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Siege of Marsal

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Siege of Marsal
Part of Franco-Prussian War
DateAugust 13 – 14, 1870
LocationMarsal, Moselle, France
Result German victory
Belligerents
 French Empire

 North German Confederation

 Bavaria
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Jakob von Hartmann
Friedrich von Bothmer
Units involved
Unknown II Corps
Strength
600 troops and 60 – 70 artillery pieces Brigade Infantry No. 7, Brigade Trade cavalry and 7 artillery reserves
Casualties and losses
16 officers and several hundred soldiers were captured , 61 artillery pieces, 8,000 rifles and a significant number of supplies were captured Unknown
Franco-Prussian War

The siege of Marsal was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War on August 13 to 14 between the French Empire and the combined German forces of Prussia and Bavaria in Marsal. Under the command of Lieutenant General Jakob von Hartmann, after replacing the Prussian 4th Cavalry Division, II Corps of the Kingdom of Bavaria forced the surrender of the French Empire's defenses, after a brief resistance by the French troops stationed at the fortress. Marsal fell to the German army in the same period as the French fortresses of Lichtenberg, La Petite-Pierre and Vitry. With the quick victory of the Bavarian army at Marsal, the road from Dieuze to Nancy was open to the Germans. In addition, the siege also brought the Germans a lot of raw materials for the war, as well as hundreds of prisoners (including some officers of the French army).

The Battle

On the day and night of , the 4th Bavarian Division under the command of Lieutenant General Friedrich von Bothmer began his march to La Petite-Pierre. On their way to the heights of the Mecleuves, they were ordered to march through Fort Marsal to Lunéville. Earlier, on 13 August , the Prussian cavalry had reached Marsal, but were unable to force the fortress to surrender and were unable to capture Marsal. Faced with this situation, the forces of the Bavarian II Corps (including reserve artillery forces ) - part of the German Third Army by Prince Friedrich Wilhelm replaced the Prussian cavalry to proceed the blockade on Marsal. On August 14, a German detachment arrived at Marsal. Under the command of Von Bothmer, the Bavarian army opened fire, and agreement was made between the Germans and the French garrison. In the process, a brief German bombardment destroyed a French artillery depot. The German infantry also advanced and took control of a number of fortifications. The German artillery attack influenced the conclusion of the German-French agreement: the French defense at Marsal ended with the defenders of the fortress surrendering to the Germans.

During the campaign of 1870 - 1871, Marsal, along with Lichtenberg, were two French fortresses that fell to the German army after only a shelling. The defenders of Marsal fortress are reported to have fired a single shot when the fortress was besieged by the Bavarians.

References

  1. ^ Frederick III, German Emperor, The war diary of the Emperor Frederick III, 1870-1871, original: "An old fortress of the days of Vauban, Marsal by name, has to-day surrendered without loss of time to the Bavarians, whereby 250 prisoners and some fifty guns, together with a large number of muskets, fell into our hands...".
  2. ^ Wilhelm Rüstow, The war for the Rhine frontier, 1870: its political and military history, Volume 1, pages 297-298.
  3. ^ "Men who have made the new German empire. A series of brief biographic sketches"
  4. ^ Charles Kendall Adams, Johnson's universal cyclopaedia, Episode 4.
  5. "The French campaign, 1870-1871: Military description"
  6. "Journals of Field-Marshal Count von Blumenthal for 1866 and 1870-71"
  7. ^ "The Franco-German War, 1870-1871..."
  8. ^ "The siege operations in the campaign against France, 1870-71."
  9. "The earth and its inhabitants.."
  10. "The Franco-German War of 1870—71" (of the Marshal Helmuth Von Moltke)
  11. Edmund Ollier, Cassell's history of the war between France and Germany, 1870-1871, page 321
  12. The London Quarterly Review, Tập 129, trang 233
  13. Henry Smith Williams, France, 1815-1904, Netherlands, trang 151

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