FOOTNOTES:
[71] Who had succeeded General Manteuffel in the command of the Ist Corps, when at the beginning of December the latter found oppressive the command of a Corps along with the Command-in-Chief of the Ist Army.
[72] Commanding the 7th (Rhineland) Uhlan Regiment, the officer who so long and so gallantly defended Saarbrücken on his own responsibility in the earliest days of the war.
[73] Whether the author intends, in the two first sentences of this paragraph, that the advantages of the St. Quentin position should be enjoyed by Faidherbe or Goeben, appears somewhat obscure. The third sentence certainly refers to the German Army, as the succeeding one clearly shows. But this being so, there is a discrepancy between the text and the Staff History, as regards the side which the bridge of St. Quentin would serve in the battle. The following is quoted from that work: "Moreover, the German troops were separated by the Somme, whilst the bridges at St. Quentin enabled the French Corps to afford one another easy support."
Battle of St. Quentin.
(January 19th.)
General von Goeben had ordered the general attack for this day.
Covered by the occupation of Séraucourt, General von Barnekow advanced along the southern bank of the Somme, with the 16th and the 3rd Reserve Divisions from Jussy through Essigny; the 12th Cavalry Division advanced on the road leading from La Fère.
The French columns were still on the march to take up their position with its rear towards the town; and Grugies was already occupied by them. While the 32nd German Brigade advanced northward of Essigny the Reserve Division halted behind the village, and the 31st Brigade at a quarter to ten advanced on Grugies.