Frederic Natusch Maude

“ To rescue the guns the nearest French infantry attacked in a succession of groups, charging home the bayonet with the utmost determination. Before each attack the Prussians immediately in front gave way, but those on the flanks swung inwards and under this converging fire each French attempt died out, the Prussians following up their retreat. ”

“ As soon as the fighting became general, all order in the skirmisher lines disappeared on both sides, and invariably, except where the Prussian artillery fire intervened, it was the appearance of closed bodies of troops in rear of the fighting line which determined the retreat of their opponents. Even in the confused fighting in the Niederwald, the mere sound of the Prussian drums or the French bugles induced the adversary to give way even though drums and bugles frequently appealed to nonexistent troops. ”

“ The superiority of the French chassepot to the needle guns may reasonably be set against the superior number of rifles on the German side, for though the Germans were generally, thanks to their numbers, able to bring a converging fire upon the French, the latter made nearly double the number of hits for about the same weight of ammunition fired, but the French had nothing to oppose to the superior German artillery, and in almost every instance it was the terrible shell fire which broke up the French counter attack. ”