Identifier: battlesofninetee01forb (find matches)
Title: Battles of the nineteenth century
Year: 1901 (1900s)
Authors: Forbes, Archibald, 1838-1900 Atteridge, A. Hilliard (Andrew Hilliard)
Subjects: Battles Military history, Modern
Publisher: London New York : Cassell and Company
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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he east, is a meregreen track of considerable breadth,,which falls abruptly down into thevalley by the pop-lar-clad slope from)the plateau towardsSt. Arnual. Down all thesethree roads wereflowing from theupland dense andglittering streamsof French troops,the stream on thegreat road flowingswiftest and fastest.The sunrays flash-ed on the brightbayonets, andthrew up from thegreen or grey back-ground the redand blue of the uniforms. The troops came onin the true careless, irregular French style, withscarcely a pretence of formation, but with a speedthat was remarkable. The moment that the head THE BAPTISM OF FIRE. 25 of a column reached the valley, it broke into spray.As file after file reached a certain point, it be-came dissipated ; the nimble linesmen extendedfurther and further to right and left, till by the verge of the plateau, the gunners unlimberingand standing ready by the venomous pieces thatpresently gave fire from their wicked black,mouths. Higher up on the crest were visible
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lulus d£but. time that the heads ot all three columns werein the valley, an unbroken but loose chain ofskirmishers was drawn across the plain severalhundred yards in advance. Then began the steady deployments of com-pany after company, battalion after battalion,regiment after regiment ; and almost before onehad realised the situation, a long dense line hadbeen ruled along the valley behind the moreragged line of the skirmishers. Squadrons ofcavalry streamed down, and forming line ac agallop, rapidly overtook the infantry. Passingthrough the intervals, they reformed and pushedon to occupy and cover the flanks of theadvance. While all this was going on in the valley,the streams from behind the wood and thehill seemed to flow from a source that neverwould run dry. It was hardly a break thatwas caused in it by the two batteries thatcame down and wheeled off the road on to the other batteries, apparently of larger guns. Thepeculiarity of the movements described was theirperfect quietness

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