Siege of Marsal

Siege of Marsal
	Part of Franco-Prussian War
Date	August 13 – 14, 1870
Location	Marsal, Moselle, France
Result	German victory
Belligerents
French Empire	North German Confederation Prussia; Bavaria
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Jakob von Hartmann; Friedrich von Bothmer
Units involved
Unknown	II Corps
Strength
600 troops and 60 – 70 artillery pieces	Brigade Infantry No. 7, Brigade Trade cavalry and 7 artillery reserves
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	Unknown

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

[friedrichduc-1] 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...".

[wilhelmrustow-2] ^ ^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.

[dequocducmoi-3] "Men who have made the new German empire. A series of brief biographic sketches"

[charleskendall-4] Charles Kendall Adams, Johnson's universal cyclopaedia, Episode 4.

[5] "The French campaign, 1870-1871: Military description"

[6] "Journals of Field-Marshal Count von Blumenthal for 1866 and 1870-71"

[chientranhpdp-7] "The Franco-German War, 1870-1871..."

[Chiendichvayham-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "The siege operations in the campaign against France, 1870-71."

[9] "The earth and its inhabitants.."

[10] "The Franco-German War of 1870—71" (of the Marshal Helmuth Von Moltke)

[11] Edmund Ollier, Cassell's history of the war between France and Germany, 1870-1871, page 321

[nuocanhlondon-12] The London Quarterly Review, Tập 129, trang 233

[13] Henry Smith Williams, France, 1815-1904, Netherlands, trang 151

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