Battle of the Trouée de Charmes

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Battle of the Trouée de Charmes
Part of: First World War
German objectif 24 august 1914.jpg
date August 24, 1914 to August 26, 1914
place at Lunéville / Charmes
output French defensive success
consequences Transition to trench warfare
Parties to the conflict

Third French RepublicThird French Republic France

German EmpireThe German Imperium German Empire

Commander

Edouard de Castelnau

Rupprecht of Bavaria

Troop strength
2nd Army
8th Corps
15th Corps
16th Corps
20th Corps 		6th Army
XXI. AK
II. Bay AK
III. bay AK
I. bay RK

The Battle of the Trouée de Charmes and La Bataille de la Mortagne , from 24 August to 26 August 1914 one of the so-called Battle of the Frontiers of the First World War . It took place on the western front in the gap between the fixed places Épinal and Toul . The battle was initiated by an attack by the German 6th Army under the leadership of Crown Prince Rupprecht from the Lunéville area . It was a strategic defensive success of the 2nd French Army under Édouard de Castelnau .

backgrounds

The war in Lorraine had started badly for the French army. The 2nd Army was defeated in the battle of Mörchingen . Assuming that this was no longer able to act, the German General Staff changed its strategic plans, as it was already known that a movement of the French army to the west was imminent. Colonel-General von Moltke wanted to try a circumvention maneuver with Crown Prince Rupprecht's 6th Army in order to encircle the French forces between Verdun and Toul from the south , which would probably have led to the complete annihilation of the French 2nd Army.

German goals

Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria

In order to overcome the French eastern front, Moltke planned to have the German 6th Army of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria penetrate through the gap between the fortified places of Toul and Épinal .

To achieve this goal, the 6th Army was to attack and break through the Trouée de Charmes, which was defended by strong forces of the 2nd French Army under Général de Castelnau . After the breakthrough, the 6th Army was to pivot to the northwest, bypassing the fortress sites of Toul and Verdun and marching on towards Bar-le-Duc in order to get in the rear of the French 3rd and 4th Armies.

If Moltke's plan had worked, the front would not have frozen like it did after the Battle of the Marne . Indeed, even if the German swing wing in the west failed to bypass the French as planned, the action in the east led by Rupprecht von Bayern would pinch the French 3rd and 4th Armies and so likely eliminate them. After his victory in the Battle of Mörchingen, however, he remained on the defensive. On August 22, 1914, however, he received an order from Moltke to attack through the Trouée de Charmes .

Castelnau's preparations for battle

General Noel de Castelnau

As the commander of the 2nd Army, Castelnau had the fate of France in his hand. After recovering from the painful defeat in the Battle of Mörchingen, he learned from his intelligence service about the movements of strong German units in the direction of Saffais , Belchamps and the Trouée de Charmes . A few hours later, aerial reconnaissance confirmed the information. After the GHQ received this information, it ordered the commander of the 1st Army , Général Auguste Dubail , to subordinate his 8th Army Corps to the 2nd Army. This order was carried out immediately. Reinforced, Castelnau was prepared for what was to come.

August 24th, first day

Location in the Nancy area on August 24, 1914

The troops of Rupprecht von Bayern attacked the loophole in the Trouée de Charmes . This was held by the 15th (General Louis Espinasse) and 16th Corps (General Louis Taverna) of the French 2nd Army, and this is where the German efforts were strongest. The German XXI. Army Corps (General of the Infantry von Below ) was able to take the front French positions at Damelevières and Gerbéviller and push back the French. At the same time, the defenders in the woods of Vacquenat, Clairlieu and Censal were repulsed. The advance of the Bavarians continued incessantly towards Bayon . When the situation began to get critical for the defenders, they managed to stop the attackers at Romain and Clayeures . The French 74th Infantry Division (General Louis Émile Bigot ), who fought successfully here , was awarded for this. During the same time, the II. Bavarian Corps (General of the Infantry von Martini ) attacked at Flainval , but could not penetrate.

Towards the middle of the day, Castelnau realized that in their massive efforts to break through the center, the Germans were beginning to neglect their flanks. He therefore deployed his troops on the two German wings. First, the French 70th Infantry Division (Général Émile Fayolle ) attacked the right wing of the attackers and could thereby the Bavarian II. And III. Army corps (General of the Cavalry von Gebsattel ) initially to the villages of Erbéviller , Réméréville and Courbesseaux and then push back to Serres . At the same time, the French 8th Corps (General de Castelli) attacked the German right wing with the Bavarian I. Reserve Corps (General of the Infantry von Fasbender ), pushed them back and captured the villages of Saint-Boingt , Essey-la by evening -Côte , Clézentaine and Ménarmont back. Despite the threat to his flanks, Crown Prince Rupprecht continued to try to force a breakthrough through the center. To this end, he now set the XXI. Army corps against the French positions. These attacks failed, however, because of the slow resistance of the French, who were able to hold Romain, Einvaux and Clayeures.

Night of August 24th to 25th

Castelnau took advantage of the nocturnal rest and decided to concentrate its artillery where the enemy was strongest, i.e. in the center, in order to better protect the passage through the Trouée de Charmes . The batteries were mainly positioned at Saffais and Belchamps.

August 25, second day

Castelnau then decided to reinforce his positions in the center before ordering renewed attacks against his opponent's flanks. An attack at 7:00 a.m. on Rozelieures reclaimed the site. However, the Bavarians of the I. Reserve Corps launched a counterattack and took the village back an hour later. The Bavarians use this success to advance further towards the Trouée de Charmes . Pressed in its center as a result, Castelnau and his 8th Corps led a counterattack on his right wing, which shifted to the forest of Lalau. Here the soldiers of the "6 e groupe de chasseurs cyclistes" and a half-escadron of the 1 e régiment de hussards pushed the Bavarians back to Meurthe and Mortagne . Despite its success in the forest of Lalau, Castelnau initially refrained from an immediate attempt to retake Rozelieures. Instead, he continued to strengthen his positions in the center and ordered another attack by the 15th and 16th Corps in the north. This attack was supported by the new gun batteries erected during the night. The German XXI. Army corps was pushed back by this attack on Damelevières and Lamath . During this action, the French artillery inflicted great losses on the Germans. They kept the German positions under fire even afterwards.

With the successes achieved with his center, Castelnau had put a damper on the aggressive spirit of the Germans, and they began to hesitate. Castelnau recognized this and decided to seize the opportunity and take the offensive himself. The commander of the 2nd French Army received the order:

"En avant, à fond, partout"

"The main thing is forward, definitely"

The French now attacked not only with the two wings, but also with the center. This counter-offensive began to show its first effects after just two hours. In the center, the 15th and 16th French Corps pushed the German XXI. and parts of the Bavarian I. Reserve Corps back. Rozelieures and Blainville were retaken. At 3 p.m. Rozelieures was captured by the 2nd e bataillon de chasseurs à pied of the 74th Infantry Division. The Bavarians had to leave a large number of fallen soldiers behind in Rozelieures, and the Bavarian 3rd Division (Lieutenant General Otto von Breitkopf) retreated. The right wing of Castelnau also advanced with the 8th Corps and defeated the Bavarian 1st Reserve Corps as far as Saint-Pierremont .

The left wing of the French 2nd Army was also making progress:

  • In the south, the French 20th Corps with the 11th Infantry Division (General Maurice Balfourier ) attacked the 2nd Bavarian Army Corps in the direction of Lunéville and took the Ferme du Grand Léomont and the village of Vitrimont . The Germans had launched a counterattack, which was supported by massive use of artillery. The fight lasted into the night, but the Germans were unsuccessful. The 26th e régiment d'infanterie stood out because it was able to successfully defend the Ferme de Léomont with heavy losses. In order not to be cut off, the Bavarian II Corps withdrew to the Meurthe.
  • In the north, in contrast, the right German flank was not operated successfully; instead, the fighting took place in front of Champenoux and in the Crévic forest .

August 26th, third day

Castelnau attacked the center again and swerved to the line to the north, which had not been so strongly fought so far. In the center, the 16th French Corps attacked the XXI. Army Corps at Franconville. The French troops now also took the offensive on their northern wing. The 20th French Army Corps tried to gain ground against the Bavarians and took the Ferme de la Faisanderie, the villages of Friscati , Deuxville , Maixe , Drouville and the Crévic forest . Even further north they were able to push the Bavarians back to Champenoux.

After the 6th Army's situation deteriorated dramatically, it was unable to make any further attacks. First the vulnerable flanks were withdrawn, and then the entire army withdrew.

Result

Lorraine memorial stone in memory of the battle

The battle was a defensive success of the 2nd French Army. Castelnau saved France from a disaster.

Maurice Barrès praised Castelnau with the words:

"Paris was saved on the Marne, but this was only possible through the victory of Castelnau at Rozelieures."

This unexpected failure at Charmes had shaken confidence in the German possibilities. Both armies withdrew for reorganization until they met again on September 13 in the Battle of the Grand Couronné . After that there were no more movements, the front in Lorraine froze in trench warfare for the next four years.

Awards

  • The honorable name LA MORTAGNE 1914 is embroidered on the flags of the regiments involved .

literature

  • Général Yves Gras: Castelnau ou l'art de commander. 1851-1944. Éditions Denoël, Paris 1990, ISBN 978-2-207-23673-4 .
  • Marcel Durand: Historique de la bataille de Rozelieures du 25 août 1914. Self-published, 1983, ISBN 978-968-496-020-6 .
  • Jacques Didier: Lorraine 1914, Guide des lieux de mémoire. Morhange. Le Grand Couronné de Nancy . Ysec, Louviers 2004, ISBN 978-2-84673-042-6 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  • Les Armées françaises dans la Grande guerre ( AFGG ) , Tome I / Vol. 1: Les préliminaires. La bataille des frontières. Opérations antérieures au 24 août 1914. , Paris 1936, digitized on Gallica .
  • Les Armées françaises dans la Grande guerre ( AFGG ) , Tome I / Vol. 1: Les préliminaires. La bataille des frontières. Opérations antérieures au 24 août 1914. , Annexes, vol. 1, Paris 1922, digitized on Gallica .
  • Les Armées françaises dans la Grande guerre ( AFGG ) , Tome I / Vol. 2: La manœuvre en retraite (24 août – 5 September 1914). Les préliminaires de la bataille de la Marne. , Paris 1925, p. 305 ff., Digitized on Gallica .
  • Rupprecht von Bayern: In loyalty firmly. My war diary. Ed .: Eugen von Frauenholz . Berlin / Munich, Deutscher National-Verlag, 1929 (3 volumes).

Web links