Siege of Metz (1870)
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| This articlemay rely excessively on sourcestoo closely associated with the subject,potentially preventing the article from beingverifiableandneutral.(October 2022) |
| Siege of Metz | |||||||||
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| Part of theFranco-Prussian War | |||||||||
 One of the Metz forts under German occupation after the French surrender | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Hesse-Darmstadt |
 French Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Prince Friedrich KarlFriedrich Franz II |
François Bazaine | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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Elements ofFirst ArmySecond Army | Army of the Rhine | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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Initially: 168,435[1] 642 field guns[1] September: 197,326 |
154,481[1] 694 field guns[1] 2,876 fortress guns | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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5,740 killed and wounded 40,000 sick |
12,481 killed and wounded, 193,000 men, 622 field guns, 2,876 fortress guns, 72mitrailleuses, 260,000 rifles captured | ||||||||
TheSiege of Metzwas a battle fought during theFranco-Prussian Warfrom August 19 to October 27, 1870 and ended in a decisive allied German victory.
The FrenchArmy of the RhineunderFrançois Bazaineretreated into theMetz fortressafter its defeat by the Germans at theBattle of Gravelotteon 18 August 1870. The fortress was promptly surrounded by German forces underPrince Friedrich Karl of Prussia.The FrenchArmy of Châlonswas sent to relieve the Army of the Rhine but was itself encircled and annihilated by the German armies at theBattle of Sedanon 1–2 September.
Unable to capture the fortress by bombardment or storm, the besieging Germans resorted to starving the French to submission. French attempts to break out ended in defeat at the battles ofNoissevilleon 31 August – 1 September andBellevueon 7 October. French food supplies ran out on 20 October andFrançois Achille Bazainesurrendered the fortress and the entireArmy of the Rhine,some 193,000 men, into German hands on 27 October.
The annihilation of the French Army of the Rhine freed Prince Friedrich Karl's armies for operations against French forces in theLoireriver valley for the rest of the war.Metzwas annexed into theGerman Empireafter the signing of theTreaty of Frankfurton 10 May 1871.
Background[edit]
After being held at theBattle of Gravelotte,MarshalBazaine retreated into thedefenses of Metz.There he was besieged by over 150,000 Prussian troops of the First and Second Armies on 19 August.[2][3]
Prelude[edit]
Napoleon IIIand MarshalPatrice de MacMahonformed the new FrenchArmy of Châlons,to march on to Metz to rescue Bazaine. Napoleon III personally led the army with Marshal MacMahon in attendance. The Army of Châlons marched north-east towards the Belgian border to avoid the Prussians before striking south to link up with Bazaine. The Prussians, under the command ofField MarshalCountHelmuth von Moltke,took advantage of this maneuver to catch the French in anencirclement.He left the Prussian First and Second Armies besieging Metz, except three corps detached to form the Army of the Meuse under the Crown Prince of Saxony. With this army and thePrussian Third Army,Moltke marched northward and caught up with the French atBeaumonton 30 August. After a stiff fight in which they lost 5,000 men and 40cannons,the French withdrew toward Sedan. Having reformed in the town, the Army of Châlons was immediately isolated by the converging Prussian armies. Napoleon III ordered the army to break out of the encirclement immediately. With MacMahon wounded on the previous day, GeneralAuguste-Alexandre Ducrottook command of the French troops in the field. The Army of Châlons was trapped and destroyed at theBattle of Sedan.[4][non-primary source needed]
Siege[edit]
The French calculated they had enough food for 70,000civiliansfor three and a half months and five months worth of provisions for a regulargarrison.Because the entire Army of the Rhine was trapped in the fortress, the provisions only lasted for 41 days and theoatsfor 25.[5][non-primary source needed]The Germans brought up 50heavy siege gunsfrom Germany to bombard Metz, but the fortress was too heavily stocked with artillery and well-built for it to be taken with the means available to the Germans. Unable to silence the fortress guns sufficiently to conduct siege operations, the besiegers opted to starve out the trapped French army. By September, about 25% of the 197,326-strong German siege force still lacked proper accommodations and the sick list inmilitary hospitalsgrew to 40,000 men. The Germans supplemented their meat rations with tinned food. The French situation was much worse, with riots breaking out among the starving army and city residents.[5][non-primary source needed][6][non-primary source needed]
The French attempted to break the siege first atNoissevilleon 31 August–1 September and again atBellevueon 7 October but were repulsed each time. Each side lost about 5,000 total men killed and wounded in these two attempts.[1]
On 20 October, the food provisions of the fortress ran out and the French Army of the Rhine subsisted afterward on the flesh of 20,000 horses, which were consumed at a rate of 1,000 per day.[7]Bazaine was forced to surrender his entire army on 27 October because of starvation.[3][8]The Prussians offered thehonors of warto the defeated French army, but, contrary to usual practice, Bazaine refused.[why?][9]
On 29 October, Prussian flags were raised on Metz'soutworksand the French Army of the Rhine marched out silently and in good order. They were taken prisoner by a Prussian Corps at each gate, put intobivouacsand supplied with food. The Germans allowed the French officers to keep theirswordsand remain in Metz, which was largely unharmed by the siege. The Germans immediately sent a train of food and live cattle to the city they had just conquered.[10][non-primary source needed]The French prisoners were sent by way ofSaarbrückenandTrierto prisoners of war camps, guarded byLandwehrbattalions.Bazaine was sent as a captive toKassel.The German26th Brigadewas stationed in Metz as garrison, with General von Kummer as commandant.[10][non-primary source needed][7][non-primary source needed]Dead horses, unburied corpses and burnt or putrefying refuse greeted the German conquerors on their entry, a testament to the suffering the French had endured.[10][non-primary source needed]
Aftermath[edit]
PrinceFriedrich Karland the Prussian Second Army were now free to move against the French force in theLoirearea. The siege is commemorated by the "Siegesmarsch von Metz" which uses parts of the "Die Wacht am Rhein".One notable figure present on the Prussian side was the prominent philosopherFriedrich Nietzsche,who served as a medical attendant. Nietzsche contracted bothdiphtheriaanddysenteryduring the siege, worsening his already poor state of health.[11]
Casualties[edit]
The French lost 167,000 enlisted men and 6,000 officers taken to prisoner-of-war camps on 27 October, as well as 20,000 sick who temporarily stayed behind in Metz.[10][non-primary source needed][7][non-primary source needed]Material losses were enormous and amounted to 622field guns,2,876 fortress guns, 72mitrailleuses,137,000chassepots,123,000 other small arms, vast stores of ammunition and 56French Imperial Eagles,all captured by the Germans.[10][7]The Germans lost 5,500 enlisted men and 240 officers killed and wounded, as well as large numbers of sick.[10][non-primary source needed][7]
Citations[edit]
- ^abcdeClodfelter 2017,p. 185.
- ^Michael Howard,The Franco Prussian WarISBN0-415-26671-8[page needed]
- ^abFortescue 2001,p. 9.
- ^German General Staff 1880,p. 177.
- ^abMoltke 1892,p. 160.
- ^Moltke 1892,p. 161.
- ^abcdeMoltke 1892,p. 166.
- ^Article onF. Bazainein Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^Howard 1991,p. 223.
- ^abcdefGerman General Staff 1880,p. 201.
- ^"Friedrich Nietzsche".The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. 2017.
References[edit]
- Clodfelter, M. (2017).Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015(4th ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland.ISBN978-0786474707.
- Fortescue, W. (2001) [2000].The Third Republic in France, 1870–1940: Conflicts and continuities.ISBN0-415-16944-5.
- German General Staff (1880).The Franco-German War 1870–71: Part 2; Volume 1.London: Clowes & Sons.[non-primary source needed]
- Howard, M.(1991).The Franco-Prussian War: The German Invasion of France 1870–1871.New York: Routledge.ISBN0-415-26671-8.
- Moltke, H. (1892).The Franco-German War of 1870–71.New York: Harper.[non-primary source needed]
