Siege of Marsal

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Siege of Marsal
Part of Franco-Prussian War
DateAugust 13 [1] – 14, [2] 1870
Location
Result German victory
Belligerents
Flag of France (1794-1815).svg  French Empire

Flag of Germany (1867-1919).svg  North German Confederation

Flag of Bavaria (striped).svg  Bavaria [3]
Commanders and leaders
Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg UnknownFlag of Bavaria (striped).svg Jakob von Hartmann [4]
Flag of Bavaria (striped).svg Friedrich von Bothmer [1]
Units involved
UnknownFlag of Bavaria (striped).svg 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 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]

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]

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References

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