- Battle of Bazeilles
The Battle of Bazeilles was one of the first occasions of modern
urban warfare .During the 1870
Franco-Prussian war ,Bazeilles , a small village in the French Ardennes department near Sedan was the theater of an ambush on Bavarians, allies of the Prussians, by a small detachment from the "Blue Division" ofTroupes de marine , under the command of general De Vassoigne. Hiding in houses along with localFranc tireur s, the "marsouins", the snipers shot with their new quick-firingChassepot breechloading rifles at the Bavarian unit that outnumbered them by ten to one.They held the village until
Napoleon III gave order to withdraw, which a small group under commander Lambert remaining in the last house on the road to Sedan, the Auberge Bougerie, fighting to the last bullet to cover the retreat. The house is now a museum, showing e.g. a clock hit at 11:35 by a bullet, stopping it.After 7 hours of
urban warfare , the Bavarians were able to take the village. Considering themunlawful combatant s, the Franc tireur partisans and other civilians were executed.Soon, the
Battle of Sedan was a crushing defeat of France, with Napoleon III getting captured with his army. Soon, another French army was trapped at Metz, basically ending the war and Napoleon's Empire. Yet, the French, now as a republic, decided to continue for months with partisan warfare.Having few else to be proud of, General de Vassoigne said about these soldiers: "The troupes de marine fought beyond the extreme limits of duty". The anniversary of the Battle of Bazeilles is now celebrated by the
Troupes de marine , as their equivalent toCamerone for the Legionaires.References
*
Arte French-German TV, as of 16 March 2008 broadcast [http://www.arte.tv/de/woche/244,broadcastingNum=859649,day=1,week=12,year=2008.html Die großen Schlachten: 1870 - Die Entscheidung von Sedan - (Deutschland, 2005, 52min)]
* [http://www.troupesdemarine.org/traditions/histoire/hist001.htm Site non officiel: Troupes De Marine. Bataile du Bazeilles] . (retrieved 2008-06-30)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=PmkPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA608&dq=bazeilles+l%27Isle&as_brr=3 N. Hardoin. Francis & allemands: histoire anecdotique de la guerre de 1870-1871. Garnier frères (1888)] , pp. 275, 448, 524-531, 606-610.
* [http://books.google.com/books?q=bazeilles&as_brr=3 Google Book search: Bazeilles]
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