Page 357 - General Giuseppe GARIBALDI - english version

THE FRENCH CAMPAIGN 1870 - 1871 339

divided, surprised, dismayed, gave way and left in Ricciotti’s hands 13 offi-
cials and 164 soldiers, 72 horses and 6 carriages loaded with materials.
The surprise attack had succeeded, but there was no time to loose: they
had to gather in a hurry and go back to Coulmier, where the Bosak Brigade
had already arrived on its own initiative to support Ricciotti. The stop, how-
ever, was short: on the 22 nd , Ricciotti’s Brigade was in Semur, the day after,
called back by Garibaldi to participate in the action of Dijon, as we will now
say, it was in Arnay-le-Duc.
The effects of the brilliant surprise attack exceeded even Garibaldi’s expec-
tations.
Werder, who among its tasks had also that of covering the line of commu-
nication of the 2 nd Army that had been taken by surprise by Ricciotti, was
the more worried for that. He immediately ordered the entire 4 th Division
of the reserves to move westward, to occupy Mirebeau and launch columns
towards Chaumont; a detachment of the 3 rd Baden Brigade was sent to Til;
the Prussian Supreme Command, informed, destined to the protection of the
above mentioned communications the 40 th Brigade of General von Kraats
who, occupied Chaumont, had also to connect with the XIV th Corps and aid
them if necessary. In about fifteen days the enemy commands had activated
about 20.000 men as a consequence of a surprise attack carried out by some
hundred Garibaldians.

Garibaldi’s march on Dijon. – The preliminary objective of the manoeuvre
against Werder was to prevent him from receiving reinforcements and to force
him to send part of his troops to several directions as well as to divert his atten-
tion from the real direction of the offensive, and it had been achieved.
Garibaldi moved on Dijon and, since all the efficient elements of his Army
st
had to participate in this action, he concentrated the 1 and 2 nd Brigades
and called back Ricciotti, to whom he gave appointment, as we said, in
Arnay-le-Duc, a place that Garibaldi had to cross to reach the road that went
from Sombernon to Dijon, chosen as the direction for the offensive. The 3 rd
Brigade of Menotti, still under organisation, had to constitute the reserves
together with the Genoese Carabinineri and two artillery Batteries that had
arrived a short time before.
The 4 th Division of the reserves, in the meantime, had reached Mirebeay,
and the 3 rd Baden Brigade had reached Fontaine-Française and were going
north-west, but they did not find any sign of the Garibaldians; other recon-