Battle of the Hallue
date | December 23 and 24, 1870 |
---|---|
place | Hallue |
output | German victory |
Parties to the conflict | |
---|---|
Commander | |
Troop strength | |
about 22,000 men | about 43,000 men |
losses | |
955 men |
over 1,000 men, around 2,100 prisoners and displaced persons |
Franco-German War (1870–1871)
Weißenburg - Spichern - Wörth - Colombey - Strasbourg - Toul - Mars-la-Tour - Gravelotte - Metz - Beaumont - Noisseville - Sedan - Sceaux - Chevilly - Bellevue - Artenay - Châtillon - Châteaudun - Le Bourget - Coulmiers - Battle of Havana - Amiens - Beaune-la-Rolande - Villepion - Loigny and Poupry - Orléans - Villiers - Beaugency - Nuits - Hallue - Bapaume - Villersexel - Le Mans - Lisaine - Saint-Quentin - Buzenval - Paris - Belfort
The battle on the River Hallue (French Bataille de l'Hallue or Bataille de Pont-Noyelles ), a tributary of the Somme , took place on December 23 and 24, 1870 in the Franco-Prussian War between the German Northern Army under General von Manteuffel and the French Northern Army under General Faidherbe .
March
The French Northern Army attracted considerable reinforcements, which were gathered in Lille . General Faidherbe's troops arrived at the Hallue from the north and planned to advance against Paris . The French numbered about 43,000 men with 80 guns. On December 20, there was a preliminary battle with the Germans. The French stood on the right bank of the Somme , to the south they were covered by this river and by extensive swamps, Corbie and some villages in the valley of the Hallue were occupied. The French expected the attack of the Prussians on December 23 in a fortified position and therefore failed to attempt their own attack. The French XXII. Corps under General Lecointe took along the Hallue with 2 divisions and 6 batteries the section from Daours to Beaucourt , the XXIII. Corps under General Paulze d'Ivoy held up to the Somme at Corbie and the surrounding area with the 1st Division and 5 batteries, in the second line the 2nd Division was assembled in the villages southwest of Albert .
The Prussian units consisted of around 20-22,000 men, namely the VIII Army Corps ( 15th and 16th Divisions ) under General von Goeben , a brigade of the 1st Corps , the 3rd Cavalry Division and individual other departments.
Course of the battle
Fight on December 23rd
General von Manteuffel concentrated his forces around Amiens and, on clear, frosty weather, ordered the advance north-east to the Hallue sector . The 15th Division under Lieutenant General von Kummer marched towards the enemy in the direction of Allonville . It was to attack the French at the Hallue near Pont-Noyelles only when the encirclement of the 16th Division, advancing via Villers-Bocage, under General von Barnekow via Montigny had been reached. The 15th Division opened the attack between St. Gratien as far as the northern bank of the Somme, the French outposts opposite were thrown back against the Hallue, but then offered successful resistance in their fortified position . The 15th Division managed to capture several small villages in the river valley, including Querrieu, Bussy and Daours. The Fusilier Regiment No. 65 was able to storm Pont-Noyelles . The French associations suffered considerable losses. An advance by the 30th Brigade (Infantry Regiment 28 and 67) under General von Strubberg came into the possession of the village of Fréchencourt . However, General von Kummer was no longer able to conquer the elevated positions behind the river.
To the north on the left wing, the 16th Division also occupied the section in front of the Hallue River, but the German forces were insufficient for the planned enclosure. General von Barnekow then turned right to St. Gratien and attacked the village of Beaucourt. The 29th Infantry Regiment of the 31st Brigade ( von Gneisenau ) stormed the village of Béhencourt after the Hallue crossing, and the 70th Infantry Regiment took Bavelincourt. A newly arriving French front, which was also extended to the north, prevented the planned enclosure and ruined further successes. A French counterattack, scheduled in the late evening of December 23rd in the dark against the background of the burning villages, was repulsed by the German troops.
24th of December
On the morning of December 24th, the Germans took up defense on the line they had won the day before. After the French attacks against Contay and Beaucourt and an attempt to encircle the left flank at Vadencourt had failed, the opponents went back to their starting lines; the afternoon passed without a fight, remembering the feast day.
consequences
On the morning of Christmas Day , the French left their positions voluntarily and went back behind the Scarpe , between Arras and Douai . The German pursuit took place without the 16th division as far as Bapaume , where the battle of Bapaume took place on January 3rd . The 16th Division remained as a siege unit at Péronne .
The French casualties at the Hallue amounted to over 1,000 casualties, around 1,100 soldiers were taken prisoner and another 1,000 were considered dispersed. The Prussians lost 955 soldiers as dead, wounded and missing.
literature
- Justus Scheibert : The war between Germany and France , adapted from the great general staff work, Verlag Paulis Successor, Berlin 1895, pp. 240–243
- George Bruce: Harbottle's Dictionary of Battles. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1981.
- Friedrich Engels : About the war . Transcription of a text from The Pall Mall Gazette No. 1842 of January 7, 1871.
Web links
- Hallue . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 8, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, p. 28.
- Official press of Prussia , December 28, 1870