Battle of Bazeilles 1870
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 31 August 1870 – 1 September 1870 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1870 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | France | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Franco-Prussian War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 49.6780, 4.9770 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Bazeilles was fought on 1 September 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War as a portion of the larger Battle of Sedan and was one of the first battles to feature modern urban warfare tactics. It took place in Bazeilles, France, a small village in the department of Ardennes near Sedan, and involved a force of Bavarian soldiers battling against French marines and partisans.
The battle was, in effect, an ambush of the Bavarians (who were allies of the Prussians), by a small detachment of the "Blue Division" Troupes de marine (known also as marsouins), under the command of Élie de Vassoigne. Marsouin snipers, along with local guerrillas, fired on the Bavarian troops using quick-firing Chassepot breech-loading rifles.
Although outnumbered ten to one, the French held the village until Napoleon III gave orders to withdraw. A small group under commander Arsène Lambert remained in the last house on the road to Sedan, the Auberge Bourgerie, fighting to the last bullet in order to cover the retreat.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Bazeilles (revision 1370433683), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Sedan 1870 · 3 km
- Battle of Sedan (1940) 1940 · 4 km
- Battle of La Marfée 1641 · 4 km
- Battle of Vrigne-Meuse · 11 km
- Battle of Beaumont 1870 · 17 km
- Siege of Mézières 1521 · 21 km
Other battles of the Franco-Prussian War
- Battle of Amiens (1870) 1870
- Battle of Beaugency (1870) 1870
- Battle of Beaumont 1870
- Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande 1870
- Battle of Bellevue 1870
- Battle of Borny–Colombey 1870
- Battle of Buzancy 1870
- Battle of Buzenval (1870) 1870
- Battle of Chevilly 1870
- Battle of Châteaudun 1870
All 47 battles of the Franco-Prussian War →
Browse more: battles in France · Europe · 19th century battles