Battle of Pirmasens

Battle of Pirmasens

Part of: French Revolutionary Wars

Grave inscription from the cavalry master Albrecht Otto Johann von Möllendorff

date	September 14, 1793
place	Pirmasens , Rhineland-Palatinate
output	Victory of Prussia

Parties to the conflict
France	Prussia
Commander
Jean René Moreaux	Ferdinand of Braunschweig
Troop strength
12,000 men	8,000 men
losses
1,800 dead and 225 wounded prisoners	170 dead and wounded

The two Prussian officer's graves in the old Pirmasens cemetery

The Battle of Pirmasens took place on September 14, 1793 during the First Coalition War near Pirmasens (today Rhineland-Palatinate ) between a French corps of the Moselle Army and a Prussian corps of coalition troops and ended with a Prussian victory.

background

After the allied Prussian and Austrian troops under Field Marshal Karl von Braunschweig had recaptured Mainz on July 12, 1793, the further advance towards Alsace was delayed by differences over the war aims. General Balthasar von Schauenburg , the commander of the French Moselle army, then tried to block the Prussians' way into Alsace by taking Pirmasens and forcing them to retreat across the Rhine.

course

The Prussian troops under the command of Ferdinand von Braunschweig were prepared for the French attack by the "Corps des Vosges" (Vosges Corps) under Jean René Moreaux and were able to repel them using the easily defendable terrain of the Pirmasens Hills. The defeated French suffered about 225 wounded and 1,800 dead and prisoners, the Prussians only about 170 dead and wounded.

consequences

After their defeat, the French had to retreat to the Saar, while the allies subsequently succeeded in overcoming the French defensive positions in Alsace in the battle of the Weissenburg lines (October 13, 1793). Due to the disagreement between the allies Austria and Prussia, these successes had no lasting effect on the course of the war.

souvenir

The graves of two Prussian officers who died in battle are located in the old cemetery in Pirmasens. One is Albrecht Otto Johann von Möllendorff (1755–1793) and his grave monument bears the commemorative inscription:

“This is where Albrecht Otto Johann von Moellendorff, b. zu Gadow near Perleberg in the Prignitz on April 6, 1755, k. prussia. Rittmeister in the Couirassier Regiment von Borstell, died in the field of honor in the battle of Pirmasens on September 14, 1793 "

The second, almost identical tombstone has no text. He used to have an additional grave slab with an inscription, which has been lost. Therefore, it is known that it is the grave of Premier Lieutenant Hans Friedrich Georg Ludwig Wilhelm von Borstell (1770–1793), the eldest son of the general involved in the Pirmasens battle and commander of the 7th Cuirassier Regiment, Hans Friedrich Heinrich von Borstell (1730–1793) 1804) acts. The brother Ludwig von Borstell, who survived the fallen, also fought at Pirmasens.

The two deceased officers belonged to the 7th Prussian Cuirassier Regiment. Her death is described in the history of the Royal Prussian Sixth Cuirassier Regiment, called Kaiser von Russland , by Wilhelm Baron Digeon von Monteton , Brandenburg, 1842 (pages 88, 89 and 92).

literature

• Julius August Reinhold von Grawert : Detailed description of the battle near Pirmasenz, September 14, 1793 in three sections, together with a battalion plan and the associated general charter . Potsdam 1796. Digitized

Web links

• Website about the military from the Borstell family, with a mention of Hans Friedrich Georg Ludwig Wilhelm von Borstell who died at Pirmasens

Individual evidence

1. ^ Genealogical page on General Hans Friedrich Heinrich von Borstell
2. ↑ PDF document on the two officers' graves of the Pirmasens battle ( Memento of the original from March 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ Scan from the source, on the death of the two officers

See also

• List of battles
• List of wars
• List of wars and battles in Prussia