Battle at Dermbach
topographic map of the battles of Dermbach
| date | 4th July 1866 |
|---|---|
| place | Dermbach , Thuringia |
| output | Victory of Prussia |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| unknown | unknown |
| losses | |
|
48 dead; 274 wounded; 22 Missing people and prisoners |
62 dead; 364 wounded; 106 missing persons and prisoners |
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Main Campaign in 1866
The battles near Dermbach were the first clash between Prussian and Bavarian troops in the German War near Dermbach in Thuringia on July 4, 1866.
On the Prussian side, the 13th Division under Lieutenant General von Goeben was deployed. You faced parts of the 3rd and 4th Bavarian infantry divisions with a total strength of approx. 15,000 men. The Commander-in-Chief on the Bavarian side was Prince Karl .
Starting position
The Prussian Main Army , formed from three divisions under the command of General Vogel von Falckenstein , had been advancing from Eisenach towards Fulda since July 1st . This was also the aim of the Bavarian Army , which wanted to unite with the allied 8th Federal Corps (contingents from Baden , Württemberg , Hesse-Darmstadt , Hesse-Kassel , the Duchy of Nassau and Austria ).
On July 2nd and 3rd, there had already been minor skirmishes between the Prussian and Bavarian armies near Immelborn and Dermbach. Falckenstein believed that he was only dealing with weak Bavarian forces. He therefore gave the 13th Prussian Division the order to push back the enemy with a "short advance". From this the two battles at Zella and Neidhartshausen and at Wiesenthal developed .
course
The Prussian advance with about 5000 men on Neidhartshausen and Zella was successful. It was possible to drive the Bavarian troops from their positions there. There was heavy fighting in the area of the Zella monastery . In the afternoon the Prussian troops withdrew from the occupied positions as ordered.
The advance against Wiesenthal, also with about 5000 men, was intended to secure the flanks of the units advancing towards Zella. Contrary to the order of the day, which had indicated the occupation of the village as the target, the rapidly advancing troops attacked the Nebelberg, southeast of Wiesenthal . Despite considerable losses, they managed to storm this extremely solid position and hold it for a long time. Since the Prussians withdrew in this phase, it was believed that the Bavarian side had achieved a victory.
consequences
The fight on the two battlefields did not result in a clear winner. The Prussian armed forces had achieved limited success by occupying Wiesenthal or Nebelberg and Zella, but were unable to force the enemy to retreat in general. The withdrawal of the Prussians was only an apparent success for the Bavarian army, since the return to the starting position was planned from the start.
The fierceness of the fighting aroused the fear in the Bavarian army command that a comprehensive attack by the Prussian Main Army was imminent. Therefore the order was issued to concentrate the army on July 5th near Kaltennordheim south of Zella. The Prussian attack did not take place, however, because the Main Army continued its advance towards Fulda after a short interruption, thereby distancing itself from the Bavarian army. Under the impression of the heavy defeat of the allied Austrians on July 3, 1866 in the Battle of Königgrätz , the Bavarian army command decided to withdraw from Thuringia to Bavaria , because now the defense of Bavarian territory had to be a priority.
literature
- August Karl von Goeben : The battle near Dermbach on July 4th 1866 , Eduard Zernin publishing house, Darmstadt & Leipzig 1870 digitized
- Theodor Fontane : The German War of 1866. Rockstuhl Publishing House, Bad Langensalza 2001, ISBN 3-934748-75-9
- Reporter from home : The campaign of the Prussian Main Army in the summer of 1866 , Verlag Velhagen & Klasing, Bielefeld and Leipzig 1867
- Heinz Helmert ; Hansjürgen Usczeck : Prussian-German Wars from 1864 to 1871 - Military Course , 6th revised edition, Military Publishing House of the German Democratic Republic, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-327-00222-3
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Austria's battles in 1866. The war events in West Germany in 1866. From the Imperial and Royal General Staff. Bureau for War History, Volume 5: Vienna 1869; P. 32 and 37 ( digitized version , accessed October 1, 2017)
