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The Battle of Lagarde took place on August 11, 1914, during World War I and was one of the last battles in military history to feature a large-scale cavalry charge at the brigade level.[1][2][3]
Background
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In early August 1914, the Bavarian Cavalry Division, serving as army cavalry, probed the well-entrenched French border defenses in Lorraine during the initial deployment on the Western Front.[4] The Bavarian Uhlan Brigade, consisting of the 1st Uhlan Regiment and the 2nd Uhlan Regiment, part of the Bavarian Cavalry Division, had to march back and forth across Lorraine between August 6 and 10 without finding a gap in the French lines.[5] The hard roads took a severe toll on the horses.[3]
On August 10, the French became active and managed to capture the village of Lagarde (known as Gerden from 1871 to 1918) near the border in the German part of Lorraine.[6] To counter this, Lieutenant General Otto von Stetten, commander of the Bavarian Cavalry Division, and Lieutenant General Hasso von Bredow, leader of the 42nd Infantry Division, decided to conduct a forceful reconnaissance against Lagarde on August 11.[7][8]
Results
editThe Germans captured eleven guns, several machine guns, and 1,400 prisoners. A fallen French brigadier general was found with a two-day-old army order revealing the French battle plan in Lorraine. The Bavarian Uhlan Brigade lost 16 officers, 219 soldiers, and 304 horses.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Bavarian Cavlary Charge at the Battle of Lagarde (1914)". ScholarWorks at WMU. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ "The Lagarde National Cemetery". Chemins de mémoire. 11 August 1914. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ a b Satter, Alfred (2004). Die deutsche Kavallerie im ersten Weltkrieg (in German). Norderstedt: BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN 3-8334-1564-9.
- ^ Herwig, H.H. (2009). The Marne, 1914: The Opening of World War I and the Battle That Changed the World. Random House. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-4000-6671-1. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ Deuringer, K.; Zuber, T. (2014). The First Battle of the First World War: Alsace-Lorraine. History Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7509-5179-1. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ "The Marne, 1914: The Opening of World War I and the Battle That Changed the World". Erenow. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ Korfes, O.; Zuber, T. (2016). The German 66 Regiment First World War: The German Perspective. History Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-7509-6686-3. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Baptism of Fire: Lagarde 1914". The Soldier's Burden. Retrieved 6 July 2024.