Siege of Marsal

The siege of Marsal was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War on August 13 to 14[8][2] between the French Empire and the combined German forces of Prussia and Bavaria in Marsal[9] Under the command of Lieutenant General Jakob von Hartmann,[4] after replacing the Prussian 4th Cavalry Division, II Corps of the Kingdom of Bavaria forced the surrender of the French Empire's defenses ,[2][8] after a brief resistance by the French troops stationed at the fortress.[10] Marsal fell to the German army in the same period as the French fortresses of Lichtenberg, La Petite-Pierre and Vitry.[11] With the quick victory of the Bavarian army at Marsal,[2] 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,[8] as well as hundreds of prisoners[3] (including some officers of the French army).[8]

Siege of Marsal
Part of Franco-Prussian War
DateAugust 13[1] — 14,[2] 1870
Location
Marsal, Moselle, France
Result German victory
Belligerents
 French Empire

 North German Confederation

 Bavaria[3]
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Jakob von Hartmann[4]
Friedrich von Bothmer[1]
Units involved
Unknown II Corps
Strength
600 troops and 60 – 70 artillery pieces [1][5] Brigade Infantry No. 7,[1] Brigade Trade cavalry and 7 artillery reserves[6][7]
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[7][8] Unknown

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[8] and were unable to capture Marsal.[1] 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.[7][8][12][13] Under the command of Von Bothmer, the Bavarian army opened fire,[1] and agreement was made between the Germans and the French garrison. In the process,[8] a brief German bombardment destroyed a French artillery depot. The German infantry also advanced and took control of a number of fortifications.[1] 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.[1][8]

During the campaign of 1870 - 1871, Marsal, along with Lichtenberg, were two French fortresses that fell to the German army after only a shelling.[8] The defenders of Marsal fortress are reported to have fired a single shot when the fortress was besieged by the Bavarians.[7]

References
  1. Wilhelm Rüstow, The war for the Rhine frontier, 1870: its political and military history, Volume 1, pages 297-298.
  2. "Men who have made the new German empire. A series of brief biographic sketches"
  3. 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...".
  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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