The Franco-German War of 1870-71Moltke, Helmuth, Graf von
History
The Franco-German War of 1870-71
Moltke, Helmuth, Graf von
Franco-Prussian War, 1870-1871
After this result of the fighting about Lumeau, General von Tresckow was
able to go to the assistance of the hard-pressed left wing of the
Bavarians. Under cover of the fire of eight batteries the 33rd Brigade
moved against the flank of the French masses which were now making a
fierce attack on Chateau Goury. Taken by surprise, these retired upon
Loigny. But there, too, the Mecklenburg battalions forced in, shoulder
to shoulder with the Bavarians, and it was only in the churchyard on
high ground at the west end of the village, that an obstinate resistance
was made for some time longer. The French, as they retired on Villepion,
suffered from a destructive fire from eighty guns massed near Loigny.
At 2.30 General von der Tann caused the whole of his 1st Division, after
the replenishment of its ammunition, to advance once more; this
movement, however, was arrested by the fire of the enemy.
Michel's Division moved up to oppose the advance of the German cavalry
on the right flank, but went about as soon as it came within range of
the horse-batteries.
Because of the exposed condition of his right flank, General Chanzy had
sent a few battalions to form a refused flank[44] near Terre-noire.
Behind this a brigade of the XVIIth Corps came up near Faverolles, and
to the right of Villepion the Papal Zouaves advanced against Villours.
General von Tresckow now threw in his last reserves. Two battalions of
the 75th Regiment broke into the place at the first charge, and in
conjunction with all the troops fighting in the vicinity, drove back the
French columns to Villepion.
The approach of darkness brought the fighting here to a close.
While the French XVIth Corps had been fighting single-handed with great
persistence all day, the XVth, according to orders, had advanced through
Artenay along the Paris high-road. There it was opposed only by the 3rd
Cavalry Brigade. That force was attacked about mid-day near Dambron by
the 3rd French Division, which formed the left-flank column, while the
other two Divisions held much further to the right.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account