Battle of Le Mans

{{Campaignbox Franco-Prussian War}} {{Campaignbox Loire Campaign}} :''For the 1793 battle, see [[Battle of Le Mans (1793)]].'' The '''Battle of Le Mans''' was a Prussian victory during the [[Franco-Prussian War]] which ended French resistance in western France. ==Background== After the victory at the [[Battle of Orleans (1870)]], [[Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1828-1885)|Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia]] marched his army further to the west towards [[Le Mans]]. [[Antoine Chanzy]] had under his command about 150,000 soldiers stationed in Le Mans. The bulk of the pre-war professional French army had either been captured at the [[Battle of Sedan (1870)]] and the [[Siege of Metz (1870)]] or were bottled up in the [[Siege of Paris]]. Thus Chanzy's "army" consisted mainly of reservists and hastily conscripted civilians armed with a variety of obsolete civilian rifles or old military muzzle-loaders. Greatly outnumbering the German army, the French conscripts were nonetheless no match for the battle-seasoned Germans and Friedrich Karl did not hesitate to destroy them. ==The battle== The French army was greatly demoralized and ill-equipped. Much of the French ammunition had been soaked in the rain giving the Prussians a major advantage against a the obsolete French forces. But Chanzy still ordered his forces into trenches prepared before Le Mans. The Germans hit the French left flank guarded by the [[Huisne River]]. The flank was turned and nearly routed until artillery and a counterattack halted the German attack. A bold German attack was launched on the French right flank, which fell apart. Corps commander [[Jean Bernard Jauréguiberry]] attempted to rally the broken troops to mount a counterattack but failed to do so. The French defense dissolved, the stragglers falling back into Le Mans. ==Results== The battle had completely ended French resistance in the west. Friedrich Karl's supply lines were stretched thin and his army also was exhausted from its campaign along the [[Loire River]] that he did not pursue Chanzy. However, Chanzy's army was so demoralized and fatigued after the battle that it ceased to be an effective force and the fighting around the [[Loire River|Loire]] came to an end. ==Sources== *Howard, Michael ''The Franco-Prussian War: German Invasion of France'' MacMillan 1962 *[http://web.archive.org/web/20091027102801/http://geocities.com/fpwar1870/history.html History of the Franco-Prussian War] {{coord missing|France}}