Several battalions turned tail, under the impression that the Prussians were going to attack them.

One battalion did not stop until it had found shelter within the walls of the town.

General Trochu's attempt, for political ends, to force greatness upon these heroes, is losing him the goodwill of the army.

On Wednesday and Thursday several regiments of the Line and of the Mobiles bitterly complained that they should always be ordered to the front to protect not only Paris but the National Guards.
The marching battalions are composed of unmarried men between twenty-five and thirty-five, and why they should not be called upon to incur the same risks, and submit to the same discipline as the Mobiles, it is difficult to understand.

We may learn from the experience of this siege that in war, armed citizens who decline to submit to the discipline of soldiers are worse than useless.