Talk:Battle of Mars-la-Tour

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Untitled[edit]

"Prussian victory" ?? What a joke ! The Frenchs were beholding the ground after the battle. It was maybe a prussian strategic success but not a victory. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.7.243.194 (talk) 21:22, 21 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This is not a good account of this battle. It is especially one-sided and reflects poorly on Wikipedia as a trusted source. The French were not routed, but checked in their retreat to the west. The Prussians suffered badly and were saved from defeat by French inaction and indecisiveness. Von Bredow's charge was launched to relieve perceived pressure on the Prussian infantry. The French generally held the ground they occupied at the beginning of the battle. It was a tactical success for the Prussians in that the French subsequently decided to withdraw on Metz to the east. This article needs a major revision and a more balanced and accurate account of the battle. Chris1945 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Chris1945 (talk • contribs) 07:21, 14 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

13,761 v. 16,000[edit]

Why are people writing these articles without being able to read? --91.10.52.136 (talk) 17:23, 30 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Issue of the Battle of Rezonville - Mars-la-Tour (16 August 1870)[edit]

In my opinion, the German version is the most accurate in its conclusion (see « Schlacht bei Mars-la-Tour – Wikipedia »). Tactically, the Battle of Rezonville - Mars-la-Tour (August 16, 1870) ends in a bloody draw. Yes indeed, the French remained in their positions, but the Germans did not retire, and spent the night a few hundred meters away. Strategically, on the other hand, it is a German victory. The French, hooked on the 16th, and obliged to fight all day, have again, as at Borny two days before, lost a day. So that the road to Verdun is definitely barred to them. The French troops will be permanently blocked in Metz two days later, after the battle of St. Privat (August 18). During the Battle of Rezonville - Mars-la-Tour, the French were constantly in numerical superiority throughout the day (50,000 against 30,000 at the beginning of the day, then 130,000 against 80,000 at the end of the day). The absence of a decision by General-in-Chief Bazaine not to attack at certain key moments of the day, and his passivity throughout the battle, may have saved the German army from a defeat. The imprudent attack on the morning of the Alvensleben’s 3rd Prussian Corps on what he believed to be the rear-guard of the French army, could have ended very badly. On the morning of the 17th, the day after the battle, Bazaine ordered the retreat, while the French army was preparing to resume the fighting. Later, on the morrow of the capitulation of Metz (October 27, 1870), Prince Frederick Charles interrogated French officers taken prisoners, with only one question: why Bazaine had not attacked on the morning of the 17th? [Sorry for my bad English language (I am French!)]