Battle
1866 engagement
The Battle of Roßbrunn was the last battle of the Main Campaign in the Austro-Prussian War. It took place on 26 July 1866 near Roßbrunn, Uettingen and Hettstadt.
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Text from the Wikipedia article “Battle of Roßbrunn”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Battle of Roßbrunn was the last battle of the Main Campaign in the Austro-Prussian War. It took place on 26 July 1866 near Roßbrunn, Uettingen and Hettstadt.
Prince Karl of Bavaria, the Commander-in-Chief of the West German Army of the German Confederation, planned an offensive of the VII and VIII Federal Corps against the Prussian Army under Edwin von Manteuffel. On 16 July 1866 however, the VIII. Corps was no longer ready to fight and withdrew towards Würzburg. Prince Karl wanted to hold the plateau near Hettstadt, and thus Würzburg, in order to keep up Bavaria's negotiating position in the upcoming peace negotiations.
The 2nd Combined Infantry Brigade under Major General Ludwig von Korth, part of the Prussian Division Flies, occupied Uettingen with two battalions late on 25 July and moved into night quarters west of the village with the majority of the brigade.
The Bavarian 2nd Division under Major General Maximilian von Feder and the Bavarian 4th Division under Major General Jakob von Hartmann were positioned near Roßbrunn. The rest of the Bavarian Army was concentrated behind it between Hettstadt and Waldbrunn.
At 4 a.m., units of the Bavarian 5th Infantry Regiment attacked the Prussians in Uettingen.
On the left flank Major General von Korth had the Kirchberg stormed by the 59th (4th Posen) Infantry Regiment. Parts of the Bavarian 5th and 13th Infantry regiments as well as the 8th Jäger Battalion defended the Kirchberg, but could not hold it and had to retreat to the Hessnert with considerable losses.
The 36th (Magdeburg) Fusilier Regiment under Colonel Hugo von Thile stormed the Osnert on the right flank, with considerable losses (including two battalion commanders). Units of the Bavarian 7th and 10th Infantry Regiments had tried in vain to hold the mountain.
The Prussians succeeded in taking the heights (Kirchberg, Osnert, Heiligenberg) near Uettingen, which dominated the village and the road to Würzburg, after the Bavarians had cleared the Heiligenberg.
An artillery duel took place in the center, although the Prussians were only able to make progress after the two flanking mountains had been captured. Around 10 o'clock the Bavarians vacated their position at Roßbrunn and took up a new position on the Hettstadt plateau.
Prussian cavalry under Colonel Thassilo von Nidda explored the terrain, with a smaller unit coming into battle with Bavarian cavalry. In the pursuit of the Bavarians, the unit came under Bavarian infantry fire and suffered considerable losses. Colonel Nidda made a new attack with his whole brigade of eight squadrons and initially threw back the Bavarian cavalry. Thereupon the Bavarians threw four cavalry regiments, three Cuirassier and one Uhlan, into the battle and put the Prussians to flight. The last battle ended with a victory for Bavaria.
Several memorials for the fallen soldiers of the Prussian regiments and the Bavarian 4th Division were erected in the Uettingen cemetery
For the fallen soldiers of the royal Bavarian infantry regiments 4, 7 and 10, a memorial in the shape of a cross was erected on the Vogelsberg south of Roßbrunn.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Battle of Roßbrunn”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.