Page:The Rise and Fall on the Paris Commune in 1871.djvu/254

 powder magazines, the abri, and the covered communications constructed. It was situated between the railroad from Paris to Versailles and the route from Ville-d'Avray to Mont Valérien. It consisted in reality of a collection of eight distinct batteries, viz., two at the park of Pozzo di Borgo, one on the road to Mont Valérien, the battery of Du Puit, two of the Vignes, one at the Chalet Mathieu, and one at the Maison Vivier, which was used as a powder magazine—the whole covering nearly a mile in extent. The arming of these batteries commenced May 4th, and was terminated on the morning of the 8th. Its material consisted of seventy pieces of large calibre, each piece supplied with 500 shells. Eight were called pieces of eighty, on account of the weight of the projectile, eighty kilo-*grammes, equal to 160 pounds. When these seventy pieces opened fire on the bastions of the city, it remained as if dumb with astonishment, with the exception of bastion 72, which from time to time sent a harmless shell. The bombardment of Point du Jour was perfectly furious, while Valérien kept howling its shower of iron on the Porte Maillot. As to Fort Issy, the incessant bombardment had reduced it to such a deplorable state that, to hold it any longer, became impossible, as the casemates were crushed in, and the men hardly dared to show themselves on the ramparts. The regular troops were masters of the church and a part of the village, and their tirailleurs could arrest and destroy the convoys on the route from Vanves to Clamart.

A decision had been come to in the morning to abandon the fort, and the 209th battalion first set the example, and were followed by the 106th and the 261st. This latter from Montmartre had gone out 200 strong the previous morning, and returned 95 only. The companies of engineers were the last to quit, ofter making every preparation for blowing up the fort.