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    Battle of Spicheren PDF

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    misanthropo
    The Battle of Spicheren was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War that resulted in a Prussian victory. On August 6, 1870 near Saarbrücken, Germany, the Prussian First Army engaged the French Second Corps, defeating them and forcing the French to withdraw to the defenses of Metz. The battle was not planned by Prussian commander Helmuth von Moltke, but resulted from an overzealous move by Prussian commander Karl von Steinmetz, who attacked the French forces without realizing their strength. The Prussians were eventually able to roll up the French left flank and gain control of the Rotherberg Hill, causing the French to retreat.

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    Battle of Spicheren PDF

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    misanthropo
    157 views4 pages
    The Battle of Spicheren was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War that resulted in a Prussian victory. On August 6, 1870 near Saarbrücken, Germany, the Prussian First Army engaged the French Second Corps, defeating them and forcing the French to withdraw to the defenses of Metz. The battle was not planned by Prussian commander Helmuth von Moltke, but resulted from an overzealous move by Prussian commander Karl von Steinmetz, who attacked the French forces without realizing their strength. The Prussians were eventually able to roll up the French left flank and gain control of the Rotherberg Hill, causing the French to retreat.

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    Battle of Spicheren

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    The Battle of Spicheren was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War that resulted in a Prussian victory. On August 6, 1870 near Saarbrücken, Germany, the Prussian First Army engaged the French Second Corps, defeating them and forcing the French to withdraw to the defenses of Metz. The battle was not planned by Prussian commander Helmuth von Moltke, but resulted from an overzealous move by Prussian commander Karl von Steinmetz, who attacked the French forces without realizing their strength. The Prussians were eventually able to roll up the French left flank and gain control of the Rotherberg Hill, causing the French to retreat.

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    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    157 views4 pages

    Battle of Spicheren PDF

    Uploaded by

    misanthropo
    The Battle of Spicheren was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War that resulted in a Prussian victory. On August 6, 1870 near Saarbrücken, Germany, the Prussian First Army engaged the French Second Corps, defeating them and forcing the French to withdraw to the defenses of Metz. The battle was not planned by Prussian commander Helmuth von Moltke, but resulted from an overzealous move by Prussian commander Karl von Steinmetz, who attacked the French forces without realizing their strength. The Prussians were eventually able to roll up the French left flank and gain control of the Rotherberg Hill, causing the French to retreat.

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    Battle of Spicheren

    Battle of Spicheren
    Battle of Spicheren
    Part of the Franco-Prussian War

    French and German positions at 6 PM on 6 August 1870 Date 6 August 1870

    Location near Saarbrcken, Germany [1] [1] 4909N 601E Coordinates: 4909N 601E Result Prussian victory

    Belligerents
    Prussia France

    Commanders and leaders


    Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz Charles Auguste Frossard

    Strength
    37,000
    [2]

    29,000

    Casualties and losses


    4,871 killed and wounded 4,000 killed and wounded

    The Battle of Spicheren, also known as the Battle of Forbach, was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War. The German victory compelled the French to withdraw to the defenses of Metz.

    Battle of Spicheren

    History
    Moltke was pressing on with the concentration of the Prussian armies. His forces now formed two wings. On the right, the Second Army under Frederick Charles containing the III, IV, IX, X, XII Corps, and the Prussian Guard, was advancing from the Rhine River towards Saarbrcken, while the First Army under General Steinmetz with the I, VII and VIII Corps were moving into line with the Second Army from the direction of the lower Moselle River towards Saarlouis, in all both armies numbered some 185,000 men. The battle was not intended by Moltke, who wished to keep Bazaine's army on the Saar River until he could attack it with the II army in front Assault on the heights of Spicheren and the I army on its left flank, while the third army was closing towards its rear. The aging General Karl von Steinmetz made an overzealous, unplanned move, and proved that he did not have the slightest notion regarding Moltke's plans. Leading the I army south from his position on the Moselle, he moved straight toward the town of Spicheren, cutting off Prince Frederick Charles from his forward cavalry units in the process. The First Army advance guard (14th Division, VII Corps) under General Arnold Karl von Kameke, advancing on west from Saarbrcken on the morning of the 6th August, found the bridges still intact, and seeing the opportunity that this offered, pushed on to occupy the high ground just beyond the town. The French 2nd Corps under Frossard, who had withdrawn his 2nd Corps back about one mile to the Spicheren plateau, had abandoned these heights in order to take up what he considered to be a position magnifique, fortified between Spicheren and Forbach. Frossard distributed his corps as follows: holding the right and centre was the division of General Laveaucoupet, deployed along the heights, with two companies entrenched on the Rotherberg. On the left General Vergs division occupied Stiring and the Forbach valley. General Batailles division was held back in reserve around Spicheren; in all, counting the corps cavalry and artillery, some 27,000 men with 90 guns. Kameke thought he would be engaging the rear guard of Frossards Corps, which he believed was in retreat. He ordered a full attack, committing his two brigades under Gen. Francois into the walls of hills running between Spicheren and Forbach. Francoiss attack had stopped cold by one oclock. He would sit and wait for reinforcements, wondering all the while just how many French were in front of him. Lucky for him, every French attempt at a counterattack was stopped by his artillery. Kamekes 28th Brigade under von Woyna would arrive in late afternoon and bring the battle back to life again, but the Prussian attack would again be repulsed. The French would now counterattack. Gen. Laveaucoupets 40th Regiment pushed back Francois badly demoralized surviving troops while Gen. Charles Vergs 2nd Brigade attacked Woynas troops, pushing them back almost to Saarbrcken. If Frossard had pursued these

    Assault on Rotherberg

    counterattacks he might have won the battle. By this time, General Constantin von Alvensleben, commander of the III Corps of the German II Army under Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia came to the aid of their compatriots leading units that had arrived on the scene. He relieved Kameke of command and immediately began assessing the situation.Wikipedia:Disputed statement Alvensleben decided to attack Frossards left flank. With a combination of overlapping infantry and artillery attacks, the Prussians were able to roll the flank, thus gaining control of the Rotherberg Hill. By 9 oclock, the French had given up the entire plateau outside Spicheren to the Prussians. Frossard had ordered a retreat towards Moselle where he planned

    Battle of Spicheren to withdraw and move to the fortress of Verdun, but once again he was attacked by Steinmetz at the Battle of Borny-Colombey. On the way there they ran into Bazaines division coming to reinforce them. France had lost another battle; the quality of its military commanders and their lack of initiative mainly to blame. The German casualties were relatively high due to lack of planning and the effectiveness of the French chassepot rifle.

    Commemoration
    There are numerous memorials on the various military cemeteries, many of them German, in Spicheren, commemorating the fallen soldiers or officers of the individual formations, as well as a big memorial for the fallen French. Many of these memorials became a theme for postcards in the decades after the battle. In the 21stcentury, groups from France and Germany regularly collaborate to reenact the battle.
    French battle of Spicheren memorial

    Notes
    [1] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ geohack/ geohack. php?pagename=Battle_of_Spicheren& params=49_09_N_6_01_E_region:FR_scale:50000_type:event [2] Henderson, p. 715-9 provides a table of returns for numerous "great battles," excluding prisoners.

    References
    Compton's Home Library: Battles of the World CD-ROM http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/mcnelly/vb/scenarios/spicheren.htm Henderson, G.F.R. Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War. Longmans, Green and Co. 1949
    German memorial for the fallen rank and file of the 9thcompany of the 1stInfantry Regiment No.74 from Hannover

    Article Sources and Contributors

    Article Sources and Contributors


    Battle of Spicheren Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=573621464 Contributors: Ardfern, Bart l, Bismark76, Bonio, Carl Logan, Count of Rymnik, DITWIN GRIM, DanielCD, Dl2000, Fdewaele, FuFoFuEd, Hamish59, HansHermans, Jemiller226, Jeremy Bentham, Jllm06, Kevinsam, Kinneyboy90, Kirill Lokshin, Loopy, Magicpiano, Micge, Nimetapoeg, PaulBetteridge, Rich Farmbrough, Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ), Stemonitis, Uhlan, Underwaterbuffalo, Xbeza, 15 anonymous edits

    Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors


    File:Battle of Spicheren.png Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Battle_of_Spicheren.png License: Public Domain Contributors: Alexpl File:Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Prussia_(1803-1892).svg License: unknown Contributors: Drawing created by David Liuzzo File:Flag of France.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_France.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Anomie File:Dt-FrzKrieg1870SturmAufSpichererHoehenBeiSaarbruecken.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Dt-FrzKrieg1870SturmAufSpichererHoehenBeiSaarbruecken.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: AnRo0002, Jlorenz1, Shakko, 1 anonymous edits File:Spicheren-Roter_Berg.png Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Spicheren-Roter_Berg.png License: Public Domain Contributors: 1970gemini, Alexpl, AndreasPraefcke, LGR109 File:Spicheren_Kreuz_06_August_1870.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Spicheren_Kreuz_06_August_1870.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Contributors: Gio von Gryneck File:20120324Soldatenfriedhof_Spicherer_Berg08.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:20120324Soldatenfriedhof_Spicherer_Berg08.jpg License: Creative Commons Zero Contributors: AnRo0002

    License
    Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 //creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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