Battles & Campaigns · 1870
Battle of Spicheren
Spicheren, Moselle, France
What happened
Prussian forces under Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz fought a French corps under Charles Auguste Frossard. Early in the Franco-Prussian War, German troops advancing from Saarbrücken climbed the heights toward the French line between Spicheren and Forbach. The French counterattacked all afternoon. More Prussian troops arrived, and at dusk Frossard ordered a retreat.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It was one of three key French defeats at the start of the war. The French fell back toward Metz.
What came next
Steinmetz attacked again at Borny-Colombey days later. After costly mistakes at Gravelotte, he was removed from command.
Timeline
- 6 August 1870Battle of Spicheren.
- 14 August 1870Battle of Borny-Colombey.
- April 1871Steinmetz retires.
- 2 August 1877Steinmetz dies at Bad Landeck.