Battle of Mulhouse (1674)
| Battle of Mulhouse | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Franco-Dutch War | |||||||
 The Rhine, south of Mulhouse | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 France |
 Holy Roman Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| ) |
Hermann of Baden-Baden Bournonville | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3,000 | 5,000[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 60[2] |
300 killed or wounded[1][2] 900[1]-1,000[2] captured | ||||||
The Battle of Mulhouse took place on 29 December 1674 in
Following the inconclusive
Background
In the 1667–1668
In August 1672, an
After 1673, it became a largely defensive campaign, focused on protecting French gains in the Rhineland and preventing Imperial forces linking up with the Dutch. France was over-extended, a problem that increased when Denmark–Norway joined the Alliance in January, 1674, while England and the Dutch Republic made peace in the February Treaty of Westminster.[8]
Although the main campaign of 1674 was fought in
The campaign that began in June 1674 and ended with his death in July 1675 has been described as 'Turenne's most brilliant.'
Battle
Although the arrival of French troops at Belfort took Bournonville by surprise, Turenne was forced to delay his attack on Alsace in order to gather supplies. Learning from prisoners the Imperial forces were concentrated at Colmar and Altkirch, Turenne decided to split them by advancing through Mulhouse, then a free city associated with Switzerland. To do this, he set off with an advance guard of 3,000 cavalry, leaving his infantry to follow as soon as possible.[13]
Bournonville hoped to hold a line along the Ill River until his army could assemble and the delay in the French advance allowed Hermann of Baden-Baden and around 5,000 Imperial cavalry men to occupy Mulhouse. Moving north from Altkirch toward Colmar, Turenne reached the Ill near Mulhouse on 29 December, where he found seven Imperial squadrons deployed along the river bank. As the river was fordable at this point, Turenne ordered Montauban to attack and the battle quickly escalated as both commanders fed in reinforcements.[14]
As this contest was going on, Turenne deployed a large force on his right, which advanced with as much fanfare as possible, giving the impression the whole French army was arriving. The Imperial
Aftermath
Turenne returned to his main force at Belfort, which was finally ready to resume its advance on Colmar in early January; on 5 January, he defeated Bournonville at the Battle of Turckheim, forcing the Imperial army out of Alsace.[16]
References
- ^ a b c Bodart 1916, p. 28.
- ^ a b c De Périni 1896, p. 134.
- ^ Tucker 2009, p. 651.
- ^ Lynn 1996, p. 109.
- ^ Smith 1965, p. 200].
- ^ Lynn 1996, p. 117.
- ^ Guthrie 2003, p. 239.
- ^ Davenport 1917, p. 238.
- ^ Lynn 1996, pp. 110–111, 131.
- ^ Clodfelter 1992, p. 46.
- ^ Chandler 1984, p. 7.
- ^ Brooks 2000, p. 84.
- ^ Dodge 1890, pp. 628–629.
- ^ a b De Périni 1896, p. 133.
- ^ Dodge 1890, p. 629.
- ^ Dodge 1890, p. 628.
Sources
- Brooks, Richard (2000). Atlas of World Military History. Barnes and Noble Books. ISBN 978-0760720257.
- Chandler, David (1984). Marlborough as Military Commander (1989 ed.). Spellmount. ISBN 978-0946771127.
- Clodfelter, Micheal (1992). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Reference to Casualty and Other Figures, 1500–2000 (2008 ed.). McFarland & Co. ISBN 978-0786474707.
- Davenport, Frances (1917). European treaties bearing on the history of the United States and its dependencies: Volume I. Carnegie Institution.
- De Périni, Hardÿ (1896). Batailles françaises, 1660–1700 V5. Ernest Flammarion, Paris.
- Dodge, Theodore Ayrault (1890). Gustavus Adolphus: A History of the Art of War from its Revival After the Middle Ages to the End of the Spanish Succession War, with a Detailed Account of the Campaigns of the Great Swede, and of the Most Famous Campaigns of Turenne, Conde, Eugene, and Marlborough, Vol II. Houghton, Mifflin and Company.
- Guthrie, William (2003). The Later Thirty Years War: From the Battle of Wittstock to the Treaty of Westphalia (Contributions in Military Studies). Praeger. ISBN 978-0313324086.
- Lynn, John (1996). The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667-1714 (Modern Wars In Perspective). Longman. ISBN 978-0582056299.
- A Relation or Journal of the Campaigns of the Marechal de Turenne, in the Years One Thousand Six Hundred Seventy Four, and One Thousand Six Hundred Seventy Five; 'Til the Time of His Death. Done from the French, By an Officer of the Army. Dublin: Addison's Head, 1732.
- Smith, Rhea (1965). Spain; A Modern History. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0472071500.
- Tucker, Spencer C. (2009). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East [6 volumes]: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-672-5.
- Bodart, G. (1916). Losses of Life in Modern Wars, Austria-Hungary; France. ISBN 978-1371465520.