Battle of Amiens (1870)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Battle of Amiens, Bataille de Villers-Bretonneux (fran.)
date November 27, 1870
place Amiens , Somme department , France
output German victory
Parties to the conflict

North German ConfederationNorth German Confederation North German Confederation

Second empireSecond empire France

Commander

North German ConfederationNorth German Confederation August von Goeben

Second empireSecond empire Jean Joseph Farre

Troop strength
30,000 25,500 men
losses

1,292 dead and wounded

1,383 dead, wounded and 800 prisoners

Battles and Sieges of the
Franco-German War (1870–1871)

The Battle of Amiens , known as Bataille de Villers-Bretonneux in French , on November 27, 1870 was a battle of the Franco-German War . It took place between the armed forces of the French Northern Army and the German 1st Army . The defeated French withdrew to Arras , and on November 29 the Germans succeeded in occupying the citadel of Amiens.

prehistory

The German 1st Army (VIII. And parts of the I Corps) under General von Manteuffel , which became free after the fall of Metz, was relocated to the north of Paris to secure the siege of Paris against the French Northern Army. The Prussian 4th Brigade (Major General von Zglinitzki ) was assigned to observe the fortress La Fère and began the actual siege on November 25th. The Prussian 3rd Brigade went to the Somme together with the VIII Army Corps . From November 24, 1870, the first battles between German and French associations took place north of Paris on the Somme. After several smaller reconnaissance units, the main battle began on November 27 east of Amiens .

The French Northern Army under Jean Joseph Farre had 17,500 regular soldiers with 50 guns and around 8,000 mobile guards with twelve guns under General Paulze d'Ivoy . The French took up a good defensive position south of the Somme between Corbie - Villers-Bretonneux - Bois de Hangard, with the front facing southeast. The German line troops advancing on Amiens were in this battle with about 30,000 men superior in number, equipment and in their military training.

The battle

The battlefield east of Amiens
The French General Farre

On November 27, at 9 o'clock in the morning, the German right wing, parts of the 2nd Division of the 1st Army Corps under General von Bentheim, set out from the Quesnel - Bouchoir line in the direction of Amiens. The French had heavily occupied the forest of Domart and Hangard. In the center of the front in the area of Thennes , General von Manteuffel had ridden forward with his staff to make his further arrangements. The marshy valley of the Avre precluded mutual support between the two German wings during the battle that followed. The avant-garde , formed by the 3rd Brigade under Major General von Memerty , had instructions to proceed north of the Luce and occupied the crossings of the stream at Démuin , Hangard and Domart. The forest of Domart was quickly cleared of opposing troops and the German infantry turned against Gentelles . In order to wait for his artillery, General von Bentheim ordered his troops to stop, and the French withdrew in the developing firefight. In the meantime the German Infantry Regiment No. 44 had penetrated the eastern part of the Bois de Hangard and attacked the enemy position between Villers-Bretonneux and Marcelcave . The securing of the road to Domart, on which the French troops could not be seen, was left to German dragoons.

On the left wing the battle developed between the Celle and the Noye through the action of the German VIII. Army Corps under General von Goeben . The bulk of the 15th Division under General von Kummer had advanced on the left bank of the Noye , west of Ailly to Dommartin, their avant-garde directly on Fouencamps - Sains . The 16th Division under General von Barnekow reached the Rumigny - Plachy line and was able to throw the French back to Dury both from Hebecourt and from the forest north of it. On the south wing, the road between Montdidier and Roye was completely bared by German troops. At about 1 p.m. the French prepared a counterattack against the 3rd Brigade, the German Infantry Regiment No. 4 was pushed back from the Bois de Hangard towards the heights of Demuin. After the ammunition was used up, the Germans had to evacuate the village of Gentelles and move to Domart. The intervention of the 30th Brigade (Infantry Regiment No. 28 and 68) under General von Strubberg , who drove 4 battalions to Luce, mastered the brief crisis at Gentelles. The 15th Division had the 29th Brigade (Bock) in front of Moreuil; the 16th division stood with the 31st Brigade under Neidhardt von Gneisenau near Ailly , the left side detachment marched up near Essertaux . In the meantime the 30th Brigade had advanced on the right bank of the Avre in St. Nicolas and on the left bank near Boves on Longueau and, in cooperation with the following 29th Brigade, was able to drive the French from the ruin mountain there. Meanwhile, 13 advancing batteries silenced the French artillery near Villers-Bretonneux, and the town fell into German hands at 4 p.m.

The Germans made the French give way almost all along the line, only at Cachy the French held out until late in the evening to protect the retreat. The Germans had not achieved a decisive victory, as the French, with the exception of the garrison garrison, were able to withdraw from Amiens. The retreating French managed to retreat to the protection of the Arras fortress , but the Germans did not pursue any further.

consequences

The French casualties amounted to 1,383 dead and wounded, about 800 men were taken prisoner. The Prussians lost 1,216 soldiers and 76 officers. At noon on November 28th, General von Goeben entered Amiens; the city's fortress only surrendered without a fight on November 29th with another 400 soldiers and 30 guns. On December 5, General Louis Faidherbe arrived in Lille and took over command of the French Northern Army, which had been transferred to him two days earlier.

literature

  • Hellmuth von Moltke: Wars and victories , Vier Falken Verlag, Berlin 1938, p. 496.
  • Justus Scheibert : The war between Germany and France 1870-71 , Verlag Paulis Successor, Berlin 1895, p. 238.

Web links and sources