Battle of Turckheim
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| Battle of Turckheim | |||||||
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| Part of Franco-Dutch War | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 France |
 Austria  Brandenburg-Prussia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Vicomte of Turenne |
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg | ||||||
The Battle of Turckheim was a confrontation of the Franco-Dutch War fought on January 5, 1675 between the towns of Colmar and Turckheim in Alsace. Involved the French armies commanded by the Viscount of Turenne against the armies of Austria and Brandenburg, led by Frederick William.
The aggressive campaign of Louis XIV against the Netherlands, since 1672, has just launched against France the hostility of other European states like Austria (who controlled the Holy Roman Empire) and Brandenburg. This intervention has spread the war into the upper Rhine and a new 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 have made their winter quarters om the region of Colmar, a few miles south of the French winter barracks, situated in Haguenau.
According to the war of the time, the military operations should be halted during the colder season and the generals kept their armies just to return in the spring. Turenne, however, decided not to follow this custom. Using the line of the Vosges mountains as a curtain of protection, he came west and then south, skirting that massive surprise to reappear in Belfort, south of the opponent, on December 27, 1674. Finding no resistance, reached Mulhouse on the 29th. The imperials surprised, hastily sought to focus 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. In front of only a third of his army and marching with the left flank glued to the mountains, Turenne fell against the extreme right of the device enemy. The imperial presence set by the rest of the French force in front, did not affect your device. The speed of the attack (who was not carrying artillery) and the numerical superiority that came from 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, come to cross the Rhine River, back to Germany next week. 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) got rid France of an invasion, suffering casualties negligible.
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.