The Battle of Sedan (1 - 2 September 1870 )

In the last half of the nineteenth century, Prussia was on the rise under the leadership of Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck. In 1866, it annexed territories in northern Germany after success in the Austro-Prussian War and was set on taking over the southern German states of Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt. While France under Napoleon III did not oppose the Prussian annexation of northern German states, the southern expansion of Prussia was deemed an unacceptable threat to French security. This led to French sabre-rattling which was welcomed by Bismarck who saw war with France as a tool to further unify the German people. At the same time, Napoleon III and his prime minister saw war as a means to calm internal dissent in France. Eventually, France declared war on Prussia on the 19 July, 1870. Thus began the Franco-Prussian War.

Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, had come to power after staging a coup in 1851. He had dreams of recovering those parts of the Rhine Frontier lost by his uncle in 1815 and restoring the former glory of France on the world stage. But things were not working out so well for him. His attempt to exert control of Mexico ended in 1867 with the defeat and execution of his puppet Archduke Maximillian von Hapsburg, whom the French had installed as Emperor Maximillian I of Mexico four years earlier. At the same time, there were increasing calls for revolution and a return to republicanism in the urban areas of France. The French Army in 1870 was large, but mostly a reserve force, not particularly well trained.

In Prussian Germany, Bismarck had instituted universal military service, modernized, and expanded the railway system and introduced modern innovations to artillery. Due to superior organization, the Prussians were able to deploy 380,000 battle ready-soldiers to the front within eighteen days of mobilization, as compared to the French Army that arrived at the front piecemeal and often without adequate supplies.

The Prussians soon forced the French back, with the French left wing withdrawing to Metz, which the Germans besieged. The 130,000-strong French Army of Châlons commanded by Marshal Patrice de MacMahon and accompanied by Napoleon III attempted to lift the siege of Metz, only to be caught by the Prussians and defeated at the Battle of Beaumont. MacMahon's army retreated to Sedan, where the Prussians under the command of Field-Marshal Helmuth von Moltke and accompanied by Prussian king Wilhelm I and Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck, encircled them. Marshal MacMahon was wounded during the attacks and command passed to General Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot, until it was taken over by General Emmanuel Felix de Wimpffen.

The Army of Châlons was in a hopeless position In Sedan Map. They could not retreat owing to the exhaustion of their troops, and they were short on ammunition. The town could not feed the army for more than a few days and was simply too small to accommodate the French army. Many men were trampled in the panic to get within the walls. The only option for the French was to break out of Sedan. The only possible escape route was through the town of La Moncelle, which the French occupied. Unfortunately for the French, the Germans anticipated this manoeuver, moved their artillery up to seal off the route and launched an attack on the neighboring town of Bazeilles Map on the French right flank.

On September 1, the Battle of Sedan opened with the Army of Châlons, with 202 infantry battalions, 80 cavalry squadrons and 564 guns, attacking the surrounding Prussian Third and Meuse Armies, which totaled 222 infantry battalions, 186 cavalry squadrons and 774 guns. The French enjoyed some initial success, but Prussian artillery checked the attack.  General Wimpffen then threw his forces against the Germans at La Moncelle with some small success, but the Germans were able to take Bazeilles on the French flank. This, along with the arrival on the field of fresh waves of Prussian reinforcements, stalled any further French advance. By midday, the French were suffering under Prussian artillery fire. The intense bombardment and attacks from the northwest, east and southwest, drove the Army of Châlons into the Bois de la Garenne Map where it was surrounded. The French cavalry, commanded by General Jean Auguste Margueritte, attempted to open an escape route by launching three desperate attacks on the nearby village of Floing Map  where the Prussian XI Corps was concentrated. Margueritte was mortally wounded leading the very first charge, and the two additional charges only succeeded in further French casualties.

There was mounting chaos within Sedan as the French were hammered by more than four hundred German guns mounted in a semicircle on the high ground around the town. Napoleon III joined the battle line, seeking death in battle to avoid the approaching humiliation, but he was ill and could not remain part of the fight. By the end of the day, with no hope of breaking out, Napoleon III called off the attacks. The French lost over seventeen thousand men killed and wounded with twenty-one thousand captured. The Prussians reported their losses at 2,320 killed, 5,980 wounded and 700 captured or missing.

On 2 September, Napoleon III ordered the white flag to be run up and surrendered himself and the entire Army of Châlons to Moltke and the Prussian king.

The days after news hit Paris of Emperor Napoleon's III capture, the French Second Empire collapsed in a bloodless revolution, leading to the creation of both the Paris Commune and a new provisional government that carried on the war for five more months, principally so that the Prussians could do the job of crushing of the Commune.

With the defeat at Sedan and the capture of Napoleon III and of the Army of Châlons, and with the rest of the French Army trapped in Metz, Prussia’s victory was certain, as was the end the Second Empire. Napoleon III was permitted to leave Prussian custody for exile in England, while the Prussian Army went on to besiege and capture Paris. At the war’s end, France surrendered Alsace and Lorraine to the Prussians.

Until 1919, many Germans celebrated Sedantag  (Day of Sedan) on 2 September as an unofficial day of celebration.

Sedan Today

Sedan is located about ten kilometres from the Belgian border on the edge of the French Ardennes in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France. The historic core of the town sits on a peninsula formed by a bow in the Meuse River. The town was founded in 1424 by Évrard de La Marck, a member of the powerful La Marck family from the Principality of Liège. In the sixteenth century, the same family became sovereign princes of Sedan, soon after acquiring the title of Duke of Bouillon. During the Wars of Religion and in the sixteenth century Sedan became an official asylum for Protestant émigrés from the religious wars.

Sedan is also home to one of the great marshals of France, Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne (1611-1675), known as Marshal Turenne.

The town was a centre of cloth production until the late nineteenth century.

Perhaps not surprisingly, given that Sedan is the site of two significant French military losses, there are few military memorials and sites in the area.

Sedan Castle

The medieval Sedan Castle Map dominates the town and is by far the most interesting attraction in Sedan. Built in the fifteenth century, with the defences added in the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, the castle covers more than three hectares and is probably the largest remaining castle in Europe. The main living quarters in the castle date from the 16th century but were abandoned for new accommodation in the nearby Château Bas' (palais des Princes) in the seventeenth century. Now nicely restored and maintained, Sedan castle is open to the public and hosts a pretty good museum, hotel, and restaurant. In 2019, the town put forward plans to open a multi-use recreation centre in the castle. We really like Sedan Castle. It is really well preserved, and the museum is just fine. There are great views of the area from the castle walls and the hotel is a unique place to stay at a reasonable price. chateau-fort-sedan Rank 9

In Sedan

A stroll down Rue du Ménil Map puts you in sight of the best remaining eighteenth century buildings of Sedan and around the Place du Château Map is a pleasant place to walk. You can find more local travel ideas in the Champagne-Ardenne guide.

Nearby

There is an interesting military cemetery where lay the remains of French and Prussian soldiers from 1870 lay. Map. Similarly, there is a memorial and Ossuary relating to 1870 in the nearby town of Bazeilles.

In nearby Stonne, Map which was destroyed in fighting in 1940, there is a display of a French Char B-1 tank, which is worth the side trip. Driving into the town you curve past the Butte of Stonne where there is a French AMX-13 tank, a vehicle used between 1952 and 1987 by French and foreign armies, on display.

We have not done this, but there is a company offering tours of remnant parts of the Maginot Line around Sedan: .tripadvisor Attraction Review