Battle of Kaiserslautern
Battle of Kaiserslautern | |||||||
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Part of the French Revolution | |||||||
Kaiserslautern, engraving after Merian | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of Prussia Electorate Saxony |
Republican France | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Duke of Brunswick | Lazare Hoche | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
26,000 | 36,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
806–1,300 |
2,000–3,100 2 guns, 1 color | ||||||
The Battle of Kaiserslautern (28–30 November 1793) saw a Coalition army under
In the
Prologue
The 36,850-man Coalition army of
Landremont was soon ordered to send 12,000 soldiers to the Army of the North. This reduced the strength of his field force to 45,000 with an additional 39,000 in garrisons or in the Upper Rhine Division under Jean-Charles Pichegru.[5] Brunswick pressed forward toward the fortress of Bitche, driving back the Corps of the Vosges and the Army of the Moselle. At this moment, the French government dismissed Schauenburg for the crime of being an aristocrat. During his short tenure he had drilled the troops into better shape. The late commander of the Corps of the Vosges Jean René Moreaux was named to succeed him, but declined because an old wound had reopened.[6] A division commander, Jacques Charles René Delauney reluctantly took over the army on 30 September.[7] Landremont was also dismissed and arrested but his intended replacement, Antoine Guillaume Delmas was trapped in the siege of Landau. Pichegru was offered command of the Army of the Rhine but he refused. Since the generals saw that leading the army led to arrest or execution, none wanted to accept the command. Finally on 2 October, Jean Pascal Carlenc took command of the Army of the Rhine. He would quickly prove to be completely unfitted for the job.[6]
On 13 October 1793, a 43,185-man Coalition army led by
The French government reinforced the Army of the Moselle with 15,000 troops taken from the Army of the Rhine and 5,000 from the Army of the Ardennes. Both Hoche and Pichegru were well aware that the main objective was the relief of Landau. In mid-November 1793, Hoche advanced from the Saar with 36,000 troops while the rest of the army guarded the passes through the Vosges. Hoche used rough language with his subordinates; at this time he wrote one of his division commanders Jean-Jacques Ambert, "Listen, bugger of a sans-culotte...".[14] On 17 November, a Prussian raid on the fort at Bitche failed. Leopold Alexander von Wartensleben's column of 1,200 picked soldiers overran the outer defenses with the help of a French traitor. However, they were soon discovered and repulsed with casualties of 120 killed and 251 captured. The French lost 63 men captured and few other losses. The same day, the French divisions of Alexandre Camille Taponier and Louis Pierre Huet bumped into 13,000 Prussians under Friedrich Adolf, Count von Kalckreuth at Biesingen, north of Mandelbachtal. The 20,000 French troops were drubbed, losing 760 men killed or wounded and 42 captured against a Prussian loss of only 16 killed and 92 wounded.[15]
Despite the setback at Biesingen, Brunswick's troops were pulling back into winter quarters and Hoche entered Blieskastel on 18 November. The Prussians abandoned the camp of Hornbach and the French occupied it on the 19th. Believing that he had his enemies on the run, Hoche became very optimistic. Alarmed at the French offensive and anxious that they intended to relieve Landau by moving via Pirmasens, Brunswick made up his mind to offer battle at Kaiserslautern.[14] In fact, Hoche hoped to raise the siege of Landau by striking east from Zweibrücken (Deux-Ponts) and then down the Queich River.[9] Meanwhile, Hoche completely lost track of his enemies. From Zweibrücken he launched his army toward Pirmasens on the 24th only to have to march back to his starting point the next day when he did not find Brunswick. Finally, the French started northeast for Kaiserslautern in three columns. On the left, Ambert moved through Neunkirchen am Potzberg and Reichenbach-Steegen toward Otterberg, north of Kaiserslautern. On the right, Taponier marched directly on Kaiserslautern via Landstuhl, with instructions to seize the Hoheneck heights. Hoche with the main body advanced through Schönenberg-Kübelberg toward Rodenbach. Rémy Vincent was posted in Pirmasens to watch the Prussians and to shield the army's movement.[16]
Battle
Forces
The Duke of Brunswick's army consisted of 35¾ battalions, 54 squadrons and 10 artillery batteries, a total of 26,000 Prussians, Saxons and allies. There were three Prussian divisions led by
Kalckstein's division consisted of three battalions each of the Infantry Regiments Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Nr. 19 and Prinz Heinrich Nr. 35. Schönfeld's division included three battalions of Infantry Regiment Crousaz Nr. 39, Fusilier Battalion Legat Nr. 20, one company of
Ambert's division was organized into brigades under Jean-Baptiste Olivier, Henri Simon and Joinville. Olivier led one battalion of the 13th Line Infantry, one battalion and four squadrons of the Moselle Legion, four squadrons of the 2nd Carabinier Regiment and six guns in one horse artillery battery. Simon commanded the 1st Battalion of the 30th Line, the 2nd Battalion of the 55th Line, the 3rd Battalion of the République, the 4th Battalions of the Haute-Saône and Meurthe and the 5th Battalion of the Orne. The Joinville brigade comprised the 2nd Battalion of the 99th Line and one battalion of the Joinville. Huet's division was divided into brigades led by Antoine Morlot and Nicolas Augustin Paillard. Morlot directed the 1st Battalions of the 44th and 81st Line, the 2nd Battalion of the 71st Line, the 1st Battalion of the Ardennes, the 2nd Battalion of the Haute-Marne, the 6th Battalion of the Meurthe and 16 guns in two foot artillery batteries. Paillard commanded the 1st Battalions of the 103rd Line and Rhône-et-Loire, 2nd Battalions of the 58th Line and Seine-et-Marne, the 6th Battalion of the Vosges, the 7th Battalion of the Meurthe and a half-company of sappers. Huet's advance guard consisted of one company of the 96th Line, the Billard, Maurice and Observatory Free Companies and four squadrons each of the 4th Cavalry and 9th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiments.[15]
Taponier's division had a brigade under Antoine de Sagne Lombard and an advance guard. Lombard directed the 1st Battalion of the 1st Line, the 2nd Battalions of the 8th and 54th Line, the 3rd Battalion of the Manche, 7th Battalion of the Rhône-et-Loire, a half company of sappers and eight guns in one foot artillery battery. Taponier's advance guard was made up of the 3rd Louvre, 4th Louvre, Bons Tireurs and Jemappes Free Companies, four squadrons each of the 10th Cavalry and 14th Dragoon Regiments and eight guns in one foot artillery battery. Vincent's division had the 1st Battalions of the 5th Line, Lot, République and Rhône-et-Loire, 2nd Battalion of the 17th Line, 4th Battalion of the Moselle, a half company of sappers and eight guns in one foot artillery battery. Vincent's advance guard included one battalion of the Chasseurs de Rheims, five squadrons each of the 1st Chasseurs à Cheval and Gendarmerie Regiments and six guns in one horse artillery battery.[15]
First day
Brunswick's army was deployed with its right flank resting on the city of Kaiserslautern and its flank covered by the marshy banks of the
On 28 November the French army advanced in three columns against the Prussian position. with Taponier leading the right, Hoche the center and Ambert the left. Taponier moved against the village of Vogelweh while Ambert aimed to cross the Lauter at Hirschhorn. Taponier's column was the first to encounter the Prussians and to open the battle, meeting moderate success. The initial attack carried his troops onto the outer ridge of the Hoheneck heights.[19] Taponier also came up against the Galgenberg (Gallows Hill) which was defended by a Prussian redoubt.[9] Alarmed at the march of Ambert's column, Brunswick reacted by sending Kalckreuth north to block it. Kalckreuth's force took a new position with his left flank on the Lauter, his center at Morlautern and his right near Erlenbach. Another division was placed on the Kaiserberg, while Duke Karl August of Saxe-Weimar was left to defend the western approaches to Kaiserslautern.[19]
After leaving Rodenbach, Hoche's column encountered impassable roads in the Voog Forest and had to detour around the obstacle. His troops stayed on the west bank of the Lauter and never got into action on the 28th. By strenuous efforts, Ambert crossed the Lauter and moved south through Katzweiler and Sambach. He gamely attacked across the Otterbach stream several times but his 6,000 men were outnumbered by Kalckreuth. Menaced with encirclement, Ambert retreated and came in close proximity to Hoche's center column near Sambach. Despite the lack of success, Hoche determined to deliver the main attack from his left wing the next day. Accordingly, he made preparations to cross the Sambach bridge to join Ambert.[20]
Second day
The next day the French army crossed the river in force. On the 29th, Dubois' advance guard crossed first and joined a brigade under Olivier in a costly attack on the Prussian entrenchments.[20] Meanwhile, Hoche established a 16-gun battery near Sambach[9] and a second battery near Erfenbach on the west bank. Ambert led the brigades of Simon and Paillard far to the left to turn the Prussian position at Otterberg. Huet moved against the enemy position with Morlot's brigade.[20] Under the crossfire of the Sambach and Erfenbach batteries, the Prussians fell back and the French crossed the Otterbach.[21]
Hoche set up a 29-gun battery on the Osterberg height, starting a mutual bombardment that went on for a few hours. The French general then hurled a column of 10,000 troops at the Prussian left flank.
On the left flank, Simon's brigade got lost and was unable to join Paillard's brigade at the old Otterberg glassworks until that evening. By then it was too late to mount an attack, so the 29th was Ambert's day to miss the action. Ambert had to march all night to rejoin the French main force. Unknown to the French, Kospoth's division marched south from Lauterecken to Schallodenbach, from which the Prussian could attack Ambert in the rear. So it was lucky that the French left wing shifted position.[22] On the right flank Taponier assaulted the Galgenberg but was unable to make any headway. The Prussian left wing was supported by artillery fire from the Kaiserberg. Brunswick directed Wartensleben at Trippstadt to march to Kaiserslautern with three battalions and 10 squadrons. During the day, Wartensleben's troops reinforced the Duke of Saxe-Weimar's position on the Galgenberg and helped drive Taponier's men back into the woods.[24]
Third day
Hoche persisted in his attacks on 30 November. At dawn, he directed his artillery to open a new barrage on the Prussian positions.[21] On the left flank, leading four battalions against the Buchberg near Erlenbach, Gabriel Jean Joseph Molitor failed to capture the position and was repulsed after a sanguinary fight with the Saxons. The appearance of Kospoth's troops near Otterberg in his rear compelled Molitor to make a rapid retreat.[24] The French assaulted the Galapfelberg height but this effort was also defeated.[21] This feature is located north of the Kaiserberg.[25] While holding the woods in the center, the division of Huet had difficulty maintaining its position, suffering under a storm of grapeshot. The cavalry of both armies was very active; the fighting took the form of charges and counter-charges of the French and Saxo-Prussian cavalry.[24] On the French right, Taponier made two more assaults on the Galgenberg, but Saxe-Weimar drove them off.[21]
After having secured his flanks, the Duke of Brunswick launched a counterattack against the Osterberg.[24] Seeing his left wing outflanked by the Saxons near Erlenbach, Hoche ordered a retreat. He detailed Ambert and five battalions to cover the withdrawal from the Mayberg height while the army filed to the west bank across the Sambach bridge and another span built near the Lamperts mill. Hoche's exhausted troops retreated to Zweibrücken, Hornbach and Pirmasens.[26] Following the passive strategy of his sovereign, King Frederick William II, Brunswick did not launch a pursuit.[17]
Results
Jomini estimated that the French suffered 3,000 casualties while the Saxo-Prussians lost 1,300.[26] A second authority asserted that the French lost 1,300 killed and wounded plus an additional 700 men, two guns and one color captured, adding that Brunswick's army sustained losses of 44 officers and 785 soldiers killed and wounded, a total of 829.[14] A third source listed French losses as 2,400 killed and wounded with 700 men, two guns and one color captured, while the Prussians lost 32 officers and 584 men and the Saxons lost 12 officers and 178 men, a total of 806.[17]
The
Brunswick seemed baffled by Hoche's clumsy attack on his army. In his subsequent actions the Prussian failed to fully cooperate with his colleague Wurmser.[28] Despite its defeat, the morale of the Army of the Moselle was unaffected. The French soldiers remained sure of themselves, perhaps because of their capture of enemy-held territory before the battle. Hoche fortified Pirmasens and Blieskastel and mounted a false attack against Brunswick. But this was a smokescreen to cover his real intentions which were to shift his strength against Wurmser's western flank. Already on 23 November, Philippe-Joseph Jacob's division was moved to Niederbronn-les-Bains. This was joined by Taponier's division on 5 December and Jean Grangeret's division a week later.[28] On 22 December 1793, Hoche defeated Wurmser in the Battle of Froeschwiller.[29]
Notes
- ISBN 1-85367-276-9.
- ISBN 978-1-908692-25-2.
- ^ Phipps (2011), pp. 56–58
- ^ Phipps (2011), p. 54
- ^ Phipps (2011), p. 59
- ^ a b Phipps (2011), p. 69-71
- ^ Phipps (2011), p. 78
- ^ Phipps (2011), p. 73
- ^ ISBN 978-0-85706-598-8.
- ^ Phipps (2011), p. 85
- ^ Phipps (2011), p. 81
- ^ Phipps (2011), p. 79
- ^ Phipps (2011), p. 91
- ^ a b c Phipps (2011), pp. 85–86
- ^ a b c d Smith (1998), p. 62
- ^ Jomini, Antoine-Henri (1855). "Première Bataille de Kaiserslautern". Etudes française de littérature militaire. Berlin: Duncker et Humblot. pp. 116–117.
- ^ a b c d e Smith (1998), p. 63. The Brunswick Regiment Nr. 21 is listed twice but there were two Brunswick Regiments. According to the same source on p. 56, Kalckstein's should be Nr. 19 not 21.
- ^ Jomini (1855), pp. 117–118
- ^ a b Jomini (1855), pp. 118–119
- ^ a b c Jomini (1855), p. 120
- ^ a b c d e f Dodge (2011), p. 100
- ^ a b c Jomini (1855), p. 121
- ^ Phipps (2011), pp. 87–88
- ^ a b c d Jomini (2011), p. 122
- ^ Dodge (2011), p. 99 map
- ^ a b Jomini (1855), p. 123-124
- ^ Phipps (2011), pp. 88–89
- ^ a b c Phipps (2011), pp. 89–90
- ^ Phipps (2011), p. 99
References
- ISBN 978-0-85706-598-8.
- (in French) Jomini, Antoine-Henri (1855). "Première Bataille de Kaiserslautern". Etudes française de littérature militaire. Berlin: Duncker et Humblot.
- ISBN 978-1-908692-25-2.
- ISBN 1-85367-276-9.
Further reading
- Clerget, Charles (1905). Tableaux des armées françaises pendant les guerres de la Révolution. Paris: R. Chapelot: Section historique de l'état-major de l'armée, librairie militaire.
- Geschichte der vereinigten Sachsen und Preußen während des Feldzugs 1793 zwischen dem Rheine und der Saar. [Betr. Schlacht v. 28.11.-30.11.1793 bei Kaiserslautern] in form of a diary by witnesses. Dresden u. Leipzig. 1795.
- Rickert, J. (2009). "Battle of Kaiserslautern, 28–30 November 1793". Retrieved 9 March 2014.
External links
- Media related to Battle of Kaiserslautern at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by French expedition to Sardinia |
French Revolution: Revolutionary campaigns Battle of Kaiserslautern |
Succeeded by Siege of Mainz (1793) |