Battle of Weissenburg (1870)

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Battle of Weissenburg
Map of the Battle of Weissenburg
Map of the Battle of Weissenburg
date 4th August 1870
place Wissembourg
output German victory
Parties to the conflict

North German ConfederationNorth German Confederation North German Confederation Baden Wuerttemberg Bavaria
to batheGrand Duchy of Baden 
WurttembergKingdom of Württemberg 
Kingdom of BavariaKingdom of Bavaria 

Second empireSecond empire France

Commander

North German ConfederationNorth German Confederation Friedrich Wilhelm Hugo von Kirchbach Jakob von Hartmann
North German ConfederationNorth German Confederation
Kingdom of BavariaKingdom of Bavaria

Second empireSecond empire Patrice de Mac Mahon Abel Douay
Second empireSecond empire

Troop strength
22 battalions 11 battalions
losses

700 men (dead, wounded, prisoners)

1000 men (dead, wounded, prisoners)

The Battle of Weissenburg took place on August 4, 1870 near the border town of Weissenburg in Alsace . During this battle, an all-German army appeared for the first time in the Franco-German War of 1870/71. There, the 3rd Army, under the leadership of Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, fought against the so-called " Alsace Army " under Marshal Mac Mahon .

Starting position

General Pierre de Failly
Map of the battle from the Le Gaulois newspaper , August 5, 1870
Memorial on the Geisberg - view of the troop line-up for the Battle of Weissenburg, 2005
Memorial on the Geisberg - Obelisk in memory of the French war victims, 2005

Weißenburg was the northern gateway to Alsace. After Alsace fell to France under Louis XIV at the end of the 17th century, the French Marshal Villars laid the so-called Weissenburg Lines around Weißenburg , which extended along the Lauter to Lauterburg and were supposed to protect Alsace from an attack from the north . These Weißenburg lines were laid out in a zigzag, smoothly adapted to the terrain and consisted of parapets and ditches. Militarily, the lines played a role for the last time during the First Coalition War on the occasion of the Battle of the Weißenburg Lines on October 13, 1793. However, these fortifications fell into disrepair after the French Revolution . The defenses on the city wall of Weissenburg were also in decline. There was no time to renew these fortifications before the war.

On the German side, too, there was an important defensive section against an attack from the south in the Bavarian Palatinate with the Landau Fortress and the Germersheim Fortress .

French positions

The position of the "Alsace Army", which formed the right wing of the French army, reached at the beginning of August from a line Bitsch - Haguenau (5th Corps de Failly , and parts of the 1st Corps Mac Mahon) to Strasbourg ( Lartique Division of the 1st Corps ). The VII Corps under General Félix Douay camped in Belfort in the second line . Abel Douay's division of the I. Corps with the Pelletier and Pellé brigades was moved to Weissenburg and Sulz under the forest .

German positions

The third army, also called the "German" army, as it consisted predominantly of non-Prussian troops, was formed from five corps: The V and XI.  Prussian, the I. and II. Bavarian and the VI. , the common Württemberg - Baden corps, which was formed from a division of the respective country. The I. Bavarian Corps, the V. and XI. Corps and the Württemberg division stood between Germersheim and Landau, and the 2nd Bavarian Corps at Bergzabern was slightly advanced in the Bavarian Palatinate. Only the Baden division was held back on the right bank of the Rhine near Rastatt in order to be able to react quickly to a possible invasion from Strasbourg on Baden soil.

Eve of battle

The Germans assumed that Mac Mahon would merge his division, which was still in Strasbourg, with the rest of his corps at Bitsch or Metz with the Rhine Army in order to be able to counter the German attack expected by the French on Metz more resistance and combat strength. The Douay division of VII Corps had also been advanced to secure this troop transfer. Since the Germans wanted to avoid a massive concentration of troops, they decided on August 3 to advance to the southwest in order to isolate the army of Mac Mahon by a rapid advance against the southwest, force it into battle and possibly beat it.

Course of the battle

4 a.m. - 8 a.m.

The individual German corps broke off their bivouac around 4 o'clock in a drizzle and went to their starting positions. These were as follows:

  • The II. Bavarian Corps drew to the height of silence and arrived there around 8 o'clock.
  • The V Corps set off in the direction of Schweighofen and waited on the hills there for the attack on Altenstadt .
  • The XI. Corps strode through the Bienwald to overrun the fortifications of the Weißenburg lines east of Altenstadt.
  • The VI. Corps set out on broad roads to Lauterburg .
  • The I. Bavarian Corps was ready as a reserve west of Langenkandel .

The Crown Prince arrived in silence around 8 a.m. immediately after the II. Bavarian Corps. From the hill near Schweigen he had a good view of Weissenburg, Altenstadt and Geisberg, south of Weissenburg, on which General Douay had pitched his tent and was enjoying his morning coffee.

The French seemed completely surprised by the arrival of the German troops. Only after the arrival of the German troops did a battalion of the 74th Infantry and the 1st Regiment of Algerian tirailleurs , so-called Turcos , hurry to Weissenburg and Altenstadt to take their positions. The main part of the troop contingent remained on the Geisberg and formed at Geisberg Castle and the nearby Schafbusch farm .

8 a.m. - 12 p.m.

General Hugo von Kirchbach, commanding general of the V Army Corps

The battle in the morning hours was marked by artillery fire and the Algerian troops. After the arrival of the V Corps in Schweighofen, the 9th Division under Major General von Sandrart took over the leadership in order to reach Weissenburg via Altenstadt.

The 1st Silesian Jäger Battalion No. 5 under Major Count Waldersee took Altenstadt without much resistance. When it turned against Weißenburg, however, it was greeted on the outskirts of Altenstadt with a hail of bullets from the Algerians, who were well entrenched in the front gardens. The artillery fire from Geisberg also made progress very difficult. There were great losses on both sides, including Major Georg Graf Waldersee, the eldest son of Franz Heinrich von Waldersee . The Jäger Battalion No. 5 now received support from two battalions of the 3rd Posen Infantry Regiment No. 58 . It was only before the Germans became overwhelming that the French withdrew further towards Weissenburg.

With the battalions of Infantry Regiment No. 58 in the middle, flanked by Jäger Battalion No. 5, the Germans moved on towards Weissenburg. At the level of the train station , which at that time was still outside the city of Weissenburg, a division of the French 74th Infantry Regiment came to the aid of the Algerian tirailleurs and attacked the Germans. The French were met by violent gunfire and pushed back into the city.

When two battalions of the 2nd Lower Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 47 were still supporting the German attack, the station was stormed around 11 a.m. The Algerian troops entrenched in the suburban houses were overrun and taken prisoner. Shortly afterwards, the fusiliers of Infantry Regiment No. 58 penetrated through the Hagenauer Tor into the city of Weißenburg.

At the same time as the 9th Division was advancing against Altenstadt, the "Bothmer" division of the 2nd Bavarian Corps turned against Weissenburg in silence. The 10th Royal Bavarian. Jäger Battalion , supported by III. Battalion of the 5th Infantry Regiment advanced from the north towards Weissenburg. The advance met with fierce resistance from the Algerian tirailleurs, who were well entrenched here in hedges and trenches.

So the advance was delayed and reinforcements were awaited. The III. Battalions of the 11th and 14th Infantry Regiments and the 7th Brigade under Major General von Thiereck took up position to the left of the 10th Jäger Battalion and thus closed the gap to the V Corps. When Altenstadt was taken and the V Corps stormed towards the station, attacked the 10th Jäger Battalion and the III. Battalions of the 5th, 11th and 14th Infantry Regiments from the north and northeast to the city of Weißenburg.

The resistance against the Bavarians had become considerably weaker, since the French had concentrated most of their strength on the Hagenauer Tor and the train station. At around 12 noon, the Bavarians took the Landauer Tor and the 10th Jäger Battalion entered the city, closed and with the sound of horns. Some of the French tried to escape through the Bitscher Tor, but were stopped by a company of the 10th Jäger Battalion, which cut off their retreat.

12 p.m. - 4 p.m.

The 5th Royal Bavarian Regiment at the Battle of Weissenburg, 1870
General Abel Douay

After taking Weissenburg, the Germans turned to the French positions on the Geisberg. There were two buildings on the Geisberg: Halfway up the Geisberg Castle, where General Douay had set up his headquarters, and on top of the mountain, west of the castle, a farm called Schafbusch.

The French troops, these were parts of the 74th Infantry Regiment, the 50th Infantry Regiment, the 16th Jäger Battalion of the Pelletier de Montmarie Brigade, and the 78th Infantry Regiment of the Pellé Brigade, plus three batteries and artillery a battery of mitrailleuses were distributed between the two buildings. The majority of the German troops were concentrated on Geisberg Castle, as the Geisberg had its slightest incline towards the east and was the easiest to storm. During the battle for the Geisberg, Douay received support from Sulz unterm Wald by the 3rd Hussar and 11th Chasseurs regiments of the Septeuil cavalry brigade.

From the Geisberg the French saw that from the east, from the direction of the Bienwald, the 41st Brigade of the XI. Corps (Hessian Fusilier Regiment No. 80; Nassau Infantry Regiment No. 87) was approaching. At the same time, the King Grenadier Regiment No. 7 formed in the middle, the vacated 5th Jäger Battalion on the right and the previously unused 1st Battalions of the 47th and 58th Regiments on the left, for the storming of the Geisberg. While the 7th Regiment with the three sub-regiments stormed up the Geisberg under the leadership of Major von Kaisenberg, the 41st Brigade started moving south and tried to reach the Schafbusch by bypassing the Geisberg from behind.

The French were well entrenched in the castle and in the buildings. As a result, the storming of the Geisberg had to be paid for with many victims.

Each battalion of the Germans that stormed the mountain preferred two companies in close chain, two more companies followed as a half battalion. Tried and tested in the German War of 1866 , Major von Kaisenberg tried his luck in storming the castle. When he was halfway to the castle, the 74th French Infantry Regiment began a counter-attack with the bayonet attached, but it failed. The fusilier battalion continued to storm the castle building. There they were suddenly stopped by well-positioned French. Many fusiliers were killed by strong defensive fire. Major von Kaisenberg, who stormed the heights with his battalion at the head, was seriously wounded. Half the rise was quickly covered with dead and wounded. The remaining soldiers of the battalions of the 7th Regiment had to seek cover in trenches near the castle building and wait for reinforcements.

This reinforcement was not long in coming. To the right of the center the 5th Jäger Battalion stormed the height, to the left of it the battalions of Regiments 47 and 58 and fought violent battles with the French. The 41st Brigade, which bypassed the Geisberg to the south and stormed the mountain from the southeast, had taken the sheep bush after a short fight and now attacked the positions of the French at Geisberg Castle in their rear.

Only now the fighting spirit of the French was broken and they gave up the Geisberg. In order to cover their retreat in a southerly direction across the road to Sulz, the French attempted a brief counterattack, which, however, turned out to be a fake attack. Around 2 p.m. the two cavalry regiments of the 9th and 10th Prussian divisions took over the pursuit.

Involved and losses

Anton von Werner : "Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm on the corpse of General Abel Douay ", 1888

At the Battle of Weissenburg there were 22 battalions on the German side and 11 battalions on the French side. The Germans owed their victory in the battle to their numerical superiority and the fact that General Douay was apparently not prepared for a fight. Fontane insinuated that General Douay, who had fallen, had only looked at a map of the area for the first time the day before the battle. The losses were substantial on both sides. On the German side there were 700 dead, wounded and prisoners, on the French side over a thousand. Among the dead were u. a. Major Graf Waldersee, Major von Unruh and Major von Kaisenberg, and General Abel Douay on the French side.

Quotes from those involved

Speech by Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia on July 30, 1870, before the Battle of Weissenburg:

“Third Army soldiers!

Appointed by His Majesty the King of Prussia as Commander-in-Chief of the Third Army, I greet the Royal Prussian, Royal Bavarian, Royal Württemberg and Grand Ducal Baden troops united under my command from today.

It fills me with pride and joy to march against the enemy at the head of the sons, united from all regions of the German fatherland, for the common national cause, for German law, for German honor.

We are facing a great and difficult battle, but in the awareness of our good rights and in trust in your bravery, perseverance and discipline, we are certain of a victorious outcome.

So we want to hold out in a loyal brotherhood in arms in order, with God's help, to unfold our flags to new victories for the glory and peace of a united Germany. "

An officer of the Hessian Fusilier Regiment No. 80 wrote after the battle:

“On the day of the battle near Weissenburg, we had the most colossal effort that I have ever experienced. Alarm at 2:00 am, marching out in pouring rain at 4:00 am, in forced marches across the border, fighting at 12:00 am, in the fire until 4:00 am, then bivouac, always in the heaviest rain. "

memory

In memory of the battle, Weißenburger Platz was given its name in Munich , just as other places in Germany named streets after Weißenburg.

literature

Web links