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Siege of Phalsbourg

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Siege of Phalsbourg
Part of Franco-Prussian War

One of the fortified gates in Phalsbourg
Date10 August 1870 – 12 December 1870
LocationPhalsbourg, Alsace, France
Result German Victory
Belligerents
 French Empire
 French Republic

 North German Confederation

Commanders and leaders
Pierre Taillant
Major Talhouet		 Prince Friedrich
Wilhelm von Tümpling
Major Von Giese
Units involved
Garde Mobile VI Corps
Strength
One battalion of 63rd Line Regiment , 100 artillerymen , one Garde Mobile battalion and 500 native Algerian soldiers and Zouaves 12th Division of the VI Corps
Casualties and losses
52 officers and 1,837 – 1,839 captured, 65 artillery pieces and many war reserves were seized 1 officer and 1 soldier wounded
Franco-Prussian War

The siege of Phalsbourg was an early battle of the Franco-Prussian War that was fought between the French Empire (later French Republic) against Germany at Phalsbourg near the Vosges beginning on 10 August 1870, and ending on 12 December of the same year.

Background

After a siege that lasted for four months, a French garrison was stationed at Phalsbourg under the command of the officer Talhouet was forced to surrender unconditionally to the German forces under the command of Major Von Giese (which had replaced the 12th division under the command of General Wilhelm von Tümpling of the corps VI of Prussia to carry out the siege). The victory at Phalsbourg gave the Prussian army a lot of prisoners, including officers and soldiers of France, and who Prussia gave his prisoner of Water Germany. All gunscannon of troops France would have been destroyed during the siege took place Phalsbourg. The fall of Phalsbourg was one of the successive victories of the German army in the war. The strong defense of the French army at Phalsbourg was appreciated, and the courage and skill of the numerically weak German siege forces were also positively recognized.

The Battle

Fort Phalsbourg was dominating the roads from Strasbourg to Nancy and Paris, and was one of the French fortresses that has declared a state of siege since the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War: from In early August 1870, the German Third Army approached the fortress. Forces of the German 12th Division received the responsibility to capture the fortress, and began the blockade of Phalsburg on the afternoon of 13 August. After the French refused to surrender, German troops under Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm launched a shelling of the walls of Phalsbourg. Under heavy German artillery fire , many structures were destroyed, and the French garrison's defenses were swept away, but Major Talhouet commanded the army. The French garrison refused the German offer. Faced with this situation, VI Corps had to leave Phalsbourg to continue its advance, leaving 2 battalions to observe Phalsbourg. But during 18 – 19 August, many militia units Landwher and Schlesien Together with a German battery, they replaced the original besiegers, and officially blockaded Phalsbourg. On 24 August, the French made a breakthrough against the village of Unter-Eichen-Baracken and achieved an initial victory, before being repulsed by Prussian reinforcements. Over the next few days, the French also carried out several raids with similar results. Although the Prussian siege army was reinforced, in early September, the French launched another siege and were crushed. During the siege, the Prussian army was extremely cautious, as French franc-tireur forces often operated around Lützelburg, before the Franc-tireur moved south in early October.

The terrain of Phalsbourg proved difficult for the besiegers, but after a long time the situation showed the Germans the need for a bombardment. On 24 November , a brief artillery barrage broke out, and French artillery resistance was unable to inflict significant damage on the enemy. The French garrison was in dire straits, and on 11 December the Germans refused the conditional surrender of France, and some of the French Garde Mobile soldiers fled. from the fortress. On 12 December, the French surrendered and the German army entered Phalsbourg on 14 December, the same day as the fall of Fort Montmédy. The cause of the surrender of the French army at Phalsbourg was attributed to food shortages and an epidemic of smallpox, and Major Giese has been commended for his persistence during this successful siege.

References

  1. Stephen J. Lee, Aspects of European History, 1789-1980, trang 83: "Nền Đệ nhị Đế chế đã bị thay thế bởi Đệ tam Cộng hòa vào tháng 9 năm 1870" (nguyên văn: "The Second Empire was replaced by the Third Republic in September 1870")
  2. Bernd Schlüter, Reichswissenschaft.: Staatsrechtslehre, Staatstheorie und Wissenschaftspolitik im Deutschen Kaiserreich am Beispiel der Reichsuniversität Straßburg., trang 76
  3. Geographical Dictionary of the World, trang 1437
  4. "The great war of 1870 between France and Germany"
  5. "Republican France, 1870-1912; her presidents, statesmen, policy, vicissitudes and social life"
  6. Wilhelm Müller, Political history of recent times, 1816-1875: with special reference to Germany, nguyên văn: "...Soissons, Verdun, Diedenhofen (Thionville), Pfalzburg, and Montmedy, had surrendered in 1870...".
  7. ^ "The French campaign, 1870-1871. Military description" by A. Niemann. Tr. from the German by Colonel Edward Newdigate. Published 1872 by W. Mitchell & co. in London. Written in English.
  8. ^ Edmund Ollier, Cassell's history of the war between France and Germany, 1870-1871, trang 41
  9. "Journals of Field-Marshal Count von Blumenthal for 1866 and 1870–71"
  10. ^ "The siege operations in the campaign against France, 1870-71."
  11. "The Franco-German War of 1870—71" (viết bởi Helmuth Von Moltke, dịch bởi Archibald Forbes)
  12. T. D. Wanliss, The war in Europe of 1870-1: with an enquiry into its probable consequences, trang 199
  13. Edmund Burke (biên tập), The annual register, Tập 112, trang 220
  14. The South Holland magazine, page 28
  15. Henry Allnutt, Historical diary of the war between France and Germany, 1870-1
  16. "The true story of Alsace-Lorraine"
  17. "A history of the modern world, 1815–1910"
  18. "Prussia and the Franco-Prussian war. Containing a brief narrative of the origin of the kingdom, its past history, and a detailed account of the causes and results of the late war with Austria; with an account of the origin of the present war with France, and of the extraordinary campaign into the heart of the empire. Including biographical sketches of King William and Count von Bismarck"
  19. ^ Frederick III, German Emperor, The war diary of the Emperor Frederick III, 1870-1871, nguyên văn: "On our side I sincerely congratulate First Lieutenant Giese, whose steady perseverance, no less than the courage and devotion of the besieging troops, deserves all praise".

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