The siege of Marsal was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War on August 13 to 14[8][3] 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,[3][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,[3] 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[1] (including some officers of the French army).[8]
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.[2] 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,[2] 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.[2] 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.[2][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
- ^ a b 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...".
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wilhelm Rüstow, The war for the Rhine frontier, 1870: its political and military history, Volume 1, pages 297-298.
- ^ a b c d "Men who have made the new German empire. A series of brief biographic sketches"
- ^ a b Charles Kendall Adams, Johnson's universal cyclopaedia, Episode 4.
- ^ "The French campaign, 1870-1871: Military description"
- ^ "Journals of Field-Marshal Count von Blumenthal for 1866 and 1870-71"
- ^ a b c d "The Franco-German War, 1870-1871..."
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "The siege operations in the campaign against France, 1870-71."
- ^ "The earth and its inhabitants.."
- ^ "The Franco-German War of 1870—71" (of the Marshal Helmuth Von Moltke)
- ^ Edmund Ollier, Cassell's history of the war between France and Germany, 1870-1871, page 321
- ^ The London Quarterly Review, Tập 129, trang 233
- ^ Henry Smith Williams, France, 1815-1904, Netherlands, trang 151
