Battle of Bapaume (1871)

{{Unreferenced|date=April 2008}} {{Campaignbox Franco-Prussian War}} The '''Battle of Bapaume''' was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War which defeated French attempts to relieve the besieged city of [[Péronne, Somme|Péronne]]. The battle was fought on January 3, 1871 near the town of [[Bapaume]]. The Prussian 1st Army had reached Bapaume at the end of December while at the same time the French Army of the North under Faidherbe moved out to break the German siege of Péronne. Both sides encountered each other near Bapaume. Although Faidherbe's green troops held their own against the outnumbered but experienced Prussians, they didn't follow up their advantage and retreated. As a consequence, Péronne surrendered on January 10. Soon the Prussians would be reinforced and two weeks later they would meet [[Louis Faidherbe|Faidherbe]] in battle again at [[Battle of St. Quentin (1871)|Saint Quentin]]. {{coord missing|France}}