Battle of Sedan 1870
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 1 September 1870 – 2 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 | 49.6986, 4.9456 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Sedan, also known as the First Battle of Sedan, was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies; however, fighting continued under a new French government.
The 130,000-strong French Army of Châlons, commanded by Marshal Patrice de MacMahon and accompanied by Napoleon III, was attempting to lift the siege of Metz, only to be caught by the Prussian Fourth Army and defeated at the Battle of Beaumont on 30 August. Commanded by Generalfeldmarschall Helmuth von Moltke and accompanied by Prussian King Wilhelm I and Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the Fourth Army and the Prussian Third Army encircled MacMahon's army at Sedan in a battle of annihilation. Marshal MacMahon was wounded during the attacks and command passed to General Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot, until it was assumed by General Emmanuel Félix de Wimpffen.
Bombarded from all sides by German artillery and with all breakout attempts defeated, the French Army of Châlons capitulated on 2 September, with 104,000 men passing into German captivity along with 558 guns.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Sedan (revision 1372787339), 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 (1940) 1940 · 0 km
- Battle of La Marfée 1641 · 1 km
- Battle of Bazeilles 1870 · 3 km
- Battle of Vrigne-Meuse · 8 km
- Siege of Mézières 1521 · 18 km
- Battle of Beaumont 1870 · 19 km
Other battles of the Franco-Prussian War
- Battle of Amiens (1870) 1870
- Battle of Bazeilles 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
All 47 battles of the Franco-Prussian War →
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