[page 84]


60.

60.

That is why we gave no sign until our artillery, which had arrived by sea, was brought to us. It was precisely that which angered us the most during our entrenchment work, namely that the English were standing on their redoubts, and no one threatened them with a cannon blast, while we, as soon as our heads showed above the redoubts, became the target of one of their cannons[170].

Darum thätten wir auch noch kein Zeichen, biß daß unser Geschütz beygeschafft ware, welches zu Wasser kommen ist. Ebendieses vertroß uns am mehrsten werend unsrer Arbeit, daß die Engelländer allezeit ohne Scheu und ohne Furcht auf ihren Schantzen stunden, und niemand drohete ihnen mit einem Canonen-Schuß, und sobald wir nur den Kopf über unser Schantzen heraus streckten, ginge schon eine Canon auf uns loß.

The English General Cornwallis took advantage of this in order to boost the morale of his soldiers, saying that it would be easy to keep their positions, as the French had no artillery, and since they had been there not one cannon shot had been heard from them.

Der engellische General Kornwallis machte damit seinen Soldaten guten Muth dadurch und sagte, sie solten sich nur gut halten, dann die Frantzosen hätten kein Geschütz, dan sie wären schon so lang da und sich noch nicht mit einem eintzigen Kanonen-Schuß hören lassen.

On October 3rd, we supplied 300 sappers. During the day we had 5 dead and 9 wounded men. As for the Americans, they had already positioned cannons in some of the redoubts, while we did not yet have one cannon in our redoubts, and had kept on working all day so that all was prepared and ready and all that was left to do was to put in the cannons and open fire, with howitzers or with cannons etc.

Den 3ten 8br gaben wir Arbeiter 300 Mann. Wir bekamen den Tag durch an Todten 5 Mann und Plessierten 9 Mann. Was die Americaner anbelangt, hatten schon dann und wann Schantzen mit Canonen aufgepflanzet, wir aber hatten noch gar kein Geschütz in unsren Schantzen und noch täglich daran gearbeitet um alles fix und fertig zu machen, daß man nur braucht das Geschüß hinein zu stellen und anfangen zu feuren, sowohl mit Bommen als mit Canonen etc.

[réclame]

[rogné]

https://gallica.bnf.fr/iiif/ark:/12148/btv1b10110846m/f43/pct:0,0,50,100/,700/0/native.jpg

Strasbourg, Médiathèque André Malraux, ms f 15, p. 84.

[agrandir]


 Notes

170. Artillery played a particularly important role during sieges. Artillery allowed the besieged side to slow down the progression of the trenches. Those attempting the siege advanced in a zigzag in order to avoid shots in succession. The latter used artillery to incapacitate the artillery of the enemy and to demolish their defensive structures.