The Lines of Weissenburg or Lines of Wissembourg, entrenched works — an earthen rampart dotted with small outworks — along the river Lauter

Lauter (Rhine)

The Lauter is a river in Germany and France, left tributary of the Rhine. Its length is 55 km. It is formed by the confluence of two headstreams north of Hinterweidenthal in the Pfälzerwald, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...

.

History

The Lines, which were 12 miles (19 km) in length and stretched from Wissembourg

Wissembourg

Wissembourg is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in northeastern France.It is situated on the little River Lauter close to the border between France and Germany approximately north of Strasbourg and west of Karlsruhe. Wissembourg is a sub-prefecture of the department...

 on the west to Lauterbourg

Lauterbourg

Lauterbourg is a commune and Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. Situated on the German border and not far from the German city of Karlsruhe, it is the easternmost commune in Metropolitan France...

 on the east, where they were anchored on the Rhine River. The French built this chain of fortifications during the War of the Spanish Succession

War of the Spanish Succession

The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...

 under the orders of the Duke of Villars

Claude Louis Hector de Villars

Claude Louis Hector de Villars, Prince de Martigues, Marquis then Duc de Villars, Vicomte de Melun was the last great general of Louis XIV of France and one of the most brilliant commanders in French military history, one of only six Marshals who have been promoted to Marshal General of...

 in 1706.

During the War of the Austrian Succession

War of the Austrian Succession

The War of the Austrian Succession  – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...

 the loss of the Lines by the French played a pivotal role in the campaign of 1744. French King Louis XV in command of an army of 90,000 captured Menen

Menen

Menen is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Menen proper and the towns of Lauwe and Rekkem. The city is situated on the French/Belgian border. On January 1, 2006, Menen had a total population of 32,413...

 and Ypres

Ypres

Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...

 and prepared to invade the Austrian Netherlands. He was forced to abandon his invasion plans when Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine

Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine

Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine was a Lorraine-born Austrian soldier.-Background:Charles was the son of Leopold Joseph, Duke of Lorraine and Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans...

, assisted by the veteran Otto Traun, skillfully manoeuvred his army over the Rhine near Philippsburg

Philippsburg

Philippsburg is a town in Germany, in the district of Karlsruhe in Baden-Württemberg.-History:Before 1632, Philippsburg was known as "Udenheim".The city was a possession of the Bishop of Speyer from 1371–1718...

 on July 1, and captured the Lines of Wissembourg. This move cut off an army under Louis, Prince de Conti

Louis François I de Bourbon, prince de Conti

Louis François de Bourbon, Prince of Conti was a French nobleman, who was the Prince of Conti from 1727 to his death, following his father Louis Armand II. His mother was Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon, a natural granddaughter of Louis XIV...

 from Alsace

Alsace

Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...

. Although Conti managed to fight his way through the enemy at Wissembourg and posted himself near Strasbourg

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...

, Louis XV abandoned the invasion of the Southern Netherlands

Southern Netherlands

Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...

, and his army moved down to take a decisive part in the war in Alsace and Lorraine

Lorraine (province)

The Duchy of Upper Lorraine was an historical duchy roughly corresponding with the present-day northeastern Lorraine region of France, including parts of modern Luxembourg and Germany. The main cities were Metz, Verdun, and the historic capital Nancy....

.

The Lines were still militarily and strategically significant during the French Revolutionary Wars

French Revolutionary Wars

The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...

. The Lines were stormed on 13 October 1793 by an allied army under Austrian General Dagobert von Wurmser

Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser

Dagobert Sigismund, Count Wurmser was an Austrian field marshal during the French Revolutionary Wars. Although he fought in the Seven Years War, the War of the Bavarian Succession, and mounted several successful campaigns in the Rhineland in the initial years of the French Revolutionary Wars, he...

 in the First Battle of Wissembourg

First Battle of Wissembourg (1793)

In the First Battle of Wissembourg on 13 October 1793, an Allied army commanded by Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser attacked and defeated Jean Pascal Carlenc's French army defending behind the Lauter River...

. The allies

First Coalition

The War of the First Coalition was the first major effort of multiple European monarchies to contain Revolutionary France. France declared war on the Habsburg monarchy of Austria on 20 April 1792, and the Kingdom of Prussia joined the Austrian side a few weeks later.These powers initiated a series...

 were in their turn dispossessed by Lazare Hoche

Lazare Hoche

Louis Lazare Hoche was a French soldier who rose to be general of the Revolutionary army.Born of poor parents near Versailles, he enlisted at sixteen as a private soldier in the Gardes Françaises...

 and Charles Pichegru

Charles Pichegru

Jean-Charles Pichegru was a French general and political figure of the French Revolution and Revolutionary Wars.-Early life and career:...

 in a second Battle of Wissembourg

Battle of Wissembourg (1793)

The Second Battle of Wissembourg from 6 December 1793 to 9 February 1794 saw an army of the First French Republic under General Lazare Hoche fight a series of clashes against an army of Austrians, Prussians, Bavarians, and Hessians led by General Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser. There were significant...

 on 26 December and forced to retreat behind the Rhine.

In 1815, after the Battle of Waterloo

Battle of Waterloo

The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...

, the Austrian Army of the Upper Rhine advanced into France. On 25 June the Crown Prince of Württemberg

William I of Württemberg

William I was the second King of Württemberg from October 30, 1816 until his death.He was born in Lüben, the son of King Frederick I of Württemberg and his wife Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel .-First marriage:...

, commander of the Austrian III Corps, advanced towards the Lines in two columns. The first column assembled at Bergzabern, and the second moved forward by Nieder Ottersbach. Count Wallmoden was directed to advance upon Lauterburg. The Crown Prince advanced his Corps still further along the Hagenau road. His advanced guard pushed on to Inglesheim, and the main body of the III Corps reached the Lines. The French under General Jean Rapp

Jean Rapp

Jean Rapp was a French Army general during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.Rapp was born the son of the janitor of the town-hall of Colmar. He began theological studies to became a clergy man, but with his build and heated character, he was better suited to the military,...

 abandoned the Lines in the night and fell back upon the Forest of Hagenau

Forest of Hagenau

Forest of Hagenau lies to the north of the town of Hagenau and is the largest undivided forest in France....

, occupying the large village of Surburg.

By 1870 the Lines no longer existed, but the two central forts in the towns of Wissembourg and Altenstadt, still possessed fortifications that proved useful defensive positions during the Battle of Wissembourg. On August 4, 1870 the Germans under the Crown Prince of Prussia, afterwards the emperor Frederick III

Frederick III, German Emperor

Frederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor William I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service...

, gained the first victory of the war over a French corps (part of the army commanded by Patrice de MacMahon) under General Abel Douay

Abel Douay

Charles Abel Douay was a general in the French army during the reign of the Emperor Napoleon III. He commanded troops in numerous French campaigns in Europe and overseas. He was killed in battle at the age of sixty-one, near Wissembourg during the Franco-Prussian War.-Early life and career:Charles...

, who was killed early in the engagement.