In popular culture, the battle of Frœschwiller-Woerth is known as the "battle of Reichshoffen from the name of the famous cuirassiers known as "Reichshoffen" who heroically sacrificed themselves on August 6, 1870 during useless charges against a much more numerous and powerfully armed enemy, during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. the French commanded by Marshal Mac Mahon are defeated and the Prussian troops seize Alsace and Lorraine.
The Battle of Reichshoffen
The so-called battle of "Reichshoffen" took place on August 6, 1870 mainly on the territories of the municipalities of Woerth (name given to the battle by the Germans), Frœschwiller (name given by the French) and Morsbronn. The name of Reichshoffen has gone down in history because Mac Mahon's staff was there as well as several squadrons of cuirassiers who were based there and who sacrificed themselves during the battle.
After the defeat at Wissembourg on August 4, the Prussians moved towards Woerth. The Germans, commanded by the Kronprinz Frederick William of Prussia, numbered 100,000 and faced Mac Mahon's 43,000 soldiers.
The battle began at 7 a.m. with exchanges of cannon fire and patrol skirmishes. It was these few scattered scuffles that precipitated the engagement of the bulk of the troops.
Courageously, the French fought one against four and the famous "reichshoffen cuirassiers" (of the Michel brigade) heroically sacrificed themselves during great charges against the Prussians who trapped them and which killed them almost at close range, as was notably the case at Morsbronn where the cuirassiers charged against the village and rushed into the narrow streets, thus offering themselves to the enemy ambushed in the houses of the village.
A heroic and useless charge
The Germans counted 487 officers and 10,153 men killed and on the French side, the figures vary but the total loss is estimated at around 10,000 killed and between 6,000 and 9,000 prisoners.
The consequences of this battle were terrible for the French army because the latter, by this defeat, abandoned the Alsace to the Germans. However, the sacrifice of the soldiers allowed the orderly retreat of the army. This day of August 6 was so terrible that the civilians of the neighboring villages were requisitioned to bury the dead who strewn the battlefield and took nearly eight days to bury them all.
Furthermore, as we have seen, the name "Battle of Reichshoffen" or "Reichshoffen Charge" has gone down in history even though the real battle did not take place in this village but about nine kilometers away.
Bibliography
- MILZA, Pierre, The Terrible Year:September 1870 - March 1871, the Franco-Prussian War Perrin, Paris, 2009.
- Atlas of the war:1870-71:maps of battles and sieges, by Amédée Le Faure. Hachette, 2013.