There was absolutely no expedient possible but the capitulation of the capital; every delay intensified the necessity, and enforced the acceptance of harder terms. Unless all the railways were at once thrown open for the transport of supplies from a very wide area, the horrors of famine would inevitably fall on a population of more than two million souls; and later it might not be practicable to cope with the emergency. Yet no one dared utter the fatal word "capitulation," no one would undertake the responsibility for the inevitable. A great council of war was held on the 21st. In it all the elder Generals pronounced any further offensive measures to be quite impossible. It was proposed that a council of the younger officers should also be held, but no decision was arrived at. As, however, some one must be made answerable for every misfortune, General Trochu, originally the most popular member of the Government, was dismissed from his position as Governor, and the chief military command was entrusted to General Vinoy. General Ducrot resigned his command. All this did nothing to improve the situation, so on the 23rd, Monsieur Jules Favre made his appearance at Versailles to negotiate in the first instance for an armistice. On the German side there was readiness to meet this request; but of course some guarantee had to be forthcoming that the capital, after having been reprovisioned, would not renew its resistance. The surrender of the forts, inclusive of Mont Valerien and the town of St. Denis, as well as the disarmament of the enceinte was demanded and acceded to. Hostilities were to be suspended on the evening of the 26th, so far as Paris was concerned, and all supplies to be freely given. A general armistice of twenty-one days was then to come in force on the 31st of January, exclusive, however, of the departments of Doubs, Jura, and Cote d'Or, and the fortress of Belfort, where for the time operations were still being carried on, in which both sides were hopeful of success. This armistice gave the Government of National Defence the time necessary for assembling a freely-elected National Assembly at Bordeaux, which should decide whether the war should be continued, or on what conditions peace should be concluded. The election of the deputies was unimpeded and uninfluenced even in the parts of the country occupied by the Germans. The regular forces of the Paris garrison, troops of the line, marines, and Gardes-Mobiles, had to lay down their arms at once; only 12,000 men and the National Guard were allowed to retain them for the preservation of order inside the city. The troops of the garrison were interned there during the armistice; on its expiry they were to be regarded as prisoners. As to their subsequent transfer to Germany, where every available place was already overflowing with prisoners, the question was postponed in expectation of a probable peace. The forts were occupied on the 29th without opposition.