Siege of Metz (1870)
The Siege of Metz (1870) was a significant military engagement during the Franco-Prussian War, focusing on the fortified city of Metz in Lorraine, northeastern France. Following intense combat, French General Achille-François Bazaine retreated into Metz with an army of approximately 154,000 soldiers on August 18, 1870. The Prussian forces, led by Prince Friedrich Karl, initiated the siege on August 19, surrounding Bazaine and his troops with around 168,000 men, effectively immobilizing one of France's frontline armies. Throughout the siege, Bazaine struggled with indecisiveness, which hindered potential breakout attempts, including a failed effort on August 26 and a half-hearted sortie on August 31. A raid for supplies on October 7 also ended in failure as the French forces could not achieve their goals. Ultimately, the siege took a toll on food supplies, leading to the surrender of the fortress on October 29. This event culminated in the capture of the French Army of the Rhine, marking a turning point in the war and contributing to the broader challenges faced by France during the conflict.
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Siege of Metz (1870)
Type of action: Siege in Franco-Prussian War
Date: August 18-October 29, 1870
Location: Metz, France
Combatants: French vs. Prussians
Principal commanders:French, Achille-François Bazaine (1811–1888); Prussian, Prince Friedrich Karl (1828–1885)
Result: The surrender of the French Army of the Rhine at Metz marked the end of the frontline armies that France could field against Prussia during the war
Metz was a major fortress in Lorraine, northeastern France, about 175 miles east of Paris. It guarded the approaches from southern Germany. After severe fighting, General Achille-François Bazaine fell back on Metz and, on August 18, pulled his army, numbering about 154,000 men, back into the fortress.
The Prussians, under Prince Friedrich Karl, besieged Metz on August 19 with approximately 168,000 men. One of France’s two frontline armies was now bottled up and consequently no longer capable of mobile operations. The second army, the Army of Châlons, would soon suffer defeat at Sedan. Bazaine, whose lack of decisiveness proved to be a major handicap for the French, ordered and subsequently cancelled a breakout on August 26. On August 31, French troops made a half-hearted attempt to sortie from the fortress to join the rest of the French army, but the Prussians easily drove them back. On October 7, a raid for supplies, which Bazaine had originally conceived as another breakout attempt, failed to achieve its objective. The fortress, running out of food supplies, surrendered on October 29.
Significance
The French Army of the Rhine was captured.
Bibliography
Hogg, Ian V. Battles: A Concise Dictionary. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1995.
Horne, Alistair. The Fall of Paris: The Siege and the Commune 1870–1871. New York: Doubleday, 1965.
Howard, Michael. The Franco-Prussian War. New York: Dorset Press, 1961.