"PRUSSIAN MONUMENTS" Top 5 Page for this destination Wissembourg Off The Beaten Path Tip by mtncorg

The German 3rd Army was made up of units of the various German allies - Prussia, Bavaria, Baden and Wurttemburg. This battle - 4 August 1870 - was the first in which they had operated together - Bavaria had actually been fighting against Prussia alongside Austria during the 1866 war. It was probably well that they outnumbered the French by such a large number so that they had enough room to spare for mistakes. Casualties were relatively similar on each side - Germans lost 1,500 to the 1,300 French casualties, though another 900 would be captured - but the effectiveness of the different units was not. An entire Bavarian corps was set upon the town, making little progress until town fathers not wanting their town destroyed open the city gates. Up the Geisberg, Prussian attacks took advantage of overwhelming numbers in both men and artillery pieces to push aside the French, many of whom survived and escaped toe nearby Woerth where another, larger battle would erupt two days later.