The Campaign of the Main (in German: ''Mainfeldzug'') was a campaign of the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
n army in the area of the river
Main
Main may refer to:
Geography
* Main River (disambiguation)
**Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany
* Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province
*"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries
...
against the allies of
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
in Southern Germany during the
Austro-Prussian War of 1866.
Preliminary campaign
While the greater part of the Prussian troops marched to
Bohemia, where they defeated the Austrian and
Saxon troops on 3 July 1866 at
Königgrätz (Sadova), another part of the Prussian troops invaded the
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Ha ...
. After the surrender of Hanover on June 29 these troops - including some small units of allies of Prussia - were grouped under the name ''Mainarmee'' (German for: Army of the Main) and pushed southward towards the river Main against the South-German allies of Austria.
Course
The allies of Austria had formed the VIIth and
VIIIth Federal Corps of the
German Confederation
The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...
. Both corps had advanced northward to support Hanover. When Hanover surprisingly surrendered the VIIth Corps, built by the
Bavarians, stood in
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
. The VIIIth Corps, built by troops of
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...
,
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...
and
Wuerttemberg, stood north of
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
. At first the Prussians attacked the VIIth Corps. The Bavarian troops lost combats at
Hünfeld
Hünfeld is a town in the district of Fulda, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 16 km northeast of Fulda. In 2000, the town hosted the 40th Hessentag state festival. Hünfeld has a population close to 16,000.
Infrastructure Transport
The f ...
and
Dermbach
Dermbach is a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany. The former municipalities Brunnhartshausen, Diedorf
Diedorf is a municipality in the district of Augsburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Schmut ...
on 4 July and withdrew to the river
Franconian Saale. But the Prussians followed quickly across the mountains of the
Rhön and beat the Bavarians in the battle of
Kissingen and
Hammelburg
Hammelburg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It sits in the district of Bad Kissingen, in Lower Franconia. It lies on the river Franconian Saale, 25 km west of Schweinfurt. Hammelburg is the oldest winegrowing town (''Weinstadt'') in Francon ...
on 10 July.
Now the Bavarians retreated to
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg ...
while the Prussians turned westward against the VIIIth Corps which protected Frankfurt. The Prussians crossed the
Spessart
Spessart is a '' Mittelgebirge'', a range of low wooded mountains, in the States of Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. It is bordered by the Vogelsberg, Rhön and Odenwald. The highest elevation is the Geiersberg at 586 metres above sea level.
Ety ...
, defeated the Hessians at
Laufach/Frohnhofen on 13 July and the Austrian and Hessian troops at
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the Aschaffenburg (district), district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative sea ...
on 14 July. The Federal troops had to withdraw westward to the left bank of the Main. After the Prussians had conquered Aschaffenburg and crossed the Main the way to Frankfurt and Darmstadt was open. Now the VIIIth Corps abandoned Frankfurt, moved south across the
Odenwald and then turned eastward to meet the Bavarians at the river
Tauber
The Tauber () is a river in Franconia (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length. The name derives from the Celtic word for water (compare: Dover).
It flows through Rothenburg ob der Tauber ...
. The Prussians occupied the now undefended Frankfurt on 16 July and then followed the VIIIth Corps along the left bank of the Main. In the combat of
Hundheim (23 July), the battles of
Werbach,
Tauberbischofsheim
Tauberbischofsheim is a German town in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg on the river Tauber with a population of about 13,200. It is the capital of the Main-Tauber district. It is a popular tourist destination due to its numerous historical ...
(both 24 July) and
Gerchsheim (25 July) the VIIIth Corps was defeated by the Prussians. At 25 July the Prussians also clashed with the Bavarians again at
Helmstadt
Helmstadt is a municipality in the Lower Franconian district of Würzburg in Bavaria in Germany.
Geography
Municipal structure
Helmstadt consists of two districts:
* Helmstadt
* Holzkirchhausen
Neighboring municipalities
* Holzkirche ...
and the following day at
Rossbrunn. This combats were also won by the Prussians. The allied troops retreated to Würzburg. The Prussians followed and began to bombard the fortress of Würzburg on 26 July. But soon a truce was negotiated after the news had reached the Bavarian headquarters, that the Prussians and the Austrians had signed their Armistice of Nikolsburg at the same day. At last Würzburg was occupied by the Prussians.
In a separate operation the 2nd Prussian reserve corps marched into Bavaria at the north-east on 23 July and occupied
Hof,
Bayreuth (28 July) and at last
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
(31 July).
Reasons for the Prussian victory
The Prussian victory is more the result of better organization than of the technical superiority of the Prussian weapons like the
needle gun
A needle gun (or needle rifle for varieties with rifling) is a firearm that has a needle-like firing pin, which can pass through the paper cartridge case to strike a percussion cap at the bullet base.
Types Pauly
A diagram of a needle-gun ...
(''Zündnadelgewehr'').
Helmut von Moltke, the chief of the Prussian general staff, had planned an offensive war to beat the federal troops before they could unite and fully use their superiority in men and equipment. The plan was successful because the untrained federal armies needed a long time for mobilization which the Prussians had prepared well. Furthermore the Prussians had one unified command which the federal side had not. Formally Karl von Bayern, the commander of the VIIth corps, was supreme commander of all the federal troops, but Alexander von Hessen, the chief of the VIIIth corps, also received orders from the
Federal Convention (''Bundestag'') in Frankfurt and the governments of the states which had sent troops. The communication between the federal troops was as insufficient as their reconnaissance so that they often had to react instead of acting initiatively.
[Dieter Storz: ''Der Feldzug''. In: Dieter Storz, Daniel Hohrath (Ed.): ''Nord gegen Süd. Der Deutsche Krieg 1866''. p. 57-59]
Consequences
The German Confederation was abolished. Prussia annexed Hannover, Nassau, Hesse-Kassel and Frankfurt and small parts of Hesse-Darmstadt and Bavaria. Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt remained independent, but had to sign military alliances with Prussia. In Bavaria a fundamental
army reform followed in 1868.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Main, Campaign of the
Battles involving Bavaria
Battles involving Prussia
Battles of the Austro-Prussian War
Battles involving Austria
Campaign of the Main
Campaign of the Main