Army of the Rhine (1870)

The Army of the Rhine (French: Armée du Rhin) was a French military unit that fought in the Franco-Prussian War. It was created after the declaration of war on July 18 1870.

Armée du Rhin (Army of the Rhine)
Commander of the Army, Marshal Bazaine
Active1870
Country France
AllegianceSecond French Empire
BranchFrench Army
EngagementsFranco-Prussian War
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Maréchal de France Bazaine

The unit participated in combats in Lorraine, then divided to form a second army, the Army of Châlons.

The Army of the Rhine surrendered on 27 October at the Siege of Metz.

Creation of the unit

The Army of the Rhine was the first French Army constituted after the declaration of war, formed from the available troops during peacetime. Initially commanded by the Emperor Napoleon III, the Army included the Imperial Guard (French: La Garde Impériale), 7 Army Corps and a general reserve. Each Army Corps was constituted of 3 or 4 infantry division and 1 cavalry division made up of 2 or 3 brigades each, one artillery reserve and one engineer reserve. Each brigade counted 2 or 3 line infantry or line cavalry regiments.

The infantry divisions included an artillery component with 2 batteries de canons de 4 and 1 de mitrailleuse, while the cavalry divisions constituted 2 batteries horse mounted.

Formation of the army corps:[1]

Effectifs de l'armée du Rhin
Date[2]OfficersMenHorsesBattalionsSquadronsBatteriesCie Engineer
Imperial Guard July 301,04721,0287,3042430123
1st Army Corps August 11,65140,1658,1435226205,5
2nd Army Corps August 11,17227,9565,0163918134
3rd Army Corps August 61,70441,5749,8105231205,5
4th Army Corps August 131,20827,7025,5363918154
5th Army Corps August 11,17420,2435,5275231205,5
6th Army Corps August 11,47433,9465,534----
7th Army Corps August 11,04323,1425,396----
Cavalry Reserve August 14646,3606,321----
Artillery Reserve August 9872,6752,725----
Engineer Reserve -13459196---4

Composition and order of battle

On August 1, 1870, the Army of the Rhine was constituted of seven Army Corps and of artillery and reserve cavalry. Lieutenant-colonel Rousset tendered an estimative decomposition by grand units:[3]

Commandement and état-major
Napoleon III, first commander-in-chief of the Army of the Rhin.

The Imperial Guard
Général Bourbaki, commander of the Imperial Guard.
1st Infantry Division (voltigeurs)

The 1st Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard (French: La Garde Impériale) was commanded by général Deligny

Detachment of the grenadiers of the Imperial Guard at Rezonville (painting of Édouard Detaille - 1870).
2nd Infantry Division (Grenadiers)

The 2nd Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard was commanded by général Picard

Cavalry Division

The Cavalry Division of the Imperial Guard was commanded by général Desvaux

Reserve Artillery (colonel Clappier)
  • 4 Artillery Batteries de 4 horse mounted
  • 1 Train equipped Squadron
Parc Artillery (colonel Elie Jean de Vassoigne)
Total artillery
  • 24 Battalions, 24 Squadrons, 72 pieces out of which 12 mitrailleuses, 2 Engineer Companies, 1 Train Squadron

1st Army Corps
Marshal de Mac Mahon, commander of the 1st Army Corps.

The 1st Army Corps (French: 1er Corps d'Armée) was commanded by Patrice de MacMahon, Duke of Magenta, with chef d'état-major général Colson. général Ducrot, former commander of the 1st Division, succeeded Marshal Mac Mahon who recently assumed command of the Army of Châlons. général Joly Frigola commanded the artillery.

1st Infantry Division

The 1st Infantry Division of the 1st Army Corps was under the orders of général Ducrot

2nd Infantry Division

The 2nd Infantry Division of the 1st Army Corps was under the orders of général Douay

3rd Infantry Division

The 3rd Infantry Division of the 1st Army Corps was under the orders of général Raoult

4th Infantry Division

The 4th Infantry Division of the 1st Army Corps was under the orders of général de Lartigue

Cavalry Division

The Cavalry Division of the 1st Army Corps was commanded by général Duhesme

Reserve Artillery

Artillery Reserve was under the orders of colonel Vassart d'Andernay

  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 12
  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 4 mounted
  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 4 horse mounted
  • Parc Artillery, Reserve and Parc Engineer

2nd Army Corps
Général Frossard, commander of the 2nd Army Corps.

The 2nd Army Corps (French: 2e Corps d'Armée) was commanded by général Frossard, with chef d'état-major général Saget.

1st Infantry Division

The 1st Infantry Division of the 2nd Army Corps was under the orders of général Vergé

2nd Infantry Division

The 2nd Infantry Division of the 2nd Army Corps was under the orders of général Bataille

3rd Infantry Division

The 3rd Infantry Division of the 2nd Army Corps was under the orders of général Merle de Labrugière de Laveaucoupet

Cavalry Division

The Cavalry Division of the 2nd Army Corps was commanded by général Marmier

Reserve Artillery

Artillery Reserve was under the orders of colonel Beaudoin

  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 12
  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 4 mounted
  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 4 horse mounted
  • Parc Artillery, Reserve and Parc Engineer

3rd Army Corps
Marshal Bazaine, commander of the 3rd Army Corps.

The 3rd Army Corps (French: 3e Corps d'Armée) was commanded by Marshal Bazaine, with chef d'état-major général Manèque.

1st Infantry Division

The 1st Infantry Division of the 3rd Army Corps was under the orders of général Montaudon

2nd Infantry Division

The 2nd Infantry Division of the 3rd Army Corps was under the orders of général de Castagny

3rd Infantry Division

The 3rd Infantry Division of the 3rd Army Corps was under the orders of général Metman

4th Infantry Division

The 4th Infantry Division of the 3rd Army Corps was under the orders of général Decaen then Aymard

Cavalry Division

The Cavalry Division of the 3rd Army Corps was commanded by général comte de Clérembault

Reserve Artillery

Artillery Reserve was under the orders of colonel de Lajaille

  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 12
  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 4 mounted
  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 4 horse mounted
  • Parc Artillery, Reserve and Parc Engineer

4th Army Corps
Général Ladmirault, commander of the 4th Army Corps.

The 4th Army Corps (French: 4e Corps d'Armée) was commanded by général de Ladmirault, with chef d'état-major général Osmont.

1st Infantry Division

The 1st Infantry Division of the 4th Army Corps was under the orders of général Courtot de Cissey

2nd Infantry Division

The 2nd Infantry Division of the 4th Army Corps was under the orders of général Rose[6] then Grenier

3rd Infantry Division

The 3rd Infantry Division of the 4th Army Corps was under the orders of général Latrille comte de Lorencez

Cavalry Division

The Cavalry Division of the 4th Army Corps was commanded by général Legrand

Reserve Artillery

Artillery Reserve was under the orders of colonel Soleille

  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 12
  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 4 mounted
  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 4 horse mounted
  • Parc Artillery, Reserve and Parc Engineer

5th Army Corps
Général de Failly, commander of the 5th Army Corps.

The 5th Army Corps (French: 5e Corps d'Armée) was commanded by général de Failly, with chef d'état-major général Besson.

1st Infantry Division

The 1st Infantry Division of the 5th Army Corps was under the orders of général Goze.

2nd Infantry Division

The 2nd Infantry Division of the 5th Army Corps was under the orders of général de l'Abadie d'Aydren.

3rd Infantry Division

The 3rd Infantry Division of the 5th Army Corps was under the orders of général Guyot de Lespart

Cavalry Division

The Cavalry Division of the 5th Army Corps was commanded by général Brahaut

Reserve Artillery

Colonel de Salignac-Fénelon

  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 12
  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 4 mounted
  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 4 horse mounted
  • Parc Artillery, Reserve and Parc Engineer

6th Army Corps
Général de Canrobert, commander of the 6th Army Corps.

The 6th Army Corps was (French: 6e Corps d'Armée) was commanded by Marshal Certain de Canrobert, with chef d'état-major général Henry.

1st Infantry Division

The 1st Infantry Division of the 6th Army Corps was under the orders of général Tixier

2nd Infantry Division

The 2nd Infantry Division of the 6th Army Corps was under the orders of général Bisson[7]

3rd Infantry Division

The 3rd Infantry Division of the 6th Army Corps was under the orders of général Lafont de Villiers

4th Infantry Division

The 4th Infantry Division of the 6th Army Corps was under the orders of général Levassor-Sorval

Cavalry Division[10]

The Cavalry Division of the 6th Army Corps was commanded by général de Salignac-Fénelon

Cavalry Division

The Cavalry Division attached to the 6th Army Corps since August 18 in replacement of the division of Salignac-Fénelon, was commanded by général du Barail

Reserve Artillery
  • Artillery reserve under the orders of général Bertrand[11]
    • 2 Artillery Batteries de 12
    • 4 Artillery Batteries de 4 montées
    • 2 Artillery Batteries de 4 horse mounted
  • Parc d'artillerie, réserve et parc du génie

7th Army Corps
Général Douay, commander of the 7th Army Corps.

The 7th Army Corps (French: 7e Corps d'Armée) was commanded by général Douay, with chef d'état-major général Renson.

1st Infantry Division

The 1st Infantry Division of the 7th Army Corps was under the orders of général Conseil-Dumesnil.

2nd Infantry Division

The 2nd Infantry Division of the 7th Army Corps was under the orders of général Liébert.

3rd Infantry Division

The 3rd Infantry Division of the 7th Army Corps was under the orders of général Dumont.

Cavalry Division
Général Ameil, commander of the cavalry division of the 7th Army Corps.

The Cavalry Division of the 7th Army Corps was commanded by général baron Ameil.

Reserve Artillery

Colonel Aubac

  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 12,
  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 4 mounted,
  • 2 Artillery Batteries de 4 horse mounted.
  • Parc Artillery, Reserves and Parc Engineer.

Reserve Cavalry
1st Cavalry Division [16]

The 1st Reserve Cavalry Division was commanded by général du Barail.

The 2nd Reserve Cavalry Division was commanded by général de Bonnemain.

2nd Cavalry Division
3rd Cavalry Division

The 3rd Reserve Cavalry Division was commanded by général de Forton.

Reserve Artillery and Engineer
General Reserve Artillery

Commanded by général Canu.

  • 1st Division of colonel Salvador (8 Artillery Batteries de 12)
  • 1st Division of colonel Toussaint (8 Artillery Batteries horse mounted)
Grand parc de campagne

Commanded by général de Mitrecé.

General Reserve of Engineer

Commanded by colonel Rémond.

  • 2 Sapeurs Companies
  • 1 Mining Company
  • 1 Detachment of Sapeurs-Conducteurs
Grand parc du Génie

Chronology of operations

References
  1. In Histoire générale de la guerre franco allemande - 1870–1871, Tome 1 pages 116–124.
  2. Les dates communiquées dans cette colonne sont les dates correspondant au relevés théoriques d'effectifs. Ces valeurs sont en effet théoriques car l'ensemble des unités n'étaient, à ces dates, pas toutes réunies autour de leur corps d'affectation.
  3. In Histoire générale de la guerre franco allemande - 1870–1871, Tome 1, pages 395–405.
  4. Marie Justin Lin Soleille or simply Justin Soleille
  5. L'ouvrage indique Harmand Lucien Duez
  6. général Etienne Hugues Rose was not able to join due to health challenges
  7. the 14th, 20th, and 31st Line Infantry Regiments did not join and were integrated in the 12th Army Corps. The Division was accordingly reduced to the 9th line Infantry Regiment.
  8. général de Marguenat was killed at Rezonville
  9. Promoted général on September 26, colonel Gibon replaced général de Marguenat and was killed at Ladonchamps on October 7.
  10. This division did not join the Army Corps and was replaced, on August 18, by the Division of général du Barail.
  11. The artillery reserves and engineers of the 6th Corps were not able to join. The artillery reserve was reconstituted from the general reserves of the army.
  12. Colonel Morand was promoted to général August 25 and replaced général Nicolaï, prisoner. He was killed at Beaumont on August 30.
  13. Colonel de Gramont was promoted to général and replaced général Maire, killed during the battle of Frœschwiller.
  14. 79th Infantry Regiment did not join initially and was replaced with the 72nd Infantry Regiment. Finally, the regiment was assigned to the 12th Army Corps.
  15. The 2nd Brigade of the Cavalry Division of the 7th Army Corps did not join.
  16. The 1st Cavalry Division (reserve) was dislocated before the blockade of Metz. The Margueritte Brigade was assigned to the Army of Châlons. Brigade Lajaille was assigned to the 6th Army Corps to constitute the respective Division Cavalry.

Sources and bibliography
  • Lieutenant-colonel Rousset, Histoire générale de la guerre franco allemande - 1870–1871, éditions Montgredien et Cie, 1900.
  • Paul et Victor Margueritte, Histoire de la guerre de 1870–71, Éditions G. Chamerot, 1903.
  • Général Niox, La guerre de 1870 - Simple récit, Librairie Ch. Delagrave, 1898.
  • Annuaire militaire de l'empire français 1870
  • Ferdinand Lecomte : Relation historique et critique de la guerre franco-allemande en 1870–1871
  • Annuaire militaire de 1870 (pour les prénoms)
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