The Battle of Friedlingen was fought in 1702 between
France and the
Holy Roman Empire. The
Imperial forces
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
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were led by
Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden, while the French were led by
Claude Louis Hector de Villars
Claude Louis Hector de Villars, Prince de Martigues, Marquis then Duc de Villars, Vicomte de Melun (, 8 May 1653 – 17 June 1734) was a French military commander and an illustrious general of Louis XIV of France. He was one of only six Marshals ...
. The French were victorious.
Prelude
The French were seeking to expand their influence on the eastern bank of the river
Rhine. In the autumn of 1702, Villars received orders from
Louis XIV to attack
Swabia
Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.
The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
.
The French forces needed to join their
Bavarian allies and defeat the Imperial troops that stood between them.
Battle
The French crossed the Rhine at
Weil am Rhein, just north of
Basle on 14 October 1702. Villars attacked the Imperial army at Friedlingen. The future field marshal Louis William entrenched his army and managed to hold the French for some time. He then retreated in good order to the North.
Aftermath
It was a
Pyrrhic victory
A Pyrrhic victory ( ) is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. Such a victory negates any true sense of achievement or damages long-term progress.
The phrase originates from a quote from P ...
for Villars. French losses differ between different sources, but were certainly high: Between 1,600
and 2,700 dead and wounded, whereas the Imperial forces lost between 3,000 and 4,000 men.
Villars was also prevented from joining the Bavarians.
The Spanish Succession 1702
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The villages on the eastern bank of the Rhine suffered much damage, especially Weil am Rhein.
Notes
References
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*{{citation , last= Lynn , first= John A. , title= The Wars of Louis XIV 1667-1714 , publisher= Longman , year= 1999 , isbn= 978-0-582-05629-9 , url-access= registration , url= https://archive.org/details/warsoflouisxiv1600lynn
External links
Friedlingen
Friedlingen
Friedlingen
Friedlingen
1702 in France
Friedlingen