celle, with its front toward the south. North of this position, the high ground and also the bottom of the valley at Givonne and Daigny was held by the 1st French corps, who were faced by the 12th Prussian corps and the Prussian Guards. The portion of the line at Illy was held by the 7th corps, who were supported by the 11th and 5th corps. Later in the day, in the centre and rear of the French position, the 5th corps was posted to serve as a reserve that might be moved in any direction. To guard against any attempt of the French to force a way out of Sedan toward the south, the 2d Bavarian corps, which had its own artillery, and that of the 1st corps, stood in the way. The 4th German corps was held in reserve in the early part of the day, but was brought into the battle before it ended. One division of the 4th corps was sent to Bazeilles to support the Bavarians, while the other division stood in reserve at Mairy. Altogether, for attacking the principal points of the French line, the Germans had a much larger number of men than their antagonists.
The battle was opened by the Bavarians. It was intended to begin the fire at daylight, and General Von der Tann, who commanded the 1st Bavarian corps, was all ready for action with the first streak of daylight, but a thick fog hung over the valley of the Meuse and prevented the tactical action which he intended. During the night, General Von der Tann had sent his artillery to the left bank of the Meuse while the principal part of his corps bivouacked between Romilly and Augecourt. He had been instructed to attack Bazeilles, in order to prevent the escape of the French without giving battle, the great fear being that the French, knowing the numerical superiority of their antagonists, would attempt to retire from Sedan before the lines around it could be completed. The Bavarian vanguard advanced at 4 a.m. and thirty minutes later it was in possession of the Romilly station south of Bazeilles. On passing to the village they found that the
