Battle of Buzancy
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| Battle of Buzancy | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Franco-Prussian War | |||||||
.jpg) Battle of Buzancy (painting by Fritz von Uhde, c. 1895) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 French Empire | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Patrice de MacMahon Pierre Louis Charles de Failly[8] |
 Friedrich Senfft von Pilsach[9] | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| V Army | XVII Corps | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Regiment Chasseur 12 of Corps No. 5[4] | 3rd Cavalry Regiment ( Saxony ), a cavalry squadron of the 18th Uhlan Regiment and the Zwinker battery[5] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown killed and wounded, 12 cavalrymen and Major de la Porte captured[6] | Unknown killed, 32 soldiers and 27 warhorses wounded; 2 captains wounded[6] | ||||||
Battle of Buzancy[10] was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War[7] which took place on 27 August 1870 in Buzancy, France[9][1] between the French Empire and the combined German forces of Prussia and Saxony. The midfield force of the 24th Brigade (under the command of Major General Friedrich Senfft von Pilsach ) of a division Saxon cavalry of the Maas Army of the Prussian army[7][11][12] won a victory over the Cavalry Regiment. 12th Chasseur light infantry of the V Army of the French Empire under the command of General Pierre Louis Charles de Failly.[6][9] Taken by surprise in this cavalry battle,[13] the French formation was torn apart and almost completely annihilated.[5] On the Prussian - German side, the captains of the two cavalry squadrons involved in the battle were wounded.[6] The defeat at Buzancy forced the retreat of the French cavalry squadrons, and the Battle of Buzancy is arguably the most characteristic cavalry and artillery clash of the war.[6]
With fierce battles at Gravelotte on 18 October month 8 year 1870, the French forces of Marshal led by François Achille Bazaine has been pushed back to Metz. Received orders from the Paris, Marshal Patrice de Mac-Mahon, together with the Emperor Napoleon III of France, marched from Châlons via Reims and Rethel to the north, to proceed to Metz to rescue Bazaine which was falling under the siege of the Prussian army.[14] Meanwhile, on 23 August, German armies began their march down Châlons. Despite this, on 24 August, the Army Headquarters of the Army, commanded by Prince Friedrich Wilhelm at Ligny, received word of the emptiness of the French barracks at Châlons, and by 25 August the situation remained. The picture clearly shows that MacMahon is bringing troops to rescue Bazaine. On 26 August 1870 Army Maas had discovered MacMahon's troops, and therefore all German armies were ordered to advance north with Army Maas on the left flank of the formation.[11]