Battle of Nouart

The Battle of Nouart was fought on 29 August 1870 at the village of Nouart.[3] Part of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, the battle saw Prince George's 46th Infantry Brigade of the XII Royal Saxony Corps defeat Pierre Louis Charles de Failly's[8] V Corps of the French Empire.[14][11][12]

Battle of Nouart
Part of Franco-Prussian War
Date29 August 1870[1][2]
Location
Nouart,[3] Ardennes, France
Result German Victory,[4][5] French Withdrawal[6]
Belligerents
 French Empire

 North German Confederation

Commanders and leaders
Pierre Louis Charles de Failly[8] Prince Georg[9]
Units involved
V Corps[10] XII Corps
46th Infantry Brigade of the 12th Royal Saxony Corps[11][12]
Strength
Unknown Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown 14 officers and 349 soldiers casualties[13]

Prelude

After being defeated in the bloody Battle of Gravelotte, French Marshal François Achille Bazaine's army was besieged in Metz on 19 August 1870.[2] Field Marshal Mac-Mahon pulled his army out of the barracks to aid Bazaine and his army.[2] Meanwhile, on 23 August, German armies began their march down Châlons. Mac-Mahon's troops were detected three days later on 26 August; the Germany army was ordered to advance north to meet them. The Battle of Buzancy on 27 August saw the cavalry brigade of the Saxon 12th army defeat the French cavalry.[2][15] Fearing that the Germans would block his advance, Mac-Mahon decided to withdraw to Mézières that night. Nonetheless, urgent orders the following day compelled Mac-Mahon to follow through on the original plan to rescue Bazaine.[2]

The Germans indeed blocked Mac-Mahon's army at the Meuse River, leading him to take an alternate crossing at Mouzon and Rémilly.[2]

Battle

The French V Corps, led by de Failly, crossed the Meuse at Mouzon. Shortly after they came under heavy infantry and artillery fire when their cavalry squadron marched a few miles ahead of the main force near the hills of Nouart.[5] The French cavalry fled from the heights and returned to the now panicking French infantry. The French discovered that the XII Royal Saxony Corps were fully deployed on the hillsides, and de Failly had to stop his advance to put infantry and artillery in place.[16][5]

The Germany and French infantry approached each other, fighting over the small valley of Wiseppe all afternoon. Fierce infantry and artillery raids broke out during the battle, and the Saxons gained the advantage. While their original intention was to merely disrupt and hold back the French for an hour, lessons from the Battle of Gravelotte influenced Prince George's decision to attempt to encircle the French.[11] Casualties totaled 600 people on both sides.[16]

As night fell, the French made a six hour long retreat through the woods to Beaumont.[16] The Germans did not pursue.

Aftermath

The fighting in Nouart, alongside a less drastic skirmish at outposts in Buzancy, and an earlier skirmish at Attigny to the rear, alerted Mac-Mahon to the presence of German forces.[17] The following day, de Failly was defeated at the Battle of Beaumont with the help of the I Royal Bavarian Corps, and Mac-Mahon was forced to withdraw to Sedan that night. There, his army was eventually besieged and destroyed several days later, leading to the capture of Napoleon III and ending the Second French Empire.[2][18]

References
  1. Sir Lonsdale Augustus Hale, The "people's war" in France, 1870-1871, page 12
  2. Stephen Badsey, The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871, page 48
  3. "The story of France, 1814-1914"
  4. Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Collected Works, Episode 22, Page 80
  5. "The Campaign of Sedan, August-September, 1870"
  6. Adolph Goetze, The Campaign of 1870-71, tr. by G. Graham, Page 31
  7. "With the royal headquarters in 1870-71"
  8. Elihu Rich, Germany and France, a popular history of the Franco-German war, Page 421
  9. Tony Jaques, Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O, Page 739
  10. "The Franco-German War of 1870—71" (written by Field Marshal Helmuth Von Moltke the Great).
  11. David J. A. Stone, First Reich: inside the German army during the war with France 1870-71, page 133
  12. "The War for the Rhine Frontier, 1870: Its Political and Military History"
  13. Julius von Pflugk-Harttung, Sir John Frederick Maurice, The Franco-German war, 1870-71, Page 222
  14. "The French Campaign, 1870-1871: Military Description"
  15. "A history of all nations from the earliest times; being a universal historical library"
  16. Michael Howard, The Franco-Prussian War: The German Invasion of France, 1870-1871, pages 198-199.
  17. William O'Connor Morris, The Campaign of 1870-1. Republished from The Times, page 103
  18. Spencer C. Tucker (Editor), A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East, p.1450

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