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View Full Version : 28 june 1815: Battle of La Souffel



urielventis
06-28-2010, 09:03 AM
This battle occurs near my birthplace (Strasbourg). I walked several time on the field where it happen, but know I see it from an other view.



Napoleon leads l’Armee du Nord against the Prussians, English and their allies in the Low Countries.
However this was not the only French army in the field. Elsewhere in France, Napoleon’s trusted
commanders led armies against possible allied incursions. In the Pyrenees Clausel and Decaen
guarded against the Spanish. In the Vendee Lamarque sought to control the Royalist uprisings. Brune, Lecourbe and Suchet guarded the lines of advance from the Mediterranean to the Swiss passes, while in Strasbourg General Rapp’s 5th Corps, styled l’Armee du Rhin, sought to provide a barrier to the mobilising forces of Schwarzenberg’s Austrians and Barclay de Tolly’s Russians.

Advancing from Strasbourg in June, Rapp’s scouts encountered General Wrede’s Bavarian 4th Corps and Prince Eugene of Wurtemburg’s 3rd Corps, harbingers of the 210,000 strong Austrian invasion force. On June 21st Rapp received news of Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, and orders to retire towards Paris via Saverne and Nancy. His corps and that of Suchet were to be utilised in rebuilding the main French field army.
However he decides not to simply retreat but to fight a delaying action.

On the 24th of June Wurtemberg cavalry clashed with Rapp’s rearguard. The French cavalry drove them off in a sharp action, before l’Armee du Rhin continued its withdrawal. The Wurtemburgers followed and on the 28th, just North of Strasbourg, Rapp turned at La Souffel to face his pursuers. Those involved did not know it at the time but this would be the last major engagement of the Napoleonic wars.

The battle occurs 15 to 20 km north of Strasbourg, in the area near Lampertheim, Mundolsheim, Souffelweyersheim and Reichstett, near the river “La Souffel”. This is where the 23000 French will fight against 50000 allied troops.

The French Vth corps deployed on both side of the road leading to Strasbourg, 16th division on the left, 15th on the right of the road; the 17th is kept in reserve across the road.

The Wurtenbergers enter the field from Lampertheim and Brumath, the Austrians by Reichstett.

The Wurtenbergers, supported by the Austrians attack the French center with mitigated success. The French modified the 15th division deployment. A vigorous French counter attack force some Austrians to leave the field, but the Austrians rallied when encountering 30000 Russians coming from Wissembourg and Haguenau.
The day stops with the Allied troops reorganizing with the Russian reinforcements.

General Rapp, seriously outnumbered, retreat with his army in the city of Strasbourg. He leave the city only after the restoration of the monarchy.

This battle is considered as a French victory. Estimation of casualty: french about 3000, allied 75 officiers and 2050 troopers.


This is a mix of the wikipedia article and a french article I traduced.

Feel free to add informations if you find some.

JCR
06-29-2010, 04:58 AM
Just a question?
Why is a battle that ended with the french suffering more casualties than the allies and leaving the field to them considered a french victory?
:D

urielventis
06-29-2010, 07:27 AM
Just a question?
Why is a battle that ended with the french suffering more casualties than the allies and leaving the field to them considered a french victory?
:D

Yes, good question.
If we check the facts:
-pro-french :
the Vth corps is not destroyed
the presence of the Vth corps in the Strasbourg fortress will threaten the allied army communication and rear, forcing them to keep a large number of troops to siege the city
the Vth corps delayed the allied army for a few days
-pro allied :
the Vth corps will not join Suchet force in an attempt off rebuilding a french field army for Napoleon
the casualties sufered by the french are bigger than those of the allied, and by the way the allied have a lot more troops to absorb the casualties.

So I don't know, I would say a french tactical victory (ennemy stopped, french army isn't destroyed) but a strategic defeat (surounded behind ennemy line).

LordTyphus
07-02-2010, 02:08 AM
Just a question?
Why is a battle that ended with the french suffering more casualties than the allies and leaving the field to them considered a french victory?
:D

Easy because maybe the enemy failed to realise their objectives. There's more to victory than casualty and staying on the battlefield. It's just like Malplaquet. The French army castrated the vastly larger army there and yet they left the battlefield to the enemy. After that what was left was an impotent and greatly weakened enemy that was forced to negotiate a peace treaty that greatly favoured the French.

JCR
07-02-2010, 06:17 AM
Easy because maybe the enemy failed to realise their objectives. There's more to victory than casualty and staying on the battlefield. It's just like Malplaquet. The French army castrated the vastly larger army there and yet they left the battlefield to the enemy. After that what was left was an impotent and greatly weakened enemy that was forced to negotiate a peace treaty that greatly favoured the French.

Ahem?
St.Helena favored the french?
Ok, they got rid of Boney but they didn't like the Bourbons either.

Sorry but in the 19th century there were formal rules who won and wo did not.
The party in posession of the battlefield won the battle.
Otherwise Lützen (the second one) or most other of Napoleon's later victories wouldn't count as victories at all.