Battle of Turckheim

Battle of Turckheim
Part of Franco-Dutch War
Turenne marching with his troops
Date 5 January 1675 Location Turckheim (now in Alsace, France) Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Austria Brandenburg-Prussia
Commanders and leaders
Vicomte of Turenne	Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg
Strength
30,000 soldiers	50,000 soldiers

The Battle of Turckheim was a confrontation during the Franco-Dutch War fought on January 5, 1675 between the towns of Colmar and Turckheim in Alsace. It opposed the French army commanded by the Viscount of Turenne against the armies of Austria and Brandenburg, led by Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg.

The aggressive campaign of Louis XIV against the Netherlands, since 1672, had provoced a hostile reaction of other European states like Austria (who controlled the Holy Roman Empire) and Brandenburg. Their intervention had brought the war into the upper Rhine, creating a threat to French territory. In 1674 Marshal Turenne, French commander in that sector, failed to prevent the invasion of Alsace by a part of the imperial army. With the arrival of year's end, the Imperials went into their winter quarters in the region of Colmar, a few miles south of the French winter barracks, situated in Haguenau.

According to the conventions of war of the time, the military operations should be halted during the winter until the return of the spring. Turenne, however, decided not to follow this custom. Using the Vosges mountains as a curtain of protection, he moved west and then south, reappearing in Belfort, south of the opponent, on December 27, 1674. Finding no resistance, he reached Mulhouse on the 29th. The highly surprised Imperials hastily fell back on Turckheim. Turenne found the Imperial army very well positioned on the afternoon of January 5, 1675. The ensuing battle did not follow the standards of the 17th century. At the head of only a third of his army and marching with the left flank skirting the mountains, Turenne fell against the extreme right of the enemy. The speed of the attack (which was not preceded by artillery fire) and the numerical superiority concentrated on a single point, disrupted and demoralized the defenders, putting them to flight, without many casualties. Now, with their winter quarters threatened, Frederick William of Brandenburg was forced to leave Alsace, and crossed the following week the Rhine River, back to Germany. This campaign is considered one of the brightest of the 17th century. Here the Vicomte de Turenne, through two indirect maneuvers (one strategic and one tactical) saved France of an invasion, suffering only negligible casualties.

Bibliography

Berenger, Jean. Turenne, Paris: Fayard, 1987.

Eggenberger, David. An Encyclopedia of Battles, New York: Dover Publications, 1985.

SOUZA, Marcos da Cunha et al. General Military History I, Palhoça: UnisulVirtual, 2009.