Siege of Metz (1870)

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Siege of Metz
Part of the Franco-Prussian War
Freyberg bergabe von Metz.jpg
The Surrender of the French Army at Metz
Date 19 August 27 October 1870
Location Metz, France
Result German victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Prussia Prussia
Hesse-Darmstadt France France
Commanders and leaders
Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia Franois Bazaine (POW)
Strength
250,000 ~180,000
Casualties and losses
47,000 38,000 dead and wounded
142,000 captured
[hide] v t e
Franco-Prussian War
Wissembourg Spicheren Wrth BornyColombey Strasbourg Toul Mars-la-Tour Gravelotte
Metz Beaumont Noisseville Bazeilles Sedan Bellevue Coulmiers Havana Amiens Beaune-
la-Rolande Villepion Loigny et Poupry Orlans Beaugency Hallue Bapaume Villersexel
Le Mans Lisaine St. Quentin Paris Belfort
Belgian reaction
The Siege of Metz lasting from 19 August 27 October 1870 was fought during the
Franco-Prussian War and ended in a decisive Prussian victory.

Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 Prelude
3 Siege
4 References
Background[edit]
After being held at the Battle of Gravelotte, Marshal Bazaine retreated into the
defenses of Metz. There he was besieged by over 150,000 Prussian troops of the
First and Second Armies on 19 August.[1][2] The French attempted to break the siege
first at Noisseville and again at Bellevue but were repulsed each time.

Prelude[edit]
Napoleon III and MacMahon formed the new French Army of Chlons, to march on to
Metz to rescue Bazaine. Napoleon III personally led the army with Marshal MacMahon
in attendance. The Army of Chlons marched north-east towards the Belgian border to
avoid the Prussians before striking south to link up with Bazaine. The Prussians,
under the command of Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke, took advantage of this
maneuver to catch the French in a pincer grip. 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 the Prussian Third Army,
Moltke marched northward and caught up with the French at Beaumont on 30 August.
After a sharp fight in which they lost 5,000 men and 40 cannons, the French
withdrew toward Sedan. Having reformed in the town, the Army of Chlons 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, General Auguste Ducrot took command of the French troops in the
field. The Army of Chlons was trapped and destroyed at the Battle of Sedan.

Siege[edit]
FrancoPrussian war of 1870. Defence of Metz by the French Army.
Bazaine was forced to surrender his entire army on 27 October because of
starvation.[2][3] The Prussians offered the honors of war to the defeated French
army, but, contrary to usual practice, Bazaine refused the honor.[4]

Prince Prince Friedrich Karl and the Prussian Second Army were now free to move
against the French force in the Loire River area. 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 philosopher Friedrich
Nietzsche, who served as a medical attendant. Nietzsche contracted both diphtheria
and dysentery during the siege, worsening his already poor state of health.[5]

References[edit]
Jump up ^ Michael Howard, The Franco Prussian War ISBN 0-415-26671-8
^ Jump up to a b William Fortescue, The Third Republic in France, 1870-1940
conflicts and continuities, (p. 9) ISBN 0-415-16944-5
Jump up ^ Article on F. Bazaine in Encyclopdia Britannica
Jump up ^ Howard, Michael (2013). The Franco-Prussian War The German Invasion of
France 18701871. Routledge. ISBN 9781136753060. Finally Bazaine completed the
shame of his army by refusing even the honours of war which the Prussians
spontaneously offered.
Jump up ^ httpplato.stanford.eduentriesnietzsche
Categories 1870 in FranceConflicts in 1870Sieges involving FranceBattles of the
Franco-Prussian WarHistory of MetzAugust 1870 eventsSeptember 1870 eventsOctober
1870 events
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