Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/170

166 COMMUNE DE PARIS Fort Issy. For many days after this the artil- lery fire on both sides was constant, being par- ticularly severe in the neighborhood of the Maillot gate; but the infantry battles were infrequent and indecisive. Several further at- tempts made to storm or surprise the insur- gents' forts entirely failed, and though the na- tional army on the whole made a steady but very slow advance, the communists lost no im- portant points until the 17th. On that day Col. Davoust of the national army captured the chateau de Becon, commanding the posi- tions of Courbevoie and Asnieres ; and on the 18th the commune's troops were driven from the village of Bois-Coloinbes, and again from Gennevilliers. On the 19th they were forced back across the Seine. During all this time events of various importance had occurred in the city, where the principal power was now in the hands of Cluseret, the delegate for war, who became an actual member of the govern- ing body through the supplementary elections, held to fill vacancies, on April 16. A soldier of restless energy and quick decision, he put aside the sentimentalities of the commune leaders, which had led them to intrust the conduct of important affairs to men whose sole merit consisted in their zeal for the cause, and, ruling with the greatest severity over all within his department, he introduced a new military system. He formed a general staff consisting of Rossel, a brilliant young engineer who now begins to appear prominently in the history of the commune, Col. Henry, Col. Razoua, and others having really serviceable military knowledge; he organized the troops, and to his good training and that of Dom- browski must be attributed much of the spirit and skill shown in the defence of the southern forts. The commune's conduct of affairs with- in the city retained its former features. On April 5 a decree had suppressed, among the papers hostile to the new regime, the Journal des Debate, Constitutional, Paris-Journal, and Liberte ; later decrees suspended the pub- lication of the Siecle, Temps, Soir, Cloche, Opinion Nationale, and Bien Public. On the 12th a proclamation announced the de- termination of the commune to demolish the column Vendome. Requisitions were constant- ly made ; arrests were frequent ; and among the executions was that of Girot, the com- mander of a battalion, for refusal to march against the enemy. Dissensions among the members of the commune were continuous; and what with the distress among the people, the lack of aid from the rest of France, and the gradual loss of ground to the national troops, the situation daily became more se- rious. In the midst of this unfavorable state of affairs the commune published on April 19 its official "programme," long before pro- posed. It was a document of considerable length, but announced nothing new, and re- peated in general terms what had already been made known in previous proclamations concerning the desired self-government of Paris, the decentralization of France, &c. On April 25 attention was again concentrated on the military operations, by the proclama- tion of M. Thiers declaring that a great and final attack on Paris would now be begun, the government being satisfied of the uselessness of further attempts at reconciliation, and hav- ing determined to devote its energies to obtain- ing possession of the city. Immediately there be- gan a vigorous cannonade of the southern forts, and a simultaneous advance of the national troops on the western side of the defences. The fire directed against Forts Issy and Vanves principally proceeded from the second parallel erected by the Germans during their siege, and now taken possession of and refitted by Mac- Mahon. Pressing forward from this, he took the village of Les Molineanx, and thus estab- lished a position only a short distance from the walls of Fort Issy. On the night of April 29 he further succeeded in capturing the castle of Issy ; and from all these advantageous points he was "enabled to concentrate upon the fort an almost insupportable fire, which reduced it nearly to a ruin within the next three days. About 1 o'clock on the morning of the 30th a panic seized its garrison, and, refusing longer to defend it or obey orders in the midst of such an overwhelming attack, all but a few soldiers fled from their posts, leaving the bat- teries entirely silent. This defeat was attend- ed in Paris with the same consequences that had followed the reverses a month before. The popular excitement and the clamor of soldiers and officers demanded a victim, and this time Cluseret was selected. By a brief decree is- sued on May 1 he was removed from office and placed under arrest, and Col. Rossel was appointed delegate for war in his place. But Issy was not yet so irreclaimably lost as it seemed. It had been deeply mined ; the Ver- sailles troops, knowing this, feared to enter it, and it was again taken possession of by a corps of insurgent volunteers. Taking advantage of the speedy arrival of reinforcements, these made a sortie, and succeeded in driving the nationals from the castle of Issy and the vil- lage. The tide of success seemed about to turn when, following the plans of Gen. Cissey, the Versailles troops executed a series of well conceived manoeuvres, took first the village, then the castle, and finally occupied the fort on May 9, without a serious conflict. Issy lost, the communists found the key to the whole position on the S. W. side of the city in the hands of the enemy. Point after point fell into their possession ; a new parallel was established in the southern part of the Bois de Boulogne, within less than 800 yards of the Paris enceinte ; and a violent attack began on the inmost circle of defences. On the extreme west the national army had also met with suc- cesses. The constant fire from Mont Valerien and the many batteries established on that side had gradually beaten down the insurgent de-