Battle at Lagarde
The battle at Lagarde (German: Gerden) on August 11, 1914 took place during World War I and was one of the last battles in war history in which a cavalry attack in a larger unit (brigade size) was successfully carried out. Nevertheless, it represents a turning point, because due to the high losses, cavalry units were mostly only used for reconnaissance tasks or infantry (in trench warfare ) in the further course of the war .
prehistory
The Bavarian Cavalry Division , deployed as army cavalry , groped its way against the well-entrenched French border guards on the western front in Lorraine at the beginning of August 1914. The Bavarian Uhlan Brigade , consisting of the 1st Uhlan Regiment "Kaiser Wilhelm II., King of Prussia" and the 2nd Uhlan Regiment "König" in the Association of the Bavarian Cavalry Division, had to wait between 6th and 10th. March back and forth across Lorraine without discovering a gap in the French lines. Due to the rocky roads, the horses were badly worn.
The French became active on August 10th and were able to take the village of Lagarde (1871-1918 Gerden) , which is close to the border in the German part of Lorraine . To counter this, the commander of the Bavarian Cavalry Division, Lieutenant General Otto von Stetten , and the leader of the 42nd Infantry Division, Lieutenant General Hasso von Bredow, decided to conduct a violent reconnaissance against Lagarde on August 11th.
course
The attack was initially carried forward by the 65th Infantry Brigade with the subordinate Bavarian 1st and 2nd Jäger Battalion frontal on Lagarde with artillery support . When German success began to emerge, two French gun batteries positioned northwest of the village tried to break away.
At the same time, the Bavarian Uhlan Brigade was on the way to flanking to the right. Covered by a wooded area and a depression, an unnoticed advance was made into the French left flank. The brigade commander, Major General Otto von Redwitz , received an order from the division commander to prevent the French batteries from leaving. Since there was no more time for an in-depth exploration, he ordered the two regiments of lancers to be brought forward to the height, to swing south and to attack side by side to the south when he reached height 265 northwest of Lagarde.
With the 2nd Uhlan Regiment on the right and the 1st Uhlan Regiment on the left - each with three squadrons - the attack took place in two waves at 11:35 a.m. from rapid development at a brisk gallop. The surprised opponent could not offer any substantial resistance. The two gun batteries were captured and the infantry ridden down.
The 4th and 5th squadrons of the 2nd Uhlans came to the west of Lagarde on a steep slope sloping down to the Rhine-Marne Canal , which they galloped down in a wild tangle and then swiveled towards Lagarde. They came under heavy counterfire from machine guns from Lagarde and flanking fire from French infantry on the opposite bank of the canal. The Uhlans suffered heavy losses.
Around 12 noon, the commander of the 1st Uhlan Regiment, Colonel Eduard Freiherr von Crailsheim, north-west of Lagarde, had blows to collect. The Uhlans of both regiments came back slowly; At 12:45 p.m. he was able to provide the division commander with two - completely exhausted - squadrons made up of men from both regiments.
consequences
The Lagarde attack was a great success: eleven cannons, several machine guns, a standard eagle and 1,400 prisoners of the Marailler brigade of the XV. French army corps were captured by the Germans. A two-day-old army order was found on a fallen French brigadier general, from which the French battle plan in Lorraine emerged.
The Bavarian Uhlan Brigade lost 16 officers, 219 men and 304 horses to dead and wounded that day.
The Lagarde attack showed that cavalry could still be used successfully with bare weapons in modern combat if the conditions were favorable. Still, it was a turning point. On the western front it was the last successful cavalry attack in a larger association.
literature
- Ludwig von Gebsattel : The KB 1st Uhlan Regiment "Kaiser Wilhelm II. King of Prussia". Publishing house of the book and art printing company JP Himmer, Augsburg 1924, DNB 574741526 .
- Georg Krauss: The Upper Franconian History. Upper Franconian Publishing House and Printing House, Hof (Saale) 1981, ISBN 3-921615-38-0 .
- Karl Max Lilier: War memorial book of the 1st Squadron KB 1st Uhlan Regiment "Kaiser Wilhelm II., King of Prussia". Book and art print shop Dr. J. Kirsch, Bamberg 1920, DNB 574615628 .
- Alfred Satter: The German cavalry in the First World War. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 1994, ISBN 3-8334-1564-9 .