Battle of Le Mans: Difference between revisions
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===German situation=== |
===German situation=== |
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[[File:Christian Sell Westf Inf Reg 17.jpg|thumb|The 17th (4th Westphalian) Infantry Regiment at Le Mans by [[Christian Sell]]]] |
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Moltke observed the French attempts to reform their defeated armies and decided to defeat them before they could do so.{{sfn|Howard|1991|p=315}} With the benefit of the improved supply situation, on 1 January 1871 he ordered Friedrich Karl to advance west between [[Vendôme]] and [[Chartres]] and destroy Chanzy's forces.{{sfn|Howard|1991|p=315}} |
Moltke observed the French attempts to reform their defeated armies and decided to defeat them before they could do so.{{sfn|Howard|1991|p=315}} With the benefit of the improved supply situation, on 1 January 1871 he ordered Friedrich Karl to advance west between [[Vendôme]] and [[Chartres]] and destroy Chanzy's forces.{{sfn|Howard|1991|p=315}} |
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==The Battle== |
==The Battle== |
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[[File:Bataille du Mans.jpg|thumb|left|Colonel Rousset encourages his men at Le Mans by [[Maurice Orange]]]] |
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The French army was greatly demoralized and ill-equipped. Much of the French ammunition had been soaked in the rain giving the Prussians a major advantage against the obsolete French gunnery. But Chanzy still ordered his forces into trenches prepared before Le Mans. The Germans hit the French left flank guarded by the [[Huisne River]]. The flank was turned and nearly routed until artillery and a counterattack halted the German attack. A bold German attack was launched on the French right flank, which fell apart. Corps commander [[Jean Bernard Jauréguiberry]] attempted to rally the broken troops to mount a counterattack but failed to do so. The French defense dissolved, the stragglers falling back into Le Mans.{{sfn|Howard|1991|p=318}}{{sfn|Wawro|2003|p=292}} |
The French army was greatly demoralized and ill-equipped. Much of the French ammunition had been soaked in the rain giving the Prussians a major advantage against the obsolete French gunnery. But Chanzy still ordered his forces into trenches prepared before Le Mans. The Germans hit the French left flank guarded by the [[Huisne River]]. The flank was turned and nearly routed until artillery and a counterattack halted the German attack. A bold German attack was launched on the French right flank, which fell apart. Corps commander [[Jean Bernard Jauréguiberry]] attempted to rally the broken troops to mount a counterattack but failed to do so. The French defense dissolved, the stragglers falling back into Le Mans.{{sfn|Howard|1991|p=318}}{{sfn|Wawro|2003|p=292}} |
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Revision as of 20:38, 16 June 2017
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (June 2017) |
| Battle of Le Mans | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Franco-Prussian War | |||||||
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Germany |
 France | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Prince Friedrich Karl |
Antoine Chanzy | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Second Army | Armée de la Loire | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 73,000 | 150,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 3,418 |
79,000 7,000 killed and wounded 22,000 captured 50,000 deserted | ||||||
The Battle of Le Mans was a German victory during the Franco-Prussian War that ended French resistance in western France.
Background
After capturing the armies of the French Empire at Sedan and Metz in the fall of 1870, the German armies under the command of Helmuth von Moltke besieged Paris in September 1870. The newly-formed French Third Republic rejected a German peace offer and decided to continue the war and raise fresh armies to defeat the Germans.
The first French attempt to relieve Paris was defeated by the Germans at Orléans from 2 to 4 December by Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia's Second Army. After a second defeat at Beaugency on 10 December, General Antoine Chanzy's poorly supplied Armée de la Loire retreated undisturbed west to Le Mans on 15 December. Friedrich Karl's army was at the limits of its lines of communications and subject to franc-tireur attacks. His cavalry could not pursue along the icy roads.[1] The war was also taking its toll on the Germans, with much of the Prince's infantry by now being composed of inexperienced recruits unaccustomed to long marches.[2] Two days later Moltke confirmed the order to not pursue.[2]
The retreat to Le Mans through the muddy and hilly terrain proved disastrous for the French army.[2] Thousands of soldiers deserted, clogging the roads or hiding in the forests.[1] Lack of paved roads resulted in entire convoys getting immobilized along the way.[2] The force that arrived in Le Mans was exhausted from the poor march organization and constant defeats.[2]
Le Mans had rail lines to Nantes, Brest and Paris and thus provided the French with lines of retreat.[1] Chanzy began to prepare the city for the defensive.[3] The city had no significant geographical or fortified defenses and Chanzy's maintenance of his position was dependent on German supply difficulties south of Paris.[4] The German General Staff was able to overcome these deficiencies and prepare Friedrick Karl's army for an offensive to destroy the Armée de la Loire.[5]
German situation
Moltke observed the French attempts to reform their defeated armies and decided to defeat them before they could do so.[6] With the benefit of the improved supply situation, on 1 January 1871 he ordered Friedrich Karl to advance west between Vendôme and Chartres and destroy Chanzy's forces.[6]
French situation
Chanzy submitted plans to the Government of National Defense for another attack on the German siege army at Paris.[6] The government persuaded him to await until the second week of January, when two new army corps would have been raised at Cherbourg and Vierzon.[6]
Chanzy sent a division-sized column under General Alphonse Jouffroy to harass the German Second Army and cover his preparations.[6] Jouffroy ambushed two German battalions on 27 December at Troo but the Germans fought their way out.[6] The French column then attacked the German position in the town of Vendôme on 31 December but was defeated.[6] Jouffroy prepared for another attack on 5 January that ran straight into Friedrich Karl's offensive.[6]
The Battle
The French army was greatly demoralized and ill-equipped. Much of the French ammunition had been soaked in the rain giving the Prussians a major advantage against the obsolete French gunnery. But Chanzy still ordered his forces into trenches prepared before Le Mans. The Germans hit the French left flank guarded by the Huisne River. The flank was turned and nearly routed until artillery and a counterattack halted the German attack. A bold German attack was launched on the French right flank, which fell apart. Corps commander Jean Bernard Jauréguiberry attempted to rally the broken troops to mount a counterattack but failed to do so. The French defense dissolved, the stragglers falling back into Le Mans.[7][3]
Results
The battle had completely ended French resistance in the west. Friedrich Karl's supply lines were stretched thin and his army also was exhausted from its campaign along the Loire River that he did not pursue Chanzy. However, Chanzy's army was so demoralized and fatigued after the battle that it ceased to be an effective force and the fighting around the Loire came to an end.
Footnotes
- ^ a b c Wawro 2003, p. 288.
- ^ a b c d e Howard 1991, p. 307.
- ^ a b Wawro 2003, p. 292.
- ^ Howard 1991, p. 314.
- ^ Howard 1991, pp. 314–315.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Howard 1991, p. 315.
- ^ Howard 1991, p. 318.
References
- Howard, M. (1991) [1961]. The Franco-Prussian War: The German Invasion of France 1870–1871. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-26671-8.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Wawro, G. (2003). The Franco-Prussian War: The German Conquest of France in 1870–1871. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-58436-1.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)