Battle of Gravelotte

Battle of Gravelotte
Part of the Franco-Prussian War
The Cemetery of St. Privat by Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville c. 1881
Date 18 August 1870 Location Gravelotte, France 49°09′N 6°01′E / 49.150°N 6.017°E / 49.150; 6.017 Result Inconclusive, German march advances
Belligerents
North German Confederation Prussia Saxony	French Empire
Commanders and leaders
Wilhelm I Helmuth von Moltke Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz Prince Friedrich Karl	François Achille Bazaine François Certain de Canrobert
Units involved
First Army Second Army	Army of the Rhine
Strength
188,332 732 guns	112,800 520 guns
Casualties and losses
20,160 5,237 killed 14,430 wounded 493 captured or missing	12,275 1,146 killed 6,709 wounded 4,420 captured or missing

The Battle of Gravelotte (or Battle of Gravelotte–St. Privat) on 18 August 1870 was the largest battle of the Franco-Prussian War. Named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine, it was fought about 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Metz, where on the previous day, having intercepted the French army's retreat to the west at the Battle of Mars-la-Tour, the Prussians were now closing in to complete the destruction of the French forces.

The combined German forces under King Wilhelm I were the Prussian First and Second Armies of the North German Confederation with 210 infantry battalions, 133 cavalry squadrons, and 732 heavy cannons totaling 188,332 officers and men. ^[1] The French Army of the Rhine, commanded by Marshal François Achille Bazaine, dug in along high ground with their southern left flank at the town of Rozerieulles, and their northern right flank at St. Privat.

On 18 August, the Prussian First Army under General Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz launched its VII and VIII Corps in repeated assaults against the French positions, backed by artillery and cavalry support. All attacks failed with enormous casualties in the face of French infantry and mitrailleuse firepower. The French did not counter-attack Steinmetz's weakened army. On the Prussian left, the Prussian Guards attacked the French position at St. Privat at 16:50 hours. With the support of the Prussian II and Saxon XII Corps of Prince Friedrich Karl's Second Army, the Guards conquered St. Privat by 20:00 hours after heavy losses, pushing back the French right wing.

Bazaine's Army of the Rhine withdrew into Metz fortress on the morning of 19 August. The German victory at Gravelotte ended Bazaine's army's last chance of retreating west to Verdun. After a siege lasting over two months, the Army of the Rhine surrendered on 27 October 1870.