Paris, Dec, 20.
Marshal Joffre and his chief of staff, General Bella, have given some remarkable evidence, before the Parliamentary committee of inquiry, which seems to show that the ex-Crown Prince, in the first month of the war, Was within an ace of causing the defeat of Gor-many by his neglect of military principles.
The late Chamber opened an inquiry into the reasons which led the French Staff to abandon the Briey irontields. Marshal Joffre, in his written replies, which were supplemented by the verbal evidence of General Behn and General Tanant, first pointed out the neces. sity for the French concentration to be carried out sufficiently far from the German frontier, and especially from the great centre at Metz, to be safe from a surprise attack. That was the main reason why Briey had to be given up to the enemy. The French army very nearly won back this ground and at the same time inflicted a crushing blow on the Germans. Only reverse at Charleroi prevented a great French coup.
At six o'clock on the morning of August 24, a small patrol of French cavalry held up a German staff motor-car and seized a number of maps and papers, in Bouzonville Wood, well behind' the German lines.' This valuable capture was brought back a¢ full gallop to General (then Major) Tanant, of the French Staff. "They were the marching orders," said General Tanant, "of the German 33rd Reserve division. They showed clearly that the Crown Prince, in fis hurry to reach Verdun, "had eglected to search the country on his left flank, which he had left completely exposed to attack by our three reserve divisions. We had a consultation at Gen
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.