Battle of Bretoncelles

Battle of Bretoncelles
Part of Franco-Prussian War
Date November 21, 1870 Location Bretoncelles, Orne, France Result German Victory
Belligerents
French Republic	North German Confederation Prussia
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Freidrich Franz II
Casualties and losses
250 Captured	Unknown

The Battle of Bretoncelles was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War, was held on November 21, 1870, in Bretoncelles, under Orne, France. This engagement ended with the defeat of the French army, against a force of the Prussian army under the command of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who forced the French to conduct a retreat. The Battle of Bretoncelles was one of the most important battles in the advance of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg in late 1870.

The Battle

The Battle of Bretoncelles broke out in a narrow gorge in the hills of a densely forested and treacherous area. French troops had deployed guns and cannons to quell the canyon door. They called one of these cannons on a German company carrying a cannon into the gorge. However, the Germans immediately launched their army of soldiers into combat, and at the same time, the German artillery forces entered the battle. Not long after that, the French batteries on the right side of the valley were silenced, and the French were badly beaten. The French batteries were moved in the opposite direction, where the battle continued. Behind the forests, covering the lower part of the hillside was an area with many fields and barriers; once the French were driven out of their first defense position, they flocked to this area. They hid in the bushes and other hiding places and shot quickly at the enemy while the German soldiers were advancing through open spaces before the French could retreat to their next vantage point. This sporadic skirmish continued for an extended time, and sometimes the French held out for 10 or 45 minutes. However, in the end, a powerful attack by a substantial German force descended on the village from the hillsides in the rear and completely overwhelmed the French position. Many French soldiers gave up their weapons and gathered in the orchards to become prisoners once the Germans arrived.

The main French army retreated in the direction of Nogent-le-Rotrou. However, for the next hour or two, the victors continued to shell them. The German army took 250 French troops as prisoners, and within three days, this number grew to 600. Several French POWs were temporarily held in a quaint church in Bretoncelles, and some of them were children. All of these prisoners were men who had no intention of joining the French army. Several other minor skirmishes also occurred during the campaigns of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, which were won by the German army.