Battle of Neufchâteau
| date | August 22-23, 1914 |
|---|---|
| place | near Neufchâteau , Belgium |
| output | German victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
|
|
| Troop strength | |
|
4th Army with 10 divisions 190,000 men VI. Army Corps 11th and 12th Infantry Division VIII. Reserve Corps 15th and 16th Res. Division VIII. Army Corps 15th and 16th Infantry Division XVIII. Reserve Corps 21st and 25th Res.-Div. XVIII. Army Corps 21st and 25th Inf.-Div. |
4th Army with 11 divisions around 200,000 men 9th Corps 17th and 18th Divisions 11th Corps 21st and 22nd Infantry Division 17th Corps 33rd and 34th Infantry Division 12th Corps 23rd and 24th Inf.-Division 2nd Corps 3rd and 4th Division 2nd Colonial Division |
| losses | |
|
3000 men |
under 5000 men |
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The Battle of Neufchâteau from 22nd to 23rd August 1914 was one of the so-called border battles that were fought at the beginning of the First World War . Operationally, it was closely interwoven with the simultaneous Battle of Longwy . In the English and French specialist literature, both battles are treated together as a battle in the Ardennes .
overview
The French 4th Army (General Fernand Langle de Cary ) suffered a defeat here against the frontal attack of the roughly equally strong German 4th Army (Duke Albrecht von Württemberg ). The bulk of the German 4th Army met the enemy on August 22nd in the general line Graide - Neufchâteau . When the German right wing corps ( 8th Army Corps ) reached out over Gedinne to encircle Houdremont on 23 August , the French front could no longer be held. The leader of the French 4th Army then ordered his entire front to be withdrawn behind the Meuse on the Charleville - Sedan - Carignan line .
The deployment of the 4th Army
The German 4th Army had been deploying through the neutral Grand Duchy of Luxembourg since the beginning of August 1914 . To secure the important railway line through the capital , the 16th Division under Lieutenant General Georg Fuchs had already occupied the city on August 2nd . At the beginning of its advance, the German 4th Army led five corps - 123 battalions , 39 squadrons with 220,000 men, plus 113 batteries with 646 guns . In their association were the VI. , VIII. And XVIII. Army Corps - and in the second meeting the VIII. Reserve Corps and the XVIII. Reserve Corps .
By August 17, the listed corps caught up from the right to the left wing in order to adapt their forward movement to August 18, at the same time as the 5th Army on the right wing of the German deployment to the south . The advance of the 4th Army took place with the right wing (VIII. Army Corps) over Bastogne - St. Hubert, with the center - the XVIII. Army Corps over Villance - Maissin, the XVIII. Reserve Corps via Libramont , the VIII Reserve Corps via Neufchâteau . The left wing of the army, the VI. Army Corps, marched on L'Eglise via Attert (north of Arlon ). The Higher Cavalry Command No. 3 (General of the Cavalry Rudolf von Frommel ) subordinated to the 4th Army was transferred to the threatened Eastern Front on August 21 with the 7th and 8th Cavalry Divisions , only the Bavarian Cavalry Division (General Otto von Stetten ) remained in the association of the 4th Army.
August 21 was a pure day of marching - the XVIII. Reserve Corps advanced without enemy contact with the 21st Reserve Division (Lieutenant General Hermann von Rampacher ) on Ebly, followed by the 25th Reserve Division (Lieutenant General Alexander Torgany ) to Anlier. The further advance of the 4th Army reached St. Hubert with the right wing (VIII Army Corps), the center (XVIII Army Corps under Infantry General Dedo von Schenck) advanced via Villance to Maissin. It was followed by the XVIII. Reserve Corps on Libramont and the VIII Reserve Corps on Neufchâteau.
While the French 3rd Army was advancing from the Verdun area via the Othainbach to the Longuyon - Montmédy line on August 22, the 4th Army, which followed on the left to Charleville, was also advancing to the northeast across the Semois River. The operational goal of the French was to threaten the rear connections of the German right wing and to provide the French 5th Army (General Charles Lanrezac ), which was attacked by the German 2nd Army near Charleroi , with the necessary flank protection south of Givet . Only if General Langle succeeded in gaining enough space to the northeast with his army in southern Belgium and defeating the enemy on the opposite side, then the 5th Army could fulfill its mission, the German 2nd Army (Colonel General Karl von Bülow ) the Sambre long enough to stop the deployment of the British Army (Sir John French ) at Maubeuge . Between the German 2nd and 4th Armies, the weaker 3rd Army of Colonel General Max von Hausen advanced with three corps between Dinant and Givet.
In order to counter the enemy dispositions arriving at the headquarters of the 4th Army in Bastogne , Duke Albrecht ordered an immediate counterattack with his center at Neufchâteau on August 22, after consultation with his Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Walther von Lüttwitz . The northern wing of the 4th Army, the VIIIth Army Corps (General Tülff von Tscheppe), with the 16th Division on the right and the 15th Division (Lieutenant General Julius Riemann ) on the left, advanced almost without a fight to the west near St. Hubert. The 16th Division, standing to the north, initially maintained close contact with the XIX, advancing on Givet, with its 30th Infantry Brigade (Major General Maximilian von Pfuel ) near Beauraing . (II. Royal Saxon) Army Corps (General of the Cavalry Maximilian von Laffert ) of the 3rd Army of Colonel General von Hausen.
August 22nd
After the advance of the French 4th Army in a north-easterly direction on August 22nd, the opposing armies met head-on. First met the German XVIII. Army Corps on the French left wing - the 11th Corps under General Eydoux. The center of the German 4th Army then met the French 17th and 12th Corps on the Graide - Neufchâteau line. The 15th Division reached Porcheresse by evening. General Sordet's cavalry hurried back over the Semois at Gedinne . In the center of the 4th Army in the XVIII. Reserve Corps, the 21st Reserve Division (Lieutenant General Hermann von Rampacher) reached the heights west and south of Neufchâteau , to the left of it the 25th Reserve Division (Lieutenant General Alexander Torgany) should advance to Straimont . Around noon, the right flank of the 21st Division (Major General Ernst von Oven ) at Petitvoir came under pressure from superior enemy forces, and in Neufchâteau the civilian population took part in the fight against the passing German columns. The intervention of the right wing of the rear-engaging 25th Reserve Division over Hampire stabilized this section. The troops following on the right, the XVIII. Army Corps , advanced via Libin : the 25th Division (Major General Viktor Kühne ) advanced via Anloy to Jehonville , the 21st Division advanced from Recogne to Bertrix . Duke Albrecht von Württemberg appeared at Libramont at the headquarters of the General of the Infantry Dedo von Schenck and insisted on an aid from the XVIII. Army corps in favor of the southern at Neufchâteau strongly oppressed XVIII. Reserve Corps . Although he himself was tied up all over the front, General Schenck had to promise that his left wing division (21st Division) would turn to Betrix - Orgeo.
Meanwhile, strong columns of the French 17th Corps advanced from the Semoistal valley via Offagne-Bertrix to the northwest. The 25th Division encountered this strong French counter-attack on the heights south of Maissin , which severely impeded the 21st Division as it marched to the left on Bertrix. The exhausted 50th Infantry Brigade (Major General Dietrich von Speßhardt ) even had to be withdrawn from Maissin to Villance. The intervention of the VIII Reserve Corps removed the danger, the 15th Reserve Division (Lieutenant General Eberhard von Kurowski ) reached Villance via Libin and carried out another counter-attack on Maissin. The 16th Reserve Division (Lieutenant General Wilhelm Mootz ), arriving later , stormed the heights west of Anloy before evening . The 21st Division fought in two separate columns near Ochamps, the attack of the 41st Infantry Brigade (Major General Adolf von der Esch ) advanced quickly and stormed the village of Bertrix. The French advance was now stopped everywhere, the center of the 12th and 17th Corps even had to go back to the Assenois - La Girgaine line. At the 21st Reserve Division , the 41st Reserve Brigade (Lieutenant General von Mey) had to use their last forces to repel the enemy attacks on the heights southwest of Neufchâteau. Towards evening the intervention of the 25th Reserve Division against the right flank of the French, who in turn fell back at Suxy , relieved the pressure . The left wing corps ( VI. Army Corps under General Pritzelwitz ) of the 4th Army was assigned the protection of the right wing of the 5th Army at the request of the German Crown Prince . The VI. Army Corps advanced south on August 22nd from the L'Eglise area towards Rossignol - Tintigny and won the battle of Longwy together with the V Army Corps (General of the Infantry Hermann von Strantz ) the complete victory over the French Colonial Corps . The 12th Division (Major General Martin Chales de Beaulieu ) threw the enemy back to Les Bulles at Termes in battle with the French 2nd Corps. At Rossignol and to the west of Tintigny, the 11th Division (Lieutenant General Richard von Webern ) was able to take 2600 prisoners and capture 39 artillery pieces in battle with French colonial troops.
August 23
On August 23, the Germans renewed their attacks in order to fight the still undecided battle. On the northern section, the forward-led French 52nd Reserve Division and the cavalry corps of General Sordet at Mézières maintained a makeshift connection with the right wing of the 5th Army (General Lanrezac ). However, the displacement of the Sordet Cavalry Corps by the German VIII Army Corps on Houdremont tore a gap in the front between the French 4th and 5th Armies. The German VIII Army Corps comprised the 15th Division over Graide on Paliseul. The north standing 16th Division outflanked the enemy at Gedinne with the 30th Infantry Brigade at Bievre to the southeast on Fays-les Veneurs. The 31st Infantry Brigade (Major General Richard Wellmann ) pushed enemy cavalry back to the southwest via Houdremont. In the center of the Battle of Paliseuil, south of Maissin, the French front broke up. In the center the resistance of the French 17th Corps at Neufchâteau flagged. The German VIII Reserve Corps under General Egloffstein and the 15th Reserve Division resumed their attempt to break through at Maissin, where the French had to go back without a fight. Only around 1 p.m. did the exhausted XVIII. Reserve Corps resumed the pursuit and the 21st Reserve Division advanced on Martilly, the 25th Reserve Division deployed three columns on Suxy. The 25th Reserve Division stopped at Anloy, the 16th Reserve Division advanced on Jehonville and the 21st Division on St. Medard. The 21st Reserve Division took Straimont by evening, the 25th Reserve Division reached Jamoigne, and to the south stood the victorious VI. Army Corps ( Kurt von Pritzelwitz ) on the heights at Les Bulles and Jamoigne. The 16th Reserve Division reached Herbeumont by the evening of August 23, the 21st Division spent the night at St. Menard and the 25th Reserve Division reached Bertrix . On the left wing of the 4th Army there was already a gap between Givet and Gedinne and the 5th Army in the front, and the withdrawal to Mouzon in a general direction towards the Meuse was ordered. On the right wing of the 4th Army, the Colonial Corps under General Lefèvre withdrew its decimated divisions between Herbeuval and Breux, also behind the Chiers.
Conclusion and consequences
Two French divisions, which were marching in from the Nancy area as reinforcements for the retreating 4th Army , covered the general retreat with their intervention. The German 3rd Army also saw the enemy in full retreat before Dinant - Hausen's left wing took up the pursuit against Fumay east of Givet. The French 9th Corps (Dubois) withdrew to Mezieres. The French 11th Corps (General Eydoux) had to evacuate the town of Bouillon before General Egloffstein's troops , which was occupied by the German 15th Reserve Division in the evening. The 17th Corps under General Poline went before the pressure of the German XVIII. Army Corps and XVIII. Reserve Corps via Messincourt to Sedan, the 12th Corps under General Roques returned from Florenville to Carignan via the Meuse.
The heavy losses of the Colonial Corps at Rossignol - Tintigny and the news of the defeat of the 3rd Army (General Ruffey ) in the Battle of Longwy forced General Langle to retreat. On August 26th, the French 4th Army was again between Mezieres and Sedan ready for defense on the Maas line. In the following Battle of the Marne in early September, in which played Champagne abgedrängte French 4th Army only a minor role and was in mid-September at the line Prosnes- Auberive - Perthes -Massiges-Servon to trench warfare over.
literature
- Reichsarchiv: The border battles in the west 1914, ES Mittler Verlag, Berlin 1925, pp. 303–344
- General Friedrich von Bernhardi: Germany's Heldenkampf 1914–1918 , JF Lehmann Verlag Munich 1922, pp. 37–40
- Hermann Stegemann: History of the War - Volume 1. , Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, Stuttgart 1917, pp. 147–150