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	Friedrich Franz II
Casualties and losses
250 Captured	Unknown

The Battle of Bretoncelles^[5]^[6] was an event in the Franco-Prussian War.^[4] It occurred on November 21, 1870,^[7] in Bretoncelles, Orne, France.^[2] This engagement ended with the defeat of the French army,^[3] when the Prussian army under the command of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin forced the French to retreat. The Battle of Bretoncelles was one of the most important battles in the advance of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg in late 1870.^[4]

The Battle

The Battle of Bretoncelles took place in a narrow gorge in the hills of a densely forested area. French troops had deployed guns and cannons to quell the canyon opening. They used these cannons on a German company carrying a cannon into the gorge. The Germans retaliated and mobilised their artillery. The French were beaten and the batteries on the right-hand side of the hill overrun. The French batteries were moved in the opposite direction, where the battle continued. The French had retreated to a secondary defensive position. They hid in the bushes and other hiding places and shot at the enemy while the German soldiers were advancing through open spaces before the French could retreat to their next vantage point. The battle continued, with French forces occasionally providing resistance in short bursts. An attack by a German force overwhelmed the French position. Many French soldiers gave up their weapons and surrendered in the orchards once the Germans arrived.^[4]

The main French army retreated in the direction of Nogent-le-Rotrou. However, for the next couple hours, 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 church in Bretoncelles, and some of them were children. All of these prisoners were conscripts. Several other minor skirmishes also occurred during the campaigns of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, which were won by the German army.^[4]

References

^ Kurt Schmidt, Gotha, das Buch einer deutschen Stadt, Volume 2, Page 219
^ ^a ^b Georges d' Heylli, Journal du siége de Paris: Décrets, proclamations, circulaires, rapports, notes, renseignements, documents divers officiels et autres publiés, Volume 3, Page 622
^ ^a ^b Reginald Welbury Jeffery, The new Europe, 1789-1889, Page 346
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Edmund Ollier, Cassell's history of the war between France and Germany, 1870-1871, Pages 520-521.
^ Edmund Ollier, Cassell's history of the war between France and Germany, 1870-1871, Appendix.
^ Émile Louis Gustave Deshayes de Marcère, Le seize mai et la fin du septennat, Page 301
^ Revue de l'Anjou, Page 470

[1] Kurt Schmidt, Gotha, das Buch einer deutschen Stadt, Volume 2, Page 219

[georgesheydllitra632-2] Georges d' Heylli, Journal du siége de Paris: Décrets, proclamations, circulaires, rapports, notes, renseignements, documents divers officiels et autres publiés, Volume 3, Page 622

[motchauaumoi17891889-3] Reginald Welbury Jeffery, The new Europe, 1789-1889, Page 346

[edmundolliertrang520-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Edmund Ollier, Cassell's history of the war between France and Germany, 1870-1871, Pages 520-521.

[5] Edmund Ollier, Cassell's history of the war between France and Germany, 1870-1871, Appendix.

[6] Émile Louis Gustave Deshayes de Marcère, Le seize mai et la fin du septennat, Page 301

[7] Revue de l'Anjou, Page 470

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