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Battle of Wissembourg
Part of Franco-Prussian War
Map of Battle of Wissembourg
Date August 4, 1870 Location Wissembourg, France Result German victory
Combatants
Prussia Baden Bavaria Württemberg	France
Commanders
Friedrich Wilhelm	Abel Douay
Strength
25,000	7,000
Casualties
1,551	2,300

The Battle of Wissembourg or Weissenburg was the first battle of the Franco-Prussian War. The French defeat allowed the Prussian army to move into France.

In June, 1870 Napoleon III had moved the French army into Lorraine and occupied Saarbrücken. Napoleon wished to win a significant battle on German soil and ordered Marshal Patrice MacMahon to bring up the French I and V Corps. MacMahon's objective was to reach Wissembourg where he already had one division stationed under Abel Douay. Once there he would concentrate his forces for a strike into Germany. The German III Army under Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, was already moving towards Wissembourg. Neither side was fully aware of the other's movements.

The forces of the Crown Prince were to reach Wissembourg before MacMahon could, thanks to the organisational genius of his Chief of Staff, Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal. At 8:00 on August 6 the 2nd Bavarian Corps arrived and began to shell the town. Douay posted a garrison in the town and positioned his reserves on a hill outside the town. The Germans attacked and within a couple of hours entered the town. German reinforcements were brought up to outflank the French reserves. The Bavarians attacked the west side of town while the Prussian XI Corps and artillery assaulted the east. French reinforcements from MacMahon began to arrive on the field. With the arrival of the French V Corps the Bavarian Corps retired behind the protection of their artillery. The French attacked and were so heavily repulsed that they ceased to be of effective use for the rest of the battle. The Prussian V Corps which had been making slow progress on the east side of town finally made an attack on the center of the French lines and carried the position. A last ditch counterattack allowed the French to retreat intact and the German forces took the town.

The battle had been a victory for the Germans and allowed them invade France. Shortly after the battle the German III Army was on the move towards Wœrth where they ran into the main body of MacMahon's army.

• [Battlefield pictures]
• Compton's Home Library: Battles of the World CD-ROM
• http://www.staineswargamers.org.uk/wiss.htm
• http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/mcnelly/vb/scenarios/wissembourg.htm