Battle of Wissembourg

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Map of Battle of Wissembourg

Date	August 4, 1870
Location	Wissembourg, France
Result	German victory

Combatants

Prussia
Baden
Bavaria
Württemberg

France

Commanders

Friedrich Wilhelm

Abel Douay

Strength

25,000

7,000

Casualties

1,551

2,300

Franco-Prussian War
Wissembourg – Spicheren – Wœrth – Borny-Colombey – Strasbourg – Mars-la-Tour – Gravelotte – Metz – Beaumont – Noiseville – Sedan – Bellevue – Coulmiers –Amiens – Beaune-la-Rolande – Hallue – Bapaume – Le Mans – Lisaine – St. Quentin – Paris – Belfort

The Battle of Wissembourg or Weissenburg was the first battle of the Franco-Prussian War. The French defeat allowed the Prussian army to move into France.

1 Background
2 The battle
3 Results
4 Sources

[edit] Background

In June, 1870 Napoleon III had moved the French army into Lorraine and occupied Saarbrücken. Napoleon wished to win a significant battle on German soil and ordered Marshal Patrice MacMahon to bring up the French I and V Corps. MacMahon's objective was to reach Wissembourg where he already had one division stationed under Abel Douay. Once there he would concentrate his forces for a strike into Germany. The German III Army under Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, was already moving towards Wissembourg. Neither side was fully aware of the other's movements.

[edit] The battle

The forces of the Crown Prince were to reach Wissembourg before MacMahon could, thanks to the organisational genius of his Chief of Staff, Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal. At 8:00 on August 6 the 2nd Bavarian Corps arrived and began to shell the town. Douay posted a garrison in the town and positioned his reserves on a hill outside the town. The Germans attacked and within a couple of hours entered the town. German reinforcements were brought up to outflank the French reserves. The Bavarians attacked the west side of town while the Prussian XI Corps and artillery assaulted the east. French reinforcements from MacMahon began to arrive on the field. With the arrival of the French V Corps the Bavarian Corps retired behind the protection of their artillery. The French attacked and were so heavily repulsed that they ceased to be of effective use for the rest of the battle. The Prussian V Corps which had been making slow progress on the east side of town finally made an attack on the center of the French lines and carried the position. A last ditch counterattack allowed the French to retreat intact and the German forces took the town.

[edit] Results

The battle had been a victory for the Germans and allowed them invade France. Shortly after the battle the German III Army was on the move towards Wœrth where they ran into the main body of MacMahon's army.