Battle of Aschaffenburg (1866)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Battle of Aschaffenburg | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Austro-Prussian War | |||||||
_b_589.jpg) Fight at Herstaller Tor in Aschaffenburg, based on an original drawing by W.A. Beer. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Prussia |
 Austrian Empire Hesse-Kassel Hesse-Darmstadt | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
August Karl von Goeben Ferdinand von Kummer |
Erwin von Neipperg | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 13th Division | 4th Division, VIII Corps | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 16,600 | 7,900 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 27 dead; 144 wounded, 9 missing soldiers and prisoners[1] |
226 dead; 484 wounded, 1,759 missing soldiers and prisoners
| ||||||
  Location within Germany  Battle of Aschaffenburg (1866) (Europe) | |||||||
The Battle of Aschaffenburg, sometimes also called The Skirmishes Near Aschaffenburg, was a battle of the Austro-Prussian War on 14 July 1866 between pitting the armies of Prussia on the one hand and parts of the VIII Corps of the German Federal Army on the other side which primarily consisted of soldiers from the Austrian Empire, Hesse-Darmstadt and Hesse-Kassel.
The Prussians under General August Karl von Goeben advanced over the Spessart on 14 July 1866, where they had been involved in a battle with Hessian-Darmstadt troops near Laufach the day before . To defend Aschaffenburg, the federal troops had taken up positions along the railway line and in the pheasantry east of the city. Most of the federal troops were Austrian troops from the Brigade Major General von Hahn under the command of division commander Field Marshal Lieutenant Erwin von Neipperg, as well as some remaining Hessian contingents. After heavy mutual artillery fire, the Prussians attacked via the pheasantry. The Austrian troops finally had to retreat into the city across open fields, suffering great losses from Prussian rapid fire. The Prussians finally stormed the Herstalltor and penetrated the city, which they conquered in fierce street fights. The federal troops had to move west across the Main. Only the only bridge in the city was available to them for this, as the railway bridge at Stockstadt was already occupied by the Prussians. However, a Prussian detachment under General Ferdinand von Kummer quickly reached the bridge before the city was completely conquered and cut off the retreat of the federal troops remaining in the city.[3][4]
The day after, the Prussians occupied the city of Frankfurt am Main on 16 July.
In the area east of the city limits, where a large part of the fighting took place at that time, the Austrian memorial stands today, commemorating those who fell during those event.
.jpg)
