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Battle of Kaiserslautern

1793 in the Holy Roman EmpireBattles in Rhineland-PalatinateBattles involving PrussiaBattles involving SaxonyBattles of the War of the First Coalition
Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of BrunswickConflicts in 1793
Kaiserslautern merian
Kaiserslautern merian

The Battle of Kaiserslautern (28–30 November 1793) saw a Coalition army under Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel oppose a Republican French army led by Lazare Hoche. Three days of conflict resulted in a victory by the Prussians and their Electoral Saxon allies as they turned back repeated French attacks. The War of the First Coalition combat was fought near the city of Kaiserslautern in the modern-day state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, which is located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Mannheim. In the First Battle of Wissembourg, the Coalition army of Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser broke through the frontier defenses and drove the French Army of the Rhine south to Strasbourg. In response to this crisis, the French government appointed Hoche to command the Army of the Moselle and Jean-Charles Pichegru to lead the Army of the Rhine, while urging them to relieve the siege of Landau. In November, Hoche launched an offensive which pressed back the Duke of Brunswick's army to Kaiserslautern. On 28 November, French troops moved on Brunswick's defenses from the north, northwest and west, but for two days the Coalition army fended off the piecemeal attacks of their adversaries. Hoche finally got his entire army into action on the 30th, but the professional Prussian soldiers proved more than a match for the enthusiastic but indifferently-trained French. After the setback, Hoche changed his strategy and turned a large part of his army against Wurmser's exposed western flank in Alsace. The next engagement was the Battle of Froeschwiller in December.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Battle of Kaiserslautern (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Battle of Kaiserslautern
Am Glockenturm, Kaiserslautern Galappmühle

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N 49.470277777778 ° E 7.7636111111111 °
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Am Glockenturm 17
67659 Kaiserslautern, Galappmühle
Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
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Kaiserslautern merian
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Battle of Kaiserslautern (1794)

The Battle of Kaiserslautern (23 May 1794) saw an army from the Kingdom of Prussia and Electoral Saxony led by Wichard Joachim Heinrich von Möllendorf fall upon a single French Republican division under Jean-Jacques Ambert from the Army of the Moselle. The Prussians tried to surround their outnumbered adversaries but most of the French evaded capture. Nevertheless, Möllendorf's troops inflicted casualties on the French in the ratio of nine-to-one and occupied Kaiserslautern. While the Prussians won this triumph on an unimportant front, the French armies soon began winning decisive victories in Belgium and the Netherlands. The battle occurred during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1794 Kaiserslautern was part of the Electoral Palatinate but today the city is located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany about 67 kilometres (42 mi) west of Mannheim. In December 1793, the French drove the soldiers of Habsburg Austria and Prussia from French soil in the Second Battle of Wissembourg and took positions beyond the eastern frontier. That spring the Army of the Moselle sent heavy reinforcements to northeast France, leaving the Rhine front lightly defended by troops under Jean René Moreaux. Taking advantage of French weakness, the main Prussian assault was aimed at Ambert who could only try to save as many of his troops as possible. Also on 23 May an Austro-Prussian army attacked the Army of the Rhine under Claude Ignace François Michaud but was repulsed at the Battle of Schifferstadt. After losing Kaiserslautern, the two French armies withdrew to positions closer to the frontier. Having expended almost the only initiative they displayed in 1794, the Prussians allowed their offensive to sputter to a halt.