The Battle of Sceaux took place during the Franco-Prussian War on October 13, 1870.[2] In this battle, the German army under the command of General Jakob von Hartmann repelled the French army 's siege when Paris was under German siege,[3] causing the French army heavy losses. Several other French breakthroughs in late 1870 were also broken by the Germans.[3]

Battle of Sceaux

Saint-Cloud from German bombardment after the Battle of Châtillon
DateOctober 13, 1870[1]
Location
Result Bavarian victory[3]
Belligerents
 French Republic  Kingdom of Bavaria
Commanders and leaders
Joseph Vinoy[2] Jakob von Hartmann[4]
Units involved
Unknown II Corps[5]
Strength
25,000 men, 80 cannons[2] Unknown
Casualties and losses
400 casualties[2]

Source 1 : 400 casualties[2]
Source 2 : 10 officers and 860 soldiers casualties [5]

Source 3 : 388 casualties, including 10 officers[4]

The Battle

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Two weeks after being repulsed at the Battle of Chevilly, French general Joseph Vinoy again conducted an expedition south of Paris.[2] After a heavy artillery bombardment from the forts to the south, Vinoy sent three vertical formations towards the Clamart heights. General Von Hartmann of Germany implemented a strategy to let the enemy go too far, so that his army would surround the enemy and push them into the range of German artillery and infantry.[4] At the beginning of the attack, the French defeated the outposts of the II corps from Châtillon and Sceaux. However, the German army had already positioned its reserve force behind the fortress of Montrouge, which would be used once the French had captured the heights at Châtillon and the Bavarian artillery positions. After a battle that lasted for about 6 hours (including the participation of the 8th and then 7th Bavarian brigade ),[5] the German crossfire forced the French to run away.[4] As during the French defeat at Châtillon, the French artillery on Mount Valérien made it difficult for the Bavarians to counterattack.[1]

The next major breakout of the French army would be the Battle of Buzenval[2] on the last month October 21, 1870, the German army would defeat the French again.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b Geoffrey Wawro, The Franco-Prussian War: The German Conquest of France in 1870-1871, Page 254
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Tony Jacques, Dictionary of Battles and Sieges, Page 96
  3. ^ a b c "Paris and environs with routes from London to Paris; handbook for travellers"
  4. ^ a b c d August Niemann, The French Campaign, 1870-1871: Military Description (1872), Page 293
  5. ^ a b c "The siege operations in the campaign against France, 1870-71."
  6. ^ "Journals of Field-Marshall Count von Blumenthal for 1866 and 1870-71;"