French boasted of the difficulties they laboured under from the length of the siege.
At night, an affair at the Fleche cost the allies, who succeeded in part, ninety men; the French confessed, that this work cost them in all three hundred. The inhabitants of the city were again greatly alarmed, their streets being covered with a shower of grenades. The laboratory and a part of the Benedictine abbey were burned, and two explosions took place at the former. The whole city shook with each report, and, in the nearer parts, all the windows were broken and the doors burst open. The remainder of the hay and straw was consumed in this fire; the whole stock of other forage was reduced to a sufficiency for four days; and the surgeon’s stores were much damaged.
Still the Fleche prevented the besiegers from completing their second parallel. It was, therefore, again attacked, on the night of the 16th and 17th, Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia commanding at the assault, in which he was one of twelve officers wounded. The Fleche was then completely carried.
The next night was very industriously spent by the besiegers in forming new batteries, and those of the second parallel were raised, before there were cannon enough at hand to place upon them. The French took advantage of this, and brought a part of theirs to bear, so as to enfilade the parallel, with great effect; the Prussians almost immediately losing an officer and forty men.
In the city, th
e sick had now increased so much, that six hundred men were brought from Cassel, on the 17th, to reinforce the garrison. On the 18th, the commandant informed the Council, that there was a want of fodder and such a loss of horses, by desertion, that there were not cavalry enough left for service. The soldiers, who knew the deficiency of medicines and other means of relief for the wounded, were unwilling to be led to sorties. Though corn had not failed, flour, it appeared, soon would, for some of the mills had been rendered unserviceable, for the present, by shot, and others were deserted by the millers.
At night, after an unsuccessful attempt upon the Fleche, it was resolved, that the garrison, which had hitherto scarcely suffered a night to pass, without making some sorties, should, for the future, adhere solely to defensive measures. Some engineers proposed to abandon the whole line of forts, and others, that two of the largest should be blown up. The General and Council, at length, confessed, that they could not continue the defence, and assured the inhabitants, who had declared themselves in their favour, that a longer delay of the surrender would produce a more severe disposition of the besiegers towards them, without increasing the chance of escaping it.
A negotiation, relative to the surrender, was now begun by D’OYRE, in a letter, which partly replied to one from the Prussian commander KALKREUTH, upon the subject of the departure of aged persons and children from the city. Their correspondence continued till the 20th, and several letters were exchanged, chiefly upon the question of the removal, or detention of the inhabitants, who had attached themselves to the French; it was then broken off, upon a disagreement, as to this and some other points. The firing, on both sides, had in the mean time continued, and the besiegers carried on the trenches, though these were now such an easy mark for the garrison, that they lost an officer and five-and-twenty men, in the night of the 19th and 20th. The next night, the Dominicans’ church in the city took fire, and six French soldiers were buried under its ruins.
Delphi Complete Works of Ann Radcliffe (Illustrated) Page 291
