Army of the Rhine (1870) explained

Unit Name:Armée du Rhin (Army of the Rhine)
Dates:1870
Allegiance:Second French Empire
Branch:French Army
Battles:Franco-Prussian War
Notable Commanders:Maréchal de France Bazaine

The Army of the Rhine (French: [[:fr:Armée du Rhin (1870)|Armée du Rhin]]) was a French military unit that fought in the Franco-Prussian War. It was created after the declaration of war on July 18 1870.

The unit participated in combats in Lorraine, then divided to form a second army, the Army of Châlons.

The Army of the Rhine surrendered on 27 October at the Siege of Metz.

Creation of the unit

The Army of the Rhine was the first French Army constituted after the declaration of war, formed from the available troops during peacetime. Initially commanded by the Emperor Napoleon III, the Army included the Imperial Guard (French: La Garde Impériale), 7 Army Corps and a general reserve. Each Army Corps was constituted of 3 or 4 infantry division and 1 cavalry division made up of 2 or 3 brigades each, one artillery reserve and one engineer reserve. Each brigade counted 2 or 3 line infantry or line cavalry regiments.

The infantry divisions included an artillery component with 2 batteries de canons de 4 and 1 de mitrailleuse, while the cavalry divisions constituted 2 batteries horse mounted.

Formation of the army corps:[1]

Effectifs de l'armée du Rhin
---- ! Date[2] Officers Men Horses Battalions Squadrons Batteries Cie Engineer ---- ! scope="row" Imperial Guard July 30 24 30 12 3 ---- ! scope="row" 1st Army Corps August 1 52 26 20 5,5 ---- ! scope="row" 2nd Army Corps August 1 39 18 13 4 ---- ! scope="row" 3rd Army Corps August 652 31 20 5,5 ---- ! scope="row" 4th Army Corps August 13 39 18 15 4 ---- ! scope="row" 5th Army Corps August 1 52 31 20 5,5 ---- ! scope="row" 6th Army Corps August 1 - - - - ---- ! scope="row" 7th Army Corps August 1 - - - - ---- ! scope="row" Cavalry Reserve August 1 464 - - - - ---- ! scope="row" Artillery Reserve August 9 87 - - - - ---- ! scope="row" Engineer Reserve - 13 459 196 - - - 4

Composition and order of battle

On August 1, 1870, the Army of the Rhine was constituted of seven Army Corps and of artillery and reserve cavalry. Lieutenant-colonel Rousset tendered an estimative decomposition by grand units:[3]

Commandement and état-major

The Imperial Guard

1st Infantry Division (voltigeurs)The 1st Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard (French: La Garde Impériale) was commanded by général Deligny
2nd Infantry Division (Grenadiers)The 2nd Infantry Division of the Imperial Guard was commanded by général Picard
Cavalry DivisionThe Cavalry Division of the Imperial Guard was commanded by général Desvaux
Reserve Artillery (colonel Clappier)
Parc Artillery (colonel Elie Jean de Vassoigne)
Total artillery

1st Army Corps

thumb|180px|Marshal de Mac Mahon, commander of the 1st Army Corps.The 1st Army Corps (French: [[:fr:1er corps d'armée (France)|1<sup>er</sup> Corps d'Armée]]) was commanded by Patrice de MacMahon, Duke of Magenta, with chef d'état-major général Colson. général Ducrot, former commander of the 1st Division, succeeded Marshal Mac Mahon who recently assumed command of the Army of Châlons. général Joly Frigola commanded the artillery.

1st Infantry DivisionThe 1st Infantry Division of the 1st Army Corps was under the orders of général Ducrot
2nd Infantry DivisionThe 2nd Infantry Division of the 1st Army Corps was under the orders of général Douay
3rd Infantry DivisionThe 3rd Infantry Division of the 1st Army Corps was under the orders of général Raoult
4th Infantry DivisionThe 4th Infantry Division of the 1st Army Corps was under the orders of général de Lartigue
Cavalry DivisionThe Cavalry Division of the 1st Army Corps was commanded by général Duhesme
Reserve ArtilleryArtillery Reserve was under the orders of colonel Vassart d'Andernay

2nd Army Corps

The 2nd Army Corps (French: [[:fr:2e corps d'armée (France)|2<sup>e</sup> Corps d'Armée]]) was commanded by général Frossard, with chef d'état-major général Saget.

1st Infantry DivisionThe 1st Infantry Division of the 2nd Army Corps was under the orders of général Vergé
2nd Infantry DivisionThe 2nd Infantry Division of the 2nd Army Corps was under the orders of général Bataille
3rd Infantry DivisionThe 3rd Infantry Division of the 2nd Army Corps was under the orders of général Merle de Labrugière de Laveaucoupet
Cavalry DivisionThe Cavalry Division of the 2nd Army Corps was commanded by général Marmier
Reserve ArtilleryArtillery Reserve was under the orders of colonel Beaudoin

3rd Army Corps

The 3rd Army Corps (French: [[:fr:3e corps d'armée (France)|3<sup>e</sup> Corps d'Armée]]) was commanded by Marshal Bazaine, with chef d'état-major général Manèque.

1st Infantry DivisionThe 1st Infantry Division of the 3rd Army Corps was under the orders of général Montaudon
2nd Infantry DivisionThe 2nd Infantry Division of the 3rd Army Corps was under the orders of général de Castagny
3rd Infantry DivisionThe 3rd Infantry Division of the 3rd Army Corps was under the orders of général Metman
4th Infantry DivisionThe 4th Infantry Division of the 3rd Army Corps was under the orders of général Decaen then Aymard
Cavalry DivisionThe Cavalry Division of the 3rd Army Corps was commanded by général comte de Clérembault
Reserve ArtilleryArtillery Reserve was under the orders of colonel de Lajaille

4th Army Corps

The 4th Army Corps (French: [[:fr:4e corps d'armée (France)|4<sup>e</sup> Corps d'Armée]]) was commanded by général de Ladmirault, with chef d'état-major général Osmont.

1st Infantry DivisionThe 1st Infantry Division of the 4th Army Corps was under the orders of général Courtot de Cissey
2nd Infantry DivisionThe 2nd Infantry Division of the 4th Army Corps was under the orders of général Rose[6] then Grenier
3rd Infantry DivisionThe 3rd Infantry Division of the 4th Army Corps was under the orders of général Latrille comte de Lorencez
Cavalry DivisionThe Cavalry Division of the 4th Army Corps was commanded by général Legrand
Reserve ArtilleryArtillery Reserve was under the orders of colonel Soleille

5th Army Corps

The 5th Army Corps (French: [[:fr:5e corps d'armée (France)|5<sup>e</sup> Corps d'Armée]]) was commanded by général de Failly, with chef d'état-major général Besson.

1st Infantry DivisionThe 1st Infantry Division of the 5th Army Corps was under the orders of général Goze.
2nd Infantry DivisionThe 2nd Infantry Division of the 5th Army Corps was under the orders of général de l'Abadie d'Aydren.
3rd Infantry DivisionThe 3rd Infantry Division of the 5th Army Corps was under the orders of général Guyot de Lespart
Cavalry DivisionThe Cavalry Division of the 5th Army Corps was commanded by général Brahaut
Reserve ArtilleryColonel de Salignac-Fénelon

6th Army Corps

The 6th Army Corps was (French: [[:fr:6e corps d'armée (France)|6<sup>e</sup> Corps d'Armée]]) was commanded by Marshal Certain de Canrobert, with chef d'état-major général Henry.

1st Infantry DivisionThe 1st Infantry Division of the 6th Army Corps was under the orders of général Tixier
2nd Infantry DivisionThe 2nd Infantry Division of the 6th Army Corps was under the orders of général Bisson[7]
3rd Infantry DivisionThe 3rd Infantry Division of the 6th Army Corps was under the orders of général Lafont de Villiers
4th Infantry DivisionThe 4th Infantry Division of the 6th Army Corps was under the orders of général Levassor-Sorval
Cavalry Division[10] The Cavalry Division of the 6th Army Corps was commanded by général de Salignac-Fénelon
Cavalry DivisionThe Cavalry Division attached to the 6th Army Corps since August 18 in replacement of the division of Salignac-Fénelon, was commanded by général du Barail
Reserve Artillery

7th Army Corps

The 7th Army Corps (French: [[:fr:7e corps d'armée (France)|7<sup>e</sup> Corps d'Armée]]) was commanded by général Douay, with chef d'état-major général Renson.

1st Infantry DivisionThe 1st Infantry Division of the 7th Army Corps was under the orders of général Conseil-Dumesnil.
2nd Infantry DivisionThe 2nd Infantry Division of the 7th Army Corps was under the orders of général Liébert.
3rd Infantry DivisionThe 3rd Infantry Division of the 7th Army Corps was under the orders of général Dumont.
Cavalry DivisionThe Cavalry Division of the 7th Army Corps was commanded by général baron Ameil.
Reserve ArtilleryColonel Aubac

Reserve Cavalry

1st Cavalry Division [16]

The 1st Reserve Cavalry Division was commanded by général du Barail.

The 2nd Reserve Cavalry Division was commanded by général de Bonnemain.

2nd Cavalry Division
3rd Cavalry Division

The 3rd Reserve Cavalry Division was commanded by général de Forton.

Reserve Artillery and Engineer

General Reserve ArtilleryCommanded by général Canu.
Grand parc de campagneCommanded by général de Mitrecé.
General Reserve of EngineerCommanded by colonel Rémond.
Grand parc du Génie

Chronology of operations

Sources and bibliography

Notes and References

  1. In Histoire générale de la guerre franco allemande - 1870–1871, Tome 1 pages 116–124.
  2. Les dates communiquées dans cette colonne sont les dates correspondant au relevés théoriques d'effectifs. Ces valeurs sont en effet théoriques car l'ensemble des unités n'étaient, à ces dates, pas toutes réunies autour de leur corps d'affectation.
  3. In Histoire générale de la guerre franco allemande - 1870–1871, Tome 1, pages 395–405.
  4. Marie Justin Lin Soleille or simply Justin Soleille
  5. L'ouvrage indique Harmand Lucien Duez
  6. général Etienne Hugues Rose was not able to join due to health challenges
  7. the 14th, 20th, and 31st Line Infantry Regiments did not join and were integrated in the 12th Army Corps. The Division was accordingly reduced to the 9th line Infantry Regiment.
  8. général de Marguenat was killed at Rezonville
  9. Promoted général on September 26, colonel Gibon replaced général de Marguenat and was killed at Ladonchamps on October 7.
  10. This division did not join the Army Corps and was replaced, on August 18, by the Division of général du Barail.
  11. The artillery reserves and engineers of the 6th Corps were not able to join. The artillery reserve was reconstituted from the general reserves of the army.
  12. Colonel Morand was promoted to général August 25 and replaced général Nicolaï, prisoner. He was killed at Beaumont on August 30.
  13. Colonel de Gramont was promoted to général and replaced général Maire, killed during the battle of Frœschwiller.
  14. 79th Infantry Regiment did not join initially and was replaced with the 72nd Infantry Regiment. Finally, the regiment was assigned to the 12th Army Corps.
  15. The 2nd Brigade of the Cavalry Division of the 7th Army Corps did not join.
  16. The 1st Cavalry Division (reserve) was dislocated before the blockade of Metz. The Margueritte Brigade was assigned to the Army of Châlons. Brigade Lajaille was assigned to the 6th Army Corps to constitute the respective Division Cavalry.