WISSEMBOURG 4TH AUGUST 1870
(Refought using 'Volley and Bayonet' on the 4th January 1998)
Written by Tony Cane
Dear Sir
I recently had the honour to be his Britannic Majesties independent observer at one of the opening battles of the recent conflict between France and the German states. The events leading to this battle are thus. The French Emperor had decided (no doubt on political grounds) that a more significant advance than that of Saarbrucken was to be undertaken with the view to winning a battle on German soil. As a result Marshal MacMahon was ordered to move both 1st and 5th Corps in an advance into German territory to his immediate front. With one division already deployed at Wissembourg and the need to concentrate his forces before assuming the offensive this was chosen as the assembly point for the two corps.
Unbeknown to the French, the German Third army was also moving forward, with Wissembourg as part of is objectives, but with even less knowledge of the dispositions of the French.
The 2nd Bavarian Corps were the first arrive within striking distance of Wissembourg, and proceed with a rather ineffectual bombardment of the old walled town. The first shells began falling soon after 8.00am. Douay, the commander of the 2nd division of 1st Corps, responded by garrisoning the town with two brigades and forming the rest of his division up on the Geissberg hill in support.
At 10.00 the Bavarians began the first of may assaults on the walls of Wissembourg before they finally ejected the defenders. The Prussian 5th Corps had by now advanced to support the Bavarians on their left and had formed up in the village of Altenstadt. Further to the left the Prussian 11th Corps had pushed its 22nd Division forward to the cover of the railway line outflanking the French position on the Geissberg hill. This remained just a threat for some time as 11th Corps slowly assembled its full force, which had to arrive by a single road.
By 11.00 the fight for Wissembourg had become desperate. All the artillery of the Bavarian Corps and most of that from 5th Corps were pouring shells into the east of the town, while the Bavarian infantry assaulted the west side. French losses allowed the Bavarians to break in only for them to be ejected again as Douay threw in his Turcos.
Midday saw the leading elements of both French Corps arriving on to the field, but it proved to be too late for the gallant defenders of Wissembourg. The Turcos were destroyed as a fighting force by sheer weight of bayonets and shells, and this lead to the complete collapse of Douay's command. The Prussian 5th Corps was still making slow progress towards the Geissberg hill, and the 11th Corps had now fully deployed along the railway line it had been sheltering behind since 10.00. The Bavarians began facing up to the threat posed by the arrival of the French 5th Corps on their open right flank.
The French 5th Corps advanced their 2nd division directly on to the Geissberg hill and began assembling a grand battery of divisional and Corps artillery on this vantage point. 1st Corps was arriving from the South directly behind the Geissberg but was suffering from some particularly accurate fire from the German guns.
1.00pm proved to be the high water mark of the French efforts that day. Their 5th Corps had advanced its 3rd Division to the Lauter River to attack the Bavarians and 1st and 2nd divisions of 1st Corps advanced towards the Prussians defending the railway line intent on bringing the German artillery within Chassepot range. This attack was met by a counter offensive by 11th Corps and by 2.00 the 1st and 3rd divisions of 1st Corps were no longer an effective fighting force
The Bavarian infantry, being out ranged by the French Chassepot retired behind their gun line and an ill judged assault on this by cavalry and infantry of 5th Corps resulted in such a bloody repulse that by 3.00 the forces involved took no further part in the battle.
At 4.00 there was a lull in the battle as, with the offensive power of the French exhausted, the Germans reorganised themselves for the final assault.
(The photographs were taken at this point.)
By 5.00 the Prussian 5th Corps finally made is presence felt in the centre as it mounted its first assaults on the Geissberg Chateaux. The Bavarians rather half-heartedly supported them, know doubt thinking that they had already done enough that day. The Bavarian gunners were however still very effective and with no immediate threats to themselves turned their sights on the destruction of the French grand battery on the Geissberg hill.
The French were by now barely hanging on and waiting for nightfall. The German 11th Corps had pulled back to its railway line position to rely on the artillery for the final act, one suspects that these troops and the Bavarians were not is as good a shape they appeared. The pressure in the centre, however, was too much and the Geissberg Chateaux fell around 6.00. The final desperate act of this day's conflict occurred around 7.00 when the French threw in their heavy cavalry in an attempt to stabilise the centre. This succeeded out of all expectations. More by good fortune than management this caught a brigade of 5th Corps in the flank and so cut it up that it unnerved the whole leading division, and the French were thus able to disengage with little difficulty in the gathering gloom
The result was a clear victory for the Germans with their earlier and more patient deployment paying dividends on the extended and somewhat rash advances of the French. The Germans had however suffered grievous looses, which they had managed to hide from the French, and would take some time to recover.
In V&B terms this battle involved 7 division on both sides, but the Wurtembourg division never actually made any significant contribution to the battle having come on last down an already congested road.
The final state of each division was as follows:
French 1st Corps
1st Division collapsed
2nd Division collapsed
3rd Division collapsed
4th Division 8 hits to exhaustion
French 5th Corps
1st Division 6 hits to exhaustion
2nd Division exhausted
3rd Division collapsed
Prussian 5th Corps
9th Division 12 hits to exhaustion
10th Division Collapsed
Prussian 11th Corps
21st Division 4 hits to exhaustion
22nd Division 3 hits to exhaustion
Bavarian 2nd Corps
1st Division 1 hit to exhaustion
2nd Division 9 hits to exhaustion
In terms of hits inflicted the French caused 57 that counted towards exhaustion and 74 in total
The Germans 66 towards exhaustion and 84 in total.
These pictures were taken by Tony Cane, at about 4:00pm game time.
The Prussian 5th Corps advancing between Wissembourg and the Geissberg chateau.
The Bavarian gun line with the wreckage of 2nd division 5th Corps on the foreground
The French position on the Geissberg hill
Another shot of the Prussian 5th Corps advancing between Wissembourg and the Geissberg chateau.