The siege of Neu-Breisach [11] was a battle of encirclement in the Franco-Prussian War,[7] which took place from 13 October [2] until 10 November 1870 in France.[11] A few days after the surrender at Fort Mortier of Neu-Breisach,[12] with a divisional reserve, German General Hermann von Schmeling forced the fortress of Neu-Breisach (which held an army garrison under command of Shanghai Colonel Lostie de Kerhor) which surrendered,[4][13] and won many spoils from the French army here.[9] The siege demonstrated the high efficiency of the Baden batteries.[11] With the surrender of Neu-Breisach, the Imperial German Army captured the last of the fortifications at Alsace, except for the Belfort and of Bitche.[14] After this victory, Von Schmeling moved his cannons southwest to carry out the Siege of Belfort.[7]
| Siege of Neu-Breisach | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Franco-Prussian War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 French Republic |
 Bavaria[1] Baden[1] | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Lostie de Kerhor[4] |
 Hermann von Schmeling[7] | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Unknown | 4th Reserve Division[8] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| More than 5,000 garrisoned[9] | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 100 officers and 5,000 soldiers were captured,[10] 108 fire cannons , 60 horses of the cavalry , 6,000 small arms and seized stocks[1][9] | 70 Soldiers[9] | ||||||
The French fortress of Neu-Breisach had a garrison of 5,000 men, while Fort Mortier, located near the Rhine, was built for independent defense.[9] In early October, detachments of the German Fourth Reserve Division command of General Schmeling were ordered beyond the Rhine from Breisgau to conduct a siege on Neu-Breisach. Near the evening of 10 May, a breakout of the French military from Neu-Breisach was attempted, only to be defeated. The same day, the German cannons caused heavy damage.[1] However, an intense field array of German troops could not force the officer commanding Neu-Breisach to surrender, so Schmeling switched focus to the Siege of Selestat.[4] After German artillery guns were brought in from Strasbourg,[1] Neu-Breisach was blockaded on 9 October 1870.[14] On 12 and 13 October, sporadic raids and engagements broke out, but to no avail.[1] On 13 October, the encirclement was completed, when in front of Neu-Breisach were 5,000 Prussians, who formed semicircular lines of battle, with the poles lying on the banks of the Rhine. On 16 October a French siege at Neu-Breisach was broken by the Germans.[2] Although Neu-Breisach was heavily damaged by German artillery during the siege,[11] the Germans remained unable to defeat Neu-Breisach quickly.[2]
On 26 October 1870, after defeating Sélestat, Major General von Schmeling - as commander of the Neu-Breisach siege and blockade corps consisting of Prussian, Bavarian and Baden units - sited the bulk of his division and the artillery battery placed in front of Sélestat south along the Rhine to carry out the siege of Neu-Breisach.[4][1][7] He undertook the siege of Neu-Breisach forcefully,[3] and during this period German infantry forces approached Neu-Breisach. On 2 November, from several locations such as Alt-Breisach, German cannons commenced fire.[9] In the face of aggressive German artillery fire, the French garrison put up a fierce resistance, although on 3 November , the Mortier fortress and its structures were destroyed along with a few artillery pieces. France here was damaged.[11] Finally, on 7 November, the attack took effect: French Captain Castelli surrendered at Fort Mortier[4] beneath the rubble.[9] The German army took prisoners and cannons from the French.[2] The French defending at Neu-Breisach were in a difficult position.[11] Three days after the fall of Mortier,[3] Neu-Breisach surrendered on the same terms as those at Sélestat.[9] On 11 November, the Prussian army occupied the city walls; an hour later, their prisoners left their posts.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "The siege operations in the campaign against France, 1870-71."
- ^ a b c d e Edmund Ollier, Cassell's history of the war between France and Germany, 1870-1871, Page 395
- ^ a b c "Men who have made the new German empire. A series of brief biographic sketches"
- ^ a b c d e f g "The War for the Rhine Frontier, 1870: Its Political and Military History"
- ^ George Bradshaw, Bradshaw's illustrated hand-book for travellers in Belgium, on the Rhine, and through portions of Rhenish Prussia, Page 174
- ^ "Wars of the century and the development of military science"
- ^ a b c d Tony Jaques, Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O, Page 722
- ^ Notes on the War. Engels 1870-71.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The Franco-German war of 1870-71"
- ^ Lowenbalk Hohenthal (Graf.), Vollständige Geschichte des deutschfranzösischen Krieges von 1870 und 1871, Page 496
- ^ a b c d e f "The Franco-German War, 1870-1871..."
- ^ George Ripley, Charles Anderson Dana, The American cyclopaedia: a popular dictionary of general knowledge, Volume 3, Page 247
- ^ "The historians' history of the world; a comprehensive narrative of the rise and development of nations as recorded by over two thousand of the great writers of all ages;"
- ^ a b August Niemann, The French campaign, 1870-1871: Military description, Pages 240-241.