Annals of a Fortress Part 16

On the 10th of September the besiegers began a cavalier in form of a horseshoe, three hundred paces from the boulevard, E, towards the north-east, to rake its gorge at A (Fig. 53). This cavalier was armed with two bombards and a spirole. Northwards, on the side of the road, a second cavalier, B, was also provided with two bombards. Next was commenced an earthwork, running obliquely with traverses, to reach from this cavalier in a south-west direction as far as the edge of the plateau near the defenders' intrenchment C, D. The great boulevard, E, of the defence was armed with a bombard and two culverins, and two other culverins flanked the intrenchment C, D. On the morning of the 17th of September, the four bombards of the besiegers sent into the boulevard stone b.a.l.l.s two hundred pounds weight, which very much damaged the gorge, and about noon dismounted the bombard and one of the culverins.

The besieged had answered their fire as well as they could, both from the boulevard and the two great towers G, H. But it was only the b.a.l.l.s of the bombard mounted on the platform of the tower H, that reached the cavalier A. Those of the tower G only rolled as far as the slope of the cavalier B. The governor might have mounted other bombards on the boulevard E; but he was afraid of losing the pieces, and preferred reserving them for the defence at close quarters. On the 18th the besieger had terminated his earthwork as far as the point I, and there he brought up a veuglaire to dismount the flank culverin C. At this point some men were lost on both sides; for the besiegers sent among those engaged in the works large b.a.l.l.s of stone and leaden bullets, fired from the bombards of the tower G, and from small cannon.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 53.]

On the 18th of September, at daybreak, the bombards of the cavaliers, A and B, redoubled their fire on the boulevard; then Messire Charles d'Amboise, having ma.s.sed a body of four hundred men at the point, I, sheltered by gabions and fascines put up during the night; at the word of command this body fell upon the flank, C, which was vigorously defended for an hour. After this the Sire de Montcler, observing that the besiegers were continually sending reinforcements to this point, withdrew his troops into the barbican, K, and the boulevard, E, which enabled the artillerymen posted in the tower, G, to keep up a brisk fire from their bombard and their small cannon upon the a.s.sailants.

From the boulevard, E, the besieged, in spite of the projectiles they received in their rear, sheltering themselves as best they could, discharged volleys of stones with their culverins on the point occupied by the enemy. The latter sought to avoid them by descending a short distance below the ridge of the plateau; but they were none the less exposed there to the fire from the tower, G. They brought up gabions and fascines, and endeavoured to gain a footing on this flank, not without some loss, when about three o'clock in the afternoon another attack was contrived against the flank, D. Pa.s.sing round the end of the intrenchment, and hastening with all speed along the slopes, the enemy attempted to take the defenders in the rear. This attack was unsuccessful. Those who served the bombards and culverins of the tower, H, seized the right moment for discharging volleys against this column of a.s.sailants, which made deep lanes in the battalions. These, moreover, who were retired within the barbican, precipitated down the slopes those of the enemy who had already pa.s.sed beyond the intrenchment; and the struggle ceased towards evening, the besieger occupying the point C alone, without being able to advance. He was endeavouring to find shelter there, both against the projectiles and against any attack in retaliation. The citizens had lost only a few men and a culverin. The enemy reckoned one hundred and fifty dead, and a large number of wounded.

During the night the Sire de Montcler brought up fascines, casks, and timber _debris_ 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 b.a.l.l.s 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 _melee_, 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 a.s.sailants 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 manoeuvre. 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 b.a.l.l.s 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 repa.s.sed 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 a.s.sembled 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 a.s.sures us success, with the help of G.o.d. 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 a.s.semble the townspeople in their various quarters within an hour, and let them be in readiness on the ground to work at the said intrenchments."

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 54]

The orders of the governor were peremptory, and about nine o'clock four hundred workmen, and even women, issued by the north gate to raise the earthworks marked out on the ground by the engineer (Fig. 54). This intrenchment consisted of a small ditch with an earthwork surmounted by stakes, rubbish from the demolition of houses in the town, fascines, and barrels filled with earth. On the western side it started from the boulevard at N, and joined the fosse of the curtain at L, leaving a pa.s.sage of twenty-four feet between its extremity and the ditch. On the eastern side it reached the entrance of the boulevard O, and followed the line O M, with a similar pa.s.sage at M. At R and P two culverins were mounted, protected by strong gabionades. On the enemy's side an embankment, with platform and gabions, had been raised at S, and the two bombards of the cavalier, B, were mounted on this platform. At T, Messire Charles d'Amboise had placed a culverin, protected by a gabionade.

The bombards of the cavalier B were replaced by three veuglaires to crush the battery S, if the besieged, taking the offensive, endeavoured to seize it.

On the morning of the 20th of September the works of the besieged were almost completed, or at any rate were high enough to present an obstacle to the a.s.sailant. The boulevard, E, had been well furnished with fascines and gabions that very night. The bombard, remounted, swept the point C, and the two culverins the exterior. The intrenchment, C D, was strongly occupied by the defenders at the break of day with small cannon and powerful catapults. The barricades on the flanks, V and X, were strengthened. The Sire de Montcler sent two hundred men to the boulevard, E, with orders to keep under cover as far as possible, and to use their weapons only in case of the intrenchment being forced. The attack commenced about six o'clock. The two bombards, S, discharged stone b.a.l.l.s on the salient of the intrenchment and on the boulevard; at the same time the two pieces, I and T, directed their fire on the epaulement, C, and the interval, S T, was occupied by arbalisters and men who served the small cannon under cover of mantelets. From the cavalier, A, the bombards continued to discharge b.a.l.l.s broadcast on the boulevard E, as on the previous days. From the platform of this cavalier A, Messire Charles d'Amboise had observed the intrenchment which the besieged had raised during the night; he therefore resolved to bring all his efforts to bear on the salient and the boulevard. With this view, about eight o'clock, he brought up two culverins at Y, which, protected by gabions, were also made to do duty. The besieged replied only with their small cannon and the two culverins of the epaulements, C and D, and their arbalisters. They were husbanding their fire for the moment of a.s.sault. At noon, the salient of the intrenchment was broken down, and the escarpment of the boulevard was greatly damaged. The defenders were driven from their position at Z; their culverin, C, was dismounted, and the western epaule rendered untenable. They dispersed or took refuge along the intrenchment from Z to D, which was less exposed. The Sire de Montcler gave orders to return within the second intrenchment. They brought away the culverin D, which was mounted at the extremity L; but they were obliged to leave the piece C after having spiked it. As soon as Charles d'Amboise saw the besieged abandon his intrenchment he ceased firing, and, having marshalled an a.s.saulting column furnished with ladders, poles, and cutla.s.ses, ordered it to cross the ruined salient and a.s.sault the boulevard without giving the enemy breathing time. This was the moment for which the commandant was waiting. As soon as he saw this column begin to move and pa.s.s the intrenchment, he directed upon it a simultaneous fire from the pieces of the two towers G and H, the two culverins mounted on the boulevard, and all the small cannon. The a.s.saulting column, thus taken obliquely and in front, hesitated and fell back; when it was greeted by a shower of crossbow bolts from the ramparts of the boulevard. It rallied, however, behind the battery S, which discharged a volley upon the boulevard, and, turning slightly on its right so as at least to shelter itself from the fire of the tower H, it pa.s.sed the intrenchment once more and threw its scaling ladders on the escarpment of the boulevard. The defenders sustained the a.s.sault resolutely. The tower, G, then began to fire on the a.s.sailants as well as the culverins brought up at L and P.

The besiegers suffered severe losses. On two occasions some of their number reached the parapet, but could not hold their ground. They did not fall back, however; and most of them heated by the fight, not obeying or not hearing the voice of their captains, advanced along the new intrenchment N L, hoping to force it, for it was but weak. In fact, in a few moments this defence was pa.s.sed, and the a.s.sailants then endeavoured to take the boulevard by the gorge. The defenders posted between C and M seeing themselves taken in rear, took refuge, some in the boulevard and others in barbican K. A hand to hand fight began in this triangle. In this _melee_ the garrison dared not shoot from the curtain. The Sire de Montcler, who was in the barbican, then put himself at the head of his men and encouraged them by saying that the enemy was taken in a snare from which he could not escape; he sallied forth in good order, driving the scattered a.s.sailants before him as far as the gorge of the boulevard, which was crowded by the defenders, crying "Burgundy! Burgundy!" (Fig. 55). The works of this boulevard were commanded by a cool-headed captain, who was able to prevent his men from being disturbed by the struggle going on behind them; and who maintained his ground against the a.s.sault--now diminishing in vigour--issued from the gorge, and rallying all the panic-stricken soldiers who were ma.s.sed together at this point, rushed on the enemy.

The French were then obliged to retreat as best they could, not without leaving many of their men on the field. But it was evident that the boulevard P could hold out no longer. Surrounded by the enemy's fire, and the outer intrenchment taken, a fresh a.s.sault would place it in the power of the enemy. Its parapets were ruined, and its three pieces disabled. All night the besiegers occupied both sides of the intrenchments N, L, O, M and kept up an incessant fire to hinder the besieged from reinforcing this defence. The Sire de Montcler determined, though with regret, and only to avoid a useless sacrifice of life, to give the orders required for bringing back into the town such pieces of ordnance as were still serviceable. He was obliged to abandon the bombard, of which indeed the besiegers could make no use. Two of the five culverins were placed on the platforms of the great towers, and the three others on terraces raised behind the curtain, together with three pieces taken from the reserve.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 55.--a.s.sAULT ON THE BOULEVARD.]

On the morning of the 21st of September, the besiegers found the outwork abandoned; but in occupying it themselves they were exposed to the fire of the two great bombards of the towers and of ten culverins, which did not cease to fire on the boulevard and the intrenchment.

Towards evening, however, they had succeeded in opening a wide breach in the boulevard, opposite the gorge, and inclosing the latter. They were occupied all night in restoring its slopes and parapets in front of the town, and raising platforms and mounting three bombards on the boulevard.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 56

ATTACK ON THE OLD FRONT.]

At the two epaulements of the intrenchment C, D they raised two gabioned cavaliers, and placed a bombard and two veuglaires on each of them.

On the 21st of September, these works having been terminated by noon in spite of the fire of the besieged, one of the bombards of the boulevard discharged its stone b.a.l.l.s at the gate, the two others at the two towers. At the same time the veuglaires of the cavaliers fired on these towers with iron b.a.l.l.s and the bombards with their stone b.a.l.l.s. These projectiles left only feeble traces on the masonry, but often threw down the gabionades and the parapets, and dismounted the pieces (Fig.

56).[40]

This artillery fight lasted till evening; on both sides pieces had been dismounted or were silenced; and the whole of the night was employed both by besieger and besieged in replacing the cannon on their repaired carriages or in bringing up new pieces.

Messire Charles d'Amboise was irritated; the affair was advancing but slowly. He had already received pressing letters from the king; for Louis XI. was afraid that a prolonged resistance would determine the other parts of Burgundy which had remained faithful to the court of France, to declare for the young d.u.c.h.ess. He knew that emissaries of Maximilian were going through the province and endeavouring to persuade the authorities of the great towns that the king's army was feeble and disheartened; seeing that, in spite of formidable artillery, twenty days had not enabled it to make any impression on the little city of Roche-Pont.

Although the besiegers concentrated their fire, the number of pieces mounted by them was inferior to that of the cannon of the besieged. The stone b.a.l.l.s of the bombards did no great damage to the defences. Messire Charles d'Amboise, therefore, during the night intervening between the 22nd and 23rd, raised a cavalier at A, strongly gabioned and terraced, and armed it with three large culverins. On the morning of the 23rd of September the corner tower, G, received the fire of five pieces loaded with iron ball and of a bombard discharging stone b.a.l.l.s. After two hours' fire all the defences of the platform were knocked down and the three pieces dismounted, the embrasures of the tower battery shattered, and the defenders killed or wounded. Then orders were given that the tower should be fired upon only by two pieces from the cavalier C; and the fire of the three culverins of the cavalier A, and the three bombards of the boulevard, concentrated their fire on the gate and its barbican. Towards the end of the day this fine gate presented the appearance shown in Fig. 57. In the evening the besieger's pieces that had not been dismounted--that is to say, two culverins of the battery A, a veuglaire of the cavalier, and one of the bombards of the boulevard--concentrated their fire on the terrace P, of the besieged.[41] By evening the wall was dismantled, the gabionades tumbled down, and only one of the three culverins was available. However there was no breach, and an a.s.sault could not be attempted.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 57]

The Sire de Montcler decided that he must at all risks r.e.t.a.r.d the besieger's progress if he could do nothing more. He reckoned that in two days the enemy would be able to effect a breach, either by his cannon or by mining, and that then the _cite_ must be taken; for the garrison could not long hold out behind the interior retrenchments. In the cannonade of the preceding days the Sire de Montcler had lost but few men, and his reserve force had not been drawn upon. He therefore got them under arms about nine o'clock, summoned a troop of one hundred well-mounted hors.e.m.e.n, and gave the following orders:--The hundred hors.e.m.e.n, accompanied by a hundred _coutilliers_ on foot, were to sally forth by the eastern gate against the post established at the mills, attack the small encampment installed in the meadows below, fall back by the road skirting the plateau on the east side, skirmish on the outskirts of the French camp, or cut down the posts they came upon on their way, and then return at full speed to the east gate. A second body of a hundred foot soldiers was to be at the cross road above the mills to protect their retreat. During these attacks, designed to attract the enemy's attention to the left, a troop of five hundred men on foot would issue from a masked postern giving egress below the front of the abbey on the west, and filing off along the ramparts, vigorously attack the cavalier C, and the battery A, spike the pieces, and do all possible damage. It was to retire by the same way, protected by the western ramparts.

Messire Charles d'Amboise was too experienced a warrior to fail in pushing his advantage. He knew that success, especially in sieges, ultimately accrues to him who leaves the enemy no repose, and does not fall asleep when his first advantage has been gained. The north front of the place was rendered powerless; but an energetic governor of a town may, in a single night, acc.u.mulate many obstacles, devise a hundred stratagems, and very greatly hinder the efficiency of an attack. Charles d'Amboise had therefore resolved to have fascines conveyed to the ditch by a body of a thousand men, some yards from the great tower of the corner G, and to attempt an escalade, while the ordnance, firing on this tower at discretion, hindered the defenders from fortifying the platform again. He had observed the embrasure on the flank of this tower raking the ditch, and had summoned a body of twenty men, furnished with mattresses, and pieces of wood to mask it. As regarded the _fausse-braie_, that was ruined, and could not present any serious obstacle.

The Sire de Montcler had some reason to expect a night attack; but he intended to be beforehand with it, and crush it in the bud. "Whatever happens," he said to the troops ordered for the sorties, "act according to your instructions: do not allow yourselves to be diverted by any attempt at an a.s.sault; on the contrary, execute the orders given you to the letter. We are still numerous enough to sustain an attack."

At a quarter past ten the two detachments were in the act of issuing forth by the eastern gate and by the abbey postern. The governor then mounted the _debris_ of the defences of the tower at the corner C, and attentively examined the att.i.tude of the enemy. The fires they had lighted were no longer to be seen; but, on listening, he heard indistinct sounds along the works of the besieger. The sky was overcast, and drops of rain were in falling. The Sire de Montcler descended to the lower battery; all the embrasures fronting the exterior were in ruins, and all the pieces of ordnance covered with rubbish. The embrasure of the flank was intact, and the small piece with which it was furnished was in good condition. He had it loaded in his presence with nails and old iron, and gave orders to those serving it not to fire till they saw the enemy a few paces off; behind this piece he had a second placed similarly loaded, so that two volleys might be discharged one after the other. Then he went up again to the rampart walk of the curtain, and himself drew up his men, who were armed with long bills and good daggers and axes. He next visited the ruined gate. It presented such a pile of rubbish that the enemy would not have been able to pa.s.s it in the night; nevertheless in every corner he posted troops, with orders not to use their weapons till they found themselves face to face with the enemy, to observe absolute silence, and not to shout during the fight. This done, he placed a reserve of two hundred men behind the interior retrenchment, and fifty men, furnished with tarred bundles of straw, on the ridge of this retrenchment, with orders to kindle them when they heard the cry "Burgundy!"

About three-quarters past ten the Sire de Montcler again ascended the platform of the corner tower, and recognised the presence of the enemy some yards from the ditch. Notwithstanding the darkness, he could see a black ma.s.s deploying in silence; then he heard the fascines rolling into the fosse and the wood cracking under the men's feet. In a few minutes, about fifty ladders were set up against the curtain, and each of them was covered by the enemy. These ladders were provided with hooks at the top and stays along the sides, so that the defenders could not throw them down: two, however, fell, dragging the a.s.sailants with them.

At this moment the small pieces of ordnance on the flank of the tower fired, and the cries of the wounded resounded from the ditch, while three more ladders were broken and fell. The hosts of a.s.sailants surged over on the rampart walk, and at the cry of "Burgundy!" the fires having been kindled, the encounter with keen weapons in this narrow s.p.a.ce presented the strangest spectacle.

The artillery of the besieged was then directed to the flank of the curtain and the exterior, from the platform of the corner tower; while shouts arose from this battery, and the five hundred Burgundians who were ordered to the sortie on the west began an attack, and the troops that were preparing to reinforce the a.s.sault turned their backs to the town to fall on this attacking body.

The Sire de Montcler heard shouting in the distance on the north-east side, and saw a bright gleam through the darkness. He then went down to bring his reserves to the curtain. The French, however, succeeded in getting to the top of the rampart, and reached the corner tower. The few men who were on the summit of the dismantled platform struggled bravely until the moment when the reserve sent by the governor, ascending the incline on which the artillery was posted, fell on the French, and drove them back to the rampart walk of the curtain. The a.s.sailants then forming in a column on the rampart walk, directed a vigorous attack against the tower. From the interior retrenchment, showers of bolts, arrows, and small-shot were discharged upon them in flank; and although they had bucklers, the French lost a great many. As the rampart walk was narrow, the head of the column could present only three men abreast, and was met by a compact ma.s.s of defenders. It was not advancing; the soldiers in the rear, who were exposed to darts in flank, were pressing on those before them in order to force the platform and fight. In this press many fell mutilated within the town. One of the culverineers of the tower, aided by a dozen men, had succeeded during the struggle in getting a culverin out of the rubbish and carrying it without its carriage, loaded, into the midst of the group of Burgundians defending the pa.s.sage. Thrusting the mouth of the piece between their legs, he fired it: the ball, and the stones with which the bore of the culverin had been filled, made a frightful lane in the compact body of the French: some leaped down into the town, others ran towards the towers of the gateway, and several climbed the parapet to regain their ladders.

The Burgundians made another rush along the rampart, killing all who resisted.

But at that juncture a large body of the French issued forth through the gate of the lower battery. By aid of pickaxes and crowbars they had succeeded, after filling up the ditch with fascines, in enlarging the openings of two of the embrasures, already broken down by the cannon; then, throwing into these openings lighted bundles of straw and tar mixed with gunpowder so as to drive away the defenders, they had made their way into the interior at the risk of being themselves suffocated by the smoke, and rushing towards the gate, killing the few that had remained in the battery, they had forced the doors and made an entrance for their comrades by the same road. Issuing forth into the town they ascended the incline at full speed.[42] The cry Of victory on the part of the Burgundians was answered by cries of "France! d'Amboise!" These shouts revived the courage of the French who had remained on the rampart, and they renewed the attack. The Sire de Montcler despatched his last reserves against the new comers, but they continued to pour out on level ground and fought valiantly. Their number was increasing every moment, and they succeeded in driving back the reserves to the retrenchment. The Burgundians, cooped up on the platform of the tower, surrendered after having lost half their men. Messire Charles d'Amboise ordered that they should be honourably treated. The tower of the north-west salient was in the power of the enemy, as well as the whole of the curtain stretching from this tower to the north gate.

Day was breaking when the combat ceased, and some hours' repose were needed on both sides. The corner tower was lost to the besieged; the governor strongly barricaded the adjoining tower opening on to the curtain, and placed a number of small cannon in the upper story of this tower. He had done the same on the broken summit of the western tower of the gate. He wished to hinder the enemy from gaining ground on the curtains, and outflanking--particularly on his right--the retrenchment connected with the old wall surrounding the abbey, and meeting the tower on the north-east corner.[43]

A short time before the end of the struggle, the two bodies destined for the sorties were on their return, the foot soldiers through the abbey postern, and the men-at-arms, not through the east gate, but through that near the castle on the west. The foot soldiers brought in a hundred prisoners; the horse had lost a third of their party. The fortune of these two bodies had been as follows:--The foot soldiers, operating on the left, had come upon the enemy unawares, making their way through the brushwood of the western slope of the plateau as far as the gorge of the enemy's battery, C,[44] had fallen on the guard, spiked the guns, and, taking advantage of the confusion, had taken the attacking column in flank, had entered the battery, A, whose pieces they had also spiked, but, seeing themselves too far advanced, had beat a retreat, descending the slopes straight towards the west. As they were not vigorously pursued, they had entered the lower town, surprised and captured two bodies of guards, set fire to some huts erected by the besiegers, and regained the town. Charles d'Amboise, at first surprised by the audacity of the attack, but quickly perceiving that it could do him no serious damage, had given the strictest orders that nothing should divert his men from the a.s.sault, and had contented himself with sending against the troops of the besieged two or three hundred men to keep them back and compel them to seek the slopes, without troubling to pursue them. The men-at-arms had followed the governor's instructions, had fallen upon the small encampment above the mills, and, leaving the _coutilliers_ there to complete their commission (the latter had re-entered about two o'clock in the morning by the east gate), they had pursued the road indicated as far as the base of the plateau, and had arrived without hindrance at the boundary of the French camp, charging the posts in a direct line at full speed.

This attack had thrown confusion into that part of the camp which was occupied by the baggage, the carts, and camp servants. Stacks of forage had caught fire amid the disorder thus occasioned. But the a.s.sailants had soon observed three or four hundred hors.e.m.e.n close upon them; they had then made straight for the north, and buried themselves in the thick woods upon their right; they next wheeled towards the left, reached the banks of the stream, whose left bank they followed without interruption, but with the loss of a third of their comrades, who had strayed, or been captured or killed. They supposed they had fallen in with a body of the French in the lower town, and were preparing to pa.s.s it at a gallop, but they turned out to be the Burgundian foot soldiers.

Charles d'Amboise, at the first report of this attack on the rear of the camp, had been much disquieted, supposing that succour had arrived; but being soon correctly informed, had sent out men-at-arms to cut off this body of adventurers, and was only the more eager for the a.s.sault.

Messire Charles d'Amboise was accustomed (in this respect differing from the warriors of the time) to surround himself with young captains of intelligence and energy, who kept him constantly informed of all that took place in the army, during the march and on the field. When the information furnished was found to be exact, and was reported in cool discretion and without exaggeration, Charles d'Amboise would praise these young officers in presence of all his captains, and recompense them liberally. If, on the contrary, the reports were false or tainted with exaggeration, or incomplete, he would inflict severe and public censure on the reporters, and a.s.sign them some subaltern and humiliating duty, such as guarding the baggage or superintending the camp servants.

When Charles d'Amboise learned next morning the damage caused on the border of the camp by a few Burgundian men-at-arms, the loss of his men encamped at the mill and in the lower town, and the spiking of six of his pieces of ordnance, he was much annoyed, but could not refrain from saying to his captains: "We have to do with brave men, who defend themselves valiantly. I beg you, gentlemen, to take care that their wounded and prisoners be treated with all the respect due to soldiers who do their duty." Then about the second hour of the day he sent a herald to the retrenchment of the besieged, to ask a parley with the governor. The Sire de Montcler having ascended the terrace, the herald spoke as follows: "Sir Governor! Monseigneur Charles d'Amboise, commanding the army of our lord the king of France, sends me to you to require of you to render up the town and castle of Roche-Pont, which you are withholding contrary to the treaties and defending against their lawful lord. Henceforward the said _cite_ is in the power of the army of our lord the king of France, and a longer resistance will only cause the useless loss of a great number of brave men. In consideration of your brave and n.o.ble defence, Monseigneur Charles d'Amboise will let you go forth--you and your men--with your lives and property. May G.o.d have you in his keeping and guide you to a wise decision." "Sir messenger,"

replied the governor, "Messire Charles d'Amboise is a captain too well acquainted with war to think himself master of the town and castle of Roche-Pont because he has got possession of a tower and a curtain. He knows what it has cost him to advance even so far; and there is still a considerable s.p.a.ce between this retrenchment and the castle, and the castle is good and defensible. I acknowledge no other lawful lords of Burgundy, and of this city in particular, than the d.u.c.h.ess of Burgundy, daughter of the n.o.ble and puissant Duke Charles, and her ill.u.s.trious husband Maximilian. I am here to defend their property against all comers, and I will defend it as long as I have a sword in my hand.

Nevertheless, tell Messire Charles d'Amboise that if he is willing to exchange prisoners, man for man, I am prepared to do so. If he prefers to leave things as they are, I give him my word of honour that his people are being well treated."

"Well, then," said Charles d'Amboise, when the herald had conveyed this answer to him, "this _cite_ will be damaged for a long time to come!"

During the 24th of September, the rain did not cease to fall in torrents. Besiegers and besieged were at a hundred paces from each other. They were employed in burying the dead, whose numbers were especially great on the side of the French, and both were preparing for a fresh struggle, though the bad weather greatly impeded the workers.

Figure 58 shows the position of the besieged and the besiegers.[45]