The Armée de la Loire was a French army of the Franco-Prussian War. It was formed in October 1870 by
Léon Gambetta
Léon Gambetta (; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government.
Early life and education
Born in Cahors, Ga ...
, interior minister and minister for war in the
Government of National Defence
The Government of National Defense (french: Gouvernement de la Défense nationale) was the first government of the Third Republic of France from 4 September 1870 to 13 February 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. It was formed after the procla ...
, then taking refuge in
Tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...
after the French defeat at Sedan on 2 September 1870 had destroyed the Imperial field army. The newly raised force was formed out of
francs-tireurs
(, French for "free shooters") were irregular military formations deployed by France during the early stages of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). The term was revived and used by partisans to name two major French Resistance movements set ...
zouaves
The Zouaves were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army serving between 1830 and 1962 and linked to French North Africa; as well as some units of other countries modelled upon them. The zouaves were among the most decorated unit ...
and
tirailleurs
A tirailleur (), in the Napoleonic era, was a type of light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns. Later, the term "''tirailleur''" was used by the French Army as a designation for indigenous infantry recruited in the French ...
, plus regular soldiers in depots and reservists. Together these diverse units formed the 15th army corps under Joseph Édouard de la Motte Rouge. Apart from the North African units, the Army had few officers with fighting experience, insufficient artillery, and its troops were under-trained. It fought at the Battle of Orléans (1870) and
Battle of Le Mans
The Battle of Le Mans was a German victory during the Franco-Prussian War that ended French resistance in western France.
Background
After capturing the armies of the French Empire at Sedan and Metz in the fall of 1870, the German armies un ...
Loiret
Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.< ...
), the ''armée de la Loire'' was defeated by the I Bavarian Korps (General von der Thann), protecting the south flank of the German forces besieging Paris. The ''armée'' had to abandon
Orléans
Orléans (;"Orleans" (US) and Louis d'Aurelle de Paladines
Louis Jean-Baptiste d'Aurelle de Paladines (9 January 1804 – 17 December 1877) was a French general.
Life
He was born at Le Malzieu-Ville, Lozère, educated at the Prytanée National Militaire and St Cyr, and entered the army as sub-lieu ...
, who set up base in
Salbris
Salbris () is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department in central France.
Population
See also
* Sologne
* Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department
The following is a list of the 267 communes of the Loir-et-Cher department of France.
The ...
, in
Sologne
Sologne (; ) is a natural region in Centre-Val de Loire, France, extending over portions of the departements of Loiret, Loir-et-Cher and Cher. Its area is about . To its north is the river Loire, to its south the river Cher, while the distr ...
. The ''armée'' with 70,000 men and 150 guns reinforced the 16th Corps (General Antoine Chanzy) and the 17th Corps (General Louis-Gaston de Sonis). It beat the Bavarians at
Coulmiers
Coulmiers () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.
History
This was the site of the defeat of the Prussian Army in the Battle of Coulmiers, November 9, 1870.
See also
*Communes of the Loiret department
The following ...
Toul
Toul () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.
It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
Geography
Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, and the river Moselle and Canal de la Marne au Rhin.
Climate
Toul ...
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...
(27 October). Gambetta reinforced the ''armée de la Loire'' with the 18th Corps (General Billot) and the 20th Corps (General Crouzat). The force was beaten on 28 November at the Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande (Loiret) by the Prussians and fell back on Orléans. On 1 and 2 December, the 16th and 17th corps were the victors at Villepion and Terminiers (1 December), against forces led by
Prince Leopold of Bavaria
Prince Leopold of Bavaria (Leopold Maximilian Joseph Maria Arnulf; 9 February 1846 – 28 September 1930) was born in Munich, the son of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria (1821–1912) and his wife Archduchess Augusta of Austria (1825–1864). H ...
but beaten at the
Battle of Loigny-Poupry
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
on 2 December.
Orléans
Orléans (;"Orleans" (US) and Second Battle of Orléans.
December
After the defeat at Loigny and the reoccupation of Orléans by the Germans on 4 December, the armée de la Loire found itself separated into two groups. Gambetta thus decided to reorganise its troops into two armées and to dismiss general d'Aurelle de Paladines. One part, regrouping 15th, 18th and 20th corps to form the Armée de l'Est, under General Bourbaki, was based at
Gien
Gien () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.
Gien is on the river Loire, from Orléans. Gien station has rail connections to Montargis, Nevers and Paris. The town was bought for the royal domain by Philip II of Fran ...
and
Salbris
Salbris () is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department in central France.
Population
See also
* Sologne
* Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department
The following is a list of the 267 communes of the Loir-et-Cher department of France.
The ...
in order to send help to
Belfort
Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Terri ...
then resisting the Germans. The other part, 16th and 17th corps, commanded by Chanzy, set up base in Beaugency and thus became the second ''armée de la Loire''. To it were also added the 19,000 poorly equipped troops left over from the closure of
Camp Conlie
Camp Conlie was one of eleven military camps established by the Republican Government of National Defense under Léon Gambetta during the Franco-Prussian war. It became notable because of events which have led to its being described as a "concentr ...
in December 1870. It met the Prussians at Josnes and
Villarceaux
The Domaine of Villarceaux is a French château, water garden and park located in the commune of Chaussy in the Val d'Oise Department of France, 65 kilometers northwest of Paris.
The Domaine is currently managed by the Regional Council of the ...
on 7 and 8 December, at Beaugency from 8–10 December, then at
Fréteval
Fréteval () is a commune in the French department of Loir-et-Cher. The village is located on the right bank of the river Loir. Archaeological evidence indicates that the site was occupied by the second century CE. In the Middle Ages, the forti ...
and
Château-du-Loir
Château-du-Loir (; literally 'Château of the Loir') is a former commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. On 1 October 2016, it was merged into the new commune Montval-sur-Loir.
(
Sarthe
Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...
) on 14 and 15 December. Although reinforced by 21st corps under general Jaurès, it lost the
battle of Le Mans
The Battle of Le Mans was a German victory during the Franco-Prussian War that ended French resistance in western France.
Background
After capturing the armies of the French Empire at Sedan and Metz in the fall of 1870, the German armies un ...
to the south-west of Le Mans on 11 and 12 January 1871, with 7,000 of its troops dead or wounded, 22,000 captured and 50,000 deserters. The battles continued at
Sillé-le-Guillaume
Sillé-le-Guillaume () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France, named after Guillaume de Sillé.
In the fifteenth century the lord of the manor was Sir John Fastolf of Caister in Norfolk ...
(Sarthe) on 15 January and at Saint-Mélaine on 18 January. The ''armée'' thus retrenched behind the river
Mayenne
Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ill ...