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Battle of Pontarlier

The Battle of Pontarlier,[12] also known as the Battle of Pontarlier-La Cluse,[13] was the final military operation of the Franco-Prussian War,[14] that took place from January 29 to February 2, 1871, near Pontarlier and La Cluse-et-Mijoux, not long after the newly formed German Empire and French Republic had a ceasefire.[2][4] During these engagements, the German Army of the South, under the command of Lieutenant General Edwin von Manteuffel won over the French Eastern Army under the command of General Justin Clinchant,[6][15] the battle forced the French Eastern Army to withdraw to neutral Switzerland.[7] The strong efforts of the German armies led by General August von Werder in The previous Battle of the Lisaine, as well as that of General Von Manteuffel's armies at the Battle of Pontarlier, resulted in the collapse of the assault on southern Germany which the Eastern Army had expected to be ruined.[16] At the same time, the defeat of the Eastern Army finally forced the French Interior Minister Léon Gambetta to end resistance to the Germans.[7] The defeat at Pontarlier also brought the French heavy losses,[10] including a large number of soldiers being taken prisoner.[7]

Battle of Pontarlier
Part of Franco-Prussian War

Pontarlier in 1878
DateJanuary 29 — February 2, 1871[2]
Location
Pontarlier, Doubs, France[3][4][5]
46°55′05″N 6°21′31″E / 46.917985°N 6.358686°E / 46.917985; 6.358686
Result German Victory[6][7]
Belligerents
 French Republic  German Empire[1]
Commanders and leaders
Justin Clinchant[8] Edwin von Manteuffel[9]
Units involved
Eastern Army Army of the South[6]
Casualties and losses
15,000 troops captured (among them 2 generals), 10 artillery pieces and mitrailleuse machine guns, a large amount of ammunition and weapons were seized[10] 19 officers and 365 soldiers killed[11]

Background

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At December 1870, the French minister Charles-Denis Bourbaki was commanding the Eastern Army and march to Belfort to relieve the fortress. However, the German general August von Werder thwarted Bourbaki's attack at the Battle of the Lisaine in early 1871.[17] On January 22, 1871, Bourbaki and his weary army withdrew to Besançon.[8] Another German army under General Von Manteuffel also appeared and the French Eastern Army was in danger of being caught between the two German armies.[17] . The situation forced Bourbaki to retreat to Pontarlier as the only way.[8] Feeling the disgrace of his army, the ill-fated general handed over command of the corps to General Clinchant on 24 January, after which he shot himself in the head but did not die.[14] That same day, in their swift eastward march, Manteuffel's forces crossed the Doubs and captured the canyons of the Swiss border to close the siege with Werder.[10] Meanwhile, Clinchant had made the retreat of all his legions to Pontarlier,[14] and was followed closely behind by Manteuffel.[8] And, on 29 January, Manteuffel launched a general offensive:[14] that afternoon, the midfield force of the German 14th Division defeated the French rear at Sombacourt and Chaffois and repelled the French to Pontarlier. On the same day, the midfielders of the 2nd German Army engaged a French army near Les Planches to cover the way that Clinchant could make the crossing into Switzerland. The French were again defeated, but the consequences of this defeat were mitigated when Manteuffel ordered the 2nd Army to turn to Frasne. The exhaustion of the French forces made it impossible for Clinchant to consider fleeing south if possible.[15] After a full day of fighting,[18] on January 30, the German 2nd Army attacked Frasne and defeated the French, driving the French further away.[14]

The Battle

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That day, information about the armistice agreement between the two countries on January 28 enabled Clinchant to enter the negotiation phase, but Manteuffel did not accept. But in a fierce battle on January 31, he captured the roads at St. Marie, in the mountains south of Pontarlier. By mid-February 1, 1871, the German army was ready to launch an attack on Pontarlier.[14] At the beginning of the day, General Clinchant signed an agreement with the Commander-in-Chief of the Swiss Army under which his army was allowed to cross the border and disarm in Switzerland. The retreat was made after the agreement was finalized,[14] and in the afternoon, a brigade commanded by Du Trossel of the 2nd North German Army successfully attacked the town. The French army suffered heavy losses. After this victory, Du Trossel pursued the enemy across the pass and to the fortresses of Larmont and Joux, where the Germans were delayed.[15] The last French resistance finally withdrew,[19] the retreat to Switzerland was a great disaster for the French army.[14] The intense marches and battles of Von Manteuffel's three-week campaign brought him an important victory. It also shows the season of the German army under the ingenious and daring command.[11]

References

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  1. ^ William J. Duiker, Jackson J. Spielvogel, The Essential World History, Volume 2: Since 1500, p. 481: "On January 18, 1871, in the Chamber of Mirrors in the […] Palace of Versailles of Louis XIV, Wilhelm I was crowned Emperor (Kaiser) of the empire. Second German Empire (First was the Holy Roman Empire Middle Ages)".
  2. ^ a b Tony Jaques, Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity Through the Twenty-First Century, Volume 3, Page 809
  3. ^ Elizabeth Peake, History of the German emperors and their contemporaries, Page 572
  4. ^ a b Pontarlier - Geographical Names
  5. ^ Prussia (Kingdom). Armee. Grosser Generalstab. Kriegsgeschichtliche Abteilung II., Francis Coningsby Hannam Clarke, The Franco-German War, 1870-1871..., Volume 2, Issue Number 3, Page 74
  6. ^ a b c "Bismarck in the Franco-German war, 1870-1871"
  7. ^ a b c d "Men who have made the new German empire. A series of brief biographic sketches"
  8. ^ a b c d "Germany, 1815-1890"
  9. ^ "Moltke, a biographical and critical study"
  10. ^ a b c Edmund Ollier, Cassell's history of the war between France and Germany, 1870-1871, Volume 2, Pages 184-185.
  11. ^ a b "The Franco-German War of 1870—71" (Helmuth von Moltke)
  12. ^ Hermann Klüting, Soldaten in Westfalen und am Niederrhein: das Königlich Preussische VII. Armeekorps: mit einer Bibliographie zur Geschichte der zum Korps gehörenden Einheiten, Page 35
  13. ^ Julius von Pflugk-Harttung, Krieg und Sieg, 1870-71: ein Gedenkbuch, Page 554
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h August Niemann, The French campaign, 1870-1871: Military description, Pages 398-399.
  15. ^ a b c Wilhelm Rüstow, The war for the Rhine frontier, 1870: Its political and military history, Volume 1, Pages 207-211.
  16. ^ E. J. Hoffschmidt, German Army, Navy uniforms and insignia: 1871-1918, Page 7
  17. ^ Spencer C. Tucker (biên tập), A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East, Page 1455
  18. ^ Geoffrey Wawro, The Franco-Prussian War: The German Conquest of France in 1870-1871, Page 298
  19. ^ Michael Howard, The Franco-Prussian War: The German Invasion of France, 1870-1871, Pages 429-431.
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