Annals of a Fortress

by Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc

During the night the Sire de Montcler brought up fascines, casks, and timber débris with which he raised a barricade connecting the barbican with the boulevard along the road, and a second connecting the eastern extremity of the intrenchment, D, with the fausse-braie of the tower, H, along the ridge of the plateau. He brought up one of the reserve culverins, and mounted it in the centre of the first barricade, then, with gabions, he strengthened the shelters and parados of the boulevard. The bombard was remounted as well as it could be, and directed against the point, C, of the intrenchment. And a second bombard was brought from the abbey to the platform of the tower G.

On his side, Messire Charles d'Amboise had not remained inactive. At the point, I, an earthwork was raised with gabionades, and two bombards were brought thither. The point captured was strengthened by great gabions, all covered with fascines, and well furnished with small cannon. These works were scarcely terminated when the day broke (September 19th). It was the besieged who began to direct the fire of their bombard from the boulevard, E, against the point C.

Immediately one of the bombards from the platform, I, replied, while the other discharged balls on the tower G, whose pieces were not slow in responding. Then the bombards of the cavaliers A and B joined in as on the previous day. The fire of these five pieces, converging at once on the boulevard, soon threw down the gabionades, killed most of the artillerymen, and dismounted the bombard a second time. This defence was no longer tenable. However, the governor would not yet abandon the advanced work: protecting his men as best he could along the interior slopes, he sent for five hundred Germans held in reserve in the abbey, and when duly marshalled, at a signal agreed upon, all the pieces of the tower G, the culverins of the barricade, and another culverin that had remained in battery on the boulevard, fired at once on the point C; and immediately putting himself at the head of the Germans and one hundred volunteers, among whom were most of the Burgundian men-at-arms, crossed the barricade and charged the enemy's position, who, surprised by this bold attack, defended themselves but feebly, and were partly driven on the slopes of the plateau. Messire Charles d'Amboise, who was on the platform I, seeing this rebuff, threw two large battalions, held in reserve behind the earthwork, against the intrenchment between the point C and the boulevard.

His men crossed the obstacle quickly enough, in spite of the barricade and the defenders posted at this point, and attacked the troop of the besieged in flank and in rear. In the midst of this mêlée, the artillerymen on both sides were prevented from firing; it was a combat with sharp weapons only. The Sire de Montcler found himself much jeopardised when, from the barbican and the boulevard, those who were on the field, although they had orders not to quit their posts, fell in their turn on the troop of besiegers. Immediately dividing his forces into two bodies, the governor was able with one to hold his ground against the assailants thrown on the slopes, and with the other to make head against the French, in their turn attacked on both sides.

The conflict was sanguinary. The besiegers, driven back against the intrenchment, could neither deploy nor manœuvre. Messire Charles d'Amboise sent a reinforcement, but the bombardiers of the tower G, at the risk of killing some of their own party, discharged stone balls and leaden bullets over the intrenchment at the fresh troops. Some well-aimed shots threw this battalion into confusion, as the soldiers could not see what was taking place in the interior, and were besides exposed to projectiles thrown by defenders mounted on the salient of the intrenchment. In fact the utmost these last comers could do was to facilitate the retreat of their comrades, which had become a very perilous one. The outwork was therefore recovered by the besieged—were they able to keep it?

Messire Charles d'Amboise saw that it was not prudent to hurry on an attack, and that in the face of a resolute garrison he must determine to proceed methodically. As the last rays of daylight faded the besiegers had all repassed the intrenchment conquered the day before, and were leaving on the field more than a hundred dead, wounded, and prisoners.

They had been obliged to abandon the culverin they had seized. The wounded were transported to the abbey and consigned to the care of the monks, who attended to them as well as to the wounded among the besieged. The prisoners were shut up in the castle, where they were well treated. Some Swiss were among them.

It was painful to the Sire de Montcler to abandon the outwork after this success; but it was evident that the besiegers would make new efforts to seize it, since the place was accessible only on that side, and many men must be sacrificed in retaining it. Now the garrison had suffered in the last struggle losses at least equivalent to those of the enemy; and these losses could not be repaired, while the troops of the king of France would be reinforced, if necessary. The Swiss prisoners, when questioned, had not concealed the fact that the enemy might reckon upon a fresh body of their own countrymen, five hundred in number, before long.

At nightfall therefore the governor assembled the captains of the various posts and the Burgundian lords, and spoke to them as follows:—"Gentlemen, our troops have displayed courage and intelligence in this day's struggle; and this assures us success, with the help of God. Though inferior to the enemy in numbers, we have defended and recovered the outwork; it would therefore be possible to keep it. Yet we cannot do so without directing all our means of resistance to this point, and imposing a severe task on the garrison. We should be rapidly exhausting our strength, while the enemy, which is much more numerous than we, can employ fresh troops every day. It would seem wise, then, to abandon this outwork, exposed to the batteries of the enemy, and to retire behind the ramparts; but besides the disinclination which men of honour must feel for retreating, after a success has been gained, and not trying to avail themselves of the advantages they have secured, there is the consideration that if we abandon the boulevard this defence will be turned against us by the besieger, and will support him in attacking our front. I have, therefore, resolved to unite this boulevard with the extremities of the curtains by two intrenchments, which will be flanked by the towers. This very night we must begin; and if we have not finished the works to-morrow morning we must defend our present intrenchment, that we may secure time to finish the new one. Be so good, therefore, as to assemble the townspeople in their various quarters within an hour, and let them be in readiness on the ground to work at the said intrenchments."