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Siege of Kehl (1733)
Encyclopedia
The Siege of Kehl was one of the opening moves of the French Rhineland campaign in the War of the Polish Succession
, at the fortress town of Kehl
in the upper Rhine River valley. A large French army under the command of the Duke of Berwick
besieged and captured the fortress, which was lightly garrisoned and in poor condition.
, and by Stanislas I, father in law of Louis XV
. Whilst a body double ostensibly left Brest
by sea, Stanilas crossed Germany incognito and arrived at Warsaw
on 8 September. On 12 September Stanislas was elected king of Poland by the diet
.
On his election Russia and Austria (backing Augustus III) invaded Poland. By 22 September Stanislas, who did not have a proper army, had to take refuge in Danzig (now known as Gdansk
), there to await the French help he had been promised. On 5 October, Augustus III was proclaimed king under protection from Russian forces at Warsaw. Great Britain
, the Dutch Republic
, Sweden
, Denmark
and the Republic of Venice
recognised that Austro-Russian aggression against Poland was the casus belli
and pledged to remain neutral. Spain, coveting the Kingdom of Naples
and Sardinia
, which coveted the Duchy of Milan
, sided with France.
Louis XV's courtiers (including the princes of Conti
and Eu
, the counts of Clermont
, Charolais
and Belle-Isle, the duc de Richelieu
, but also Maurice de Saxe, Augustus III's half-brother and the former lover of Anna Ivanovna, now the tsar
ina of Russia) joined up under marshal
James FitzJames
to form an army for invading the Rhineland
with the objective of distracting Austria from events in Poland and gaining the Duchy of Lorraine.
was located near the Margraviate of Baden
(now part of the German
state of Baden-Württemberg
, but then part of the Holy Roman Empire
), just across the Rhine River from the French city of Strasbourg
. The fortress at Kehl, and that at Philippsburg
to the north, provided strategic military control over major crossings of the upper Rhine, which formed the boundary between French-controlled Alsace and the various principalities of the empire.
Nominally the responsibility of the emperor, maintenance and defense of the fortress belonged to the Swabian Circle
, which was largely dominated by the Duchy of Württemberg. Although some imperial troops were stationed there in January 1733, the commander of the fortress was the Württembergian lieutenant general Baron Johann August von Phull
, and most of its garrison consisted of Swabian troops. When the war broke out, numerous works to repair and expand the fortress were underway, but key defenses near the Rhine were incomplete.
On 12 October, French troops under Belle-Isle and Silly marched into the Duchy of Lorraine and seized its capital, Nancy. Control over the remainder of Lorraine was rapidly established, and the two commanders left garrisons throughout the duchy before sending the bulk of their forces into Alsace to focus on the campaign on the Rhine.
Also on 12 October, Berwick ordered troops from the Strasbourg encampment to cross the Rhine. At a point near Auenheim
, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) below Kehl, they constructed a ship bridge and crossed 4,000 men to the east bank. Near Goldscheuer, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) above the fortress, they began constructing another bridge. Two days later, the bulk of the Berwick's army had crossed the Rhine. General Phull, when the French began their movements, destroyed the bridge between Kehl and Strasbourg, and also destroyed those houses and other buildings outside the fortress that might provide the attacking French any sort of shelter.
By 17 October Berwick was ready to begin digging siege lines, and it became apparent to Phull that the fortress' river-facing hornwork was Berwick's target when the latter began construction of batteries on the island between Kehl and Strasbourg. On 18 October Phull issued detailed instructions to his commanders concerning the tactics of defense and retreat. The hornwork was to be held until it was either breached or its artillery rendered useless, at which point the defenders were to fall back first to the covered way between the hornwork and the main fortress, and then to the fortress proper.
The French began digging siege trenches on the night of 19 October. By 21 October the siege lines reached an unfinished lunette
on the Rhine-facing side of the fortress, and the French began setting up a battery there on 23 October. The defenders were by this time reduced to musket fire and grenades, as most of their artillery had been dismounted or destroyed by enemy fire.
On 23 October the French opened fire not only on the hornwork, but also began battering the walls of the main fortress with cannonfire. After two failed assaults by Berwick's grenadiers, they succeeded in briefly occupying the hornwork; it was reoccupied by the Germans the next day. The defenders attempted a sortie against the French positions near the hornwork, but it was repulsed. By 27 October, the French had established numerous batteries and were mercilessly battering the main fortification. About 4 pm on 28 October, the French barrage started a fire on the hornwork that was severe enough that its commander requested permission from Phull to withdraw; this permission was granted. Phull then held a council, in which it was determined that only 500 men were combat-ready, and that the fortress might hold out at most three more days. Consequently Phull raised the white flag around 8 pm on 28 October.
The garrison marched out of the fortress on 31 October with the full honors of war, and was escorted to the imperial defense line at Ettlingen.
, during which he was killed by a shell. That siege was successfully concluded by his second in command, the marquis d'Asfeld, and marked the end of significant military operations in the Rhine valley for the war. Pursuant to the 1738 Treaty of Vienna
that ended the war, France eventually withdrew from Kehl and Philippsburg, but eventually annexed Lorraine.
War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession was a major European war for princes' possessions sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland that other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests...
, at the fortress town of Kehl
Kehl
Kehl is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg.-History:...
in the upper Rhine River valley. A large French army under the command of the Duke of Berwick
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Fitz-James, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica was an Anglo-French military leader, illegitimate son of King James II of England by Arabella Churchill, sister of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...
besieged and captured the fortress, which was lightly garrisoned and in poor condition.
Context
On the death of Augustus II on 1 February 1733, the Polish throne was claimed by both his son, Augustus IIIAugustus III of Poland
Augustus III, known as the Saxon ; ; also Prince-elector Friedrich August II was the Elector of Saxony in 1733-1763, as Frederick Augustus II , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1734-1763.-Biography:Augustus was the only legitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, Imperial Prince-Elector...
, and by Stanislas I, father in law of Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
. Whilst a body double ostensibly left Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
by sea, Stanilas crossed Germany incognito and arrived at Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
on 8 September. On 12 September Stanislas was elected king of Poland by the diet
Diet (assembly)
In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...
.
On his election Russia and Austria (backing Augustus III) invaded Poland. By 22 September Stanislas, who did not have a proper army, had to take refuge in Danzig (now known as Gdansk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
), there to await the French help he had been promised. On 5 October, Augustus III was proclaimed king under protection from Russian forces at Warsaw. Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
recognised that Austro-Russian aggression against Poland was the casus belli
Casus belli
is a Latin expression meaning the justification for acts of war. means "incident", "rupture" or indeed "case", while means bellic...
and pledged to remain neutral. Spain, coveting the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
and Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, which coveted the Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
, sided with France.
Louis XV's courtiers (including the princes of 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...
and Eu
Louis-Charles, Count of Eu
Louis Charles de Bourbon, Count of Eu was a grandson of Louis XIV of France and his Maîtresse-en-titre Françoise-Athénaïs de Montespan. He was a member of the legitimised house of Bourbon du Maine...
, the counts of Clermont
Louis de Bourbon-Condé, comte de Clermont
Louis de Bourbon was a member of the cadet Bourbon-Condé branch of the French royal house. He is known for leading French forces in Germany during the Seven Years War where he took command in 1758 following the failed French Invasion of Hanover. He was unable to break through Ferdinand of...
, Charolais
Charles de Bourbon-Charolais
Charles de Bourbon, Count of Charolais was a French noble. As a member of the reigni prince of the Blood.-Biography:...
and Belle-Isle, the duc de Richelieu
Louis François Armand du Plessis, duc de Richelieu
Armand de Vignerot du Plessis was a French soldier, diplomat and statesman. Joining the army, he participated in three major wars and eventually rose to the rank of Marshal of France....
, but also Maurice de Saxe, Augustus III's half-brother and the former lover of Anna Ivanovna, now the tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
ina of Russia) joined up under marshal
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
James FitzJames
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Fitz-James, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica was an Anglo-French military leader, illegitimate son of King James II of England by Arabella Churchill, sister of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...
to form an army for invading the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
with the objective of distracting Austria from events in Poland and gaining the Duchy of Lorraine.
Prelude
The village and fortress of KehlKehl
Kehl is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg.-History:...
was located near the Margraviate of Baden
Margraviate of Baden
The Margraviate of Baden were a historical territory in the Holy Roman Empire. It was already named so in 1112 and existed until the division in 1535 and lived with the reunion back in 1771, until the Electorate of Baden came up in 1803...
(now part of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
state of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, but then part of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
), just across the Rhine River from the French city of 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,...
. The fortress at Kehl, and that at 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...
to the north, provided strategic military control over major crossings of the upper Rhine, which formed the boundary between French-controlled Alsace and the various principalities of the empire.
Nominally the responsibility of the emperor, maintenance and defense of the fortress belonged to the Swabian Circle
Swabian Circle
The Swabian Circle was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1500 on the territory of the former German stem-duchy of Swabia. However, it did not include the Habsburg home territories of Swabian Austria, the member states of the Swiss Confederacy nor the lands of the Alsace...
, which was largely dominated by the Duchy of Württemberg. Although some imperial troops were stationed there in January 1733, the commander of the fortress was the Württembergian lieutenant general Baron Johann August von Phull
Pfuel
The German ancient noble family of Pfuel arrived in Brandenburg in the year 926 and later widened their influence to Saxony, Mecklenburg, Pomerania, Württemberg, Westphalia, Eastern Europe and Sweden....
, and most of its garrison consisted of Swabian troops. When the war broke out, numerous works to repair and expand the fortress were underway, but key defenses near the Rhine were incomplete.
On 12 October, French troops under Belle-Isle and Silly marched into the Duchy of Lorraine and seized its capital, Nancy. Control over the remainder of Lorraine was rapidly established, and the two commanders left garrisons throughout the duchy before sending the bulk of their forces into Alsace to focus on the campaign on the Rhine.
Also on 12 October, Berwick ordered troops from the Strasbourg encampment to cross the Rhine. At a point near Auenheim
Auenheim
Auenheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin déparetment in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) below Kehl, they constructed a ship bridge and crossed 4,000 men to the east bank. Near Goldscheuer, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) above the fortress, they began constructing another bridge. Two days later, the bulk of the Berwick's army had crossed the Rhine. General Phull, when the French began their movements, destroyed the bridge between Kehl and Strasbourg, and also destroyed those houses and other buildings outside the fortress that might provide the attacking French any sort of shelter.
Siege
Berwick first ordered the construction of a line of circumvallation. Local villagers were among those pressed into service for its construction, which was anchored at both ends by the Rhine, above and below the fortress. Berwick's quartermasters also made demands to the surrounding villages for the delivery of provisions to the besiegers. The Duke of Württemberg signed a supply agreement that he characterized in reports to the emperor as being concluded under the greatest duress.By 17 October Berwick was ready to begin digging siege lines, and it became apparent to Phull that the fortress' river-facing hornwork was Berwick's target when the latter began construction of batteries on the island between Kehl and Strasbourg. On 18 October Phull issued detailed instructions to his commanders concerning the tactics of defense and retreat. The hornwork was to be held until it was either breached or its artillery rendered useless, at which point the defenders were to fall back first to the covered way between the hornwork and the main fortress, and then to the fortress proper.
The French began digging siege trenches on the night of 19 October. By 21 October the siege lines reached an unfinished lunette
Lunette
In architecture, a lunette is a half-moon shaped space, either filled with recessed masonry or void. A lunette is formed when a horizontal cornice transects a round-headed arch at the level of the imposts, where the arch springs. If a door is set within a round-headed arch, the space within the...
on the Rhine-facing side of the fortress, and the French began setting up a battery there on 23 October. The defenders were by this time reduced to musket fire and grenades, as most of their artillery had been dismounted or destroyed by enemy fire.
On 23 October the French opened fire not only on the hornwork, but also began battering the walls of the main fortress with cannonfire. After two failed assaults by Berwick's grenadiers, they succeeded in briefly occupying the hornwork; it was reoccupied by the Germans the next day. The defenders attempted a sortie against the French positions near the hornwork, but it was repulsed. By 27 October, the French had established numerous batteries and were mercilessly battering the main fortification. About 4 pm on 28 October, the French barrage started a fire on the hornwork that was severe enough that its commander requested permission from Phull to withdraw; this permission was granted. Phull then held a council, in which it was determined that only 500 men were combat-ready, and that the fortress might hold out at most three more days. Consequently Phull raised the white flag around 8 pm on 28 October.
The garrison marched out of the fortress on 31 October with the full honors of war, and was escorted to the imperial defense line at Ettlingen.
Aftermath
The onset of bad weather ended the French campaign for the year, and Berwick, after consolidating his control over the area, quartered his troops for the winter on the French side of the Rhine. In 1734 Berwick continued the campaign down the Rhine, successfully flanking the Austrian defense line at Ettlingen, and continuing with the siege of PhilippsburgSiege of Philippsburg
The Siege of Philippsburg was conducted by French forces against forces in the fortress of Philippsburg in the Rhine River valley during the War of the Polish Succession. The Duke of Berwick led 100,000 men up the Rhine Valley in opposition to Austrian forces, of which 60,000 were detached to...
, during which he was killed by a shell. That siege was successfully concluded by his second in command, the marquis d'Asfeld, and marked the end of significant military operations in the Rhine valley for the war. Pursuant to the 1738 Treaty of Vienna
Treaty of Vienna (1738)
The Treaty of Vienna or Peace of Vienna was signed on November 18, 1738. It ended the War of the Polish Succession. By the terms of the treaty, Stanisław Leszczyński renounced his claim on the Polish throne and recognized Augustus III, Duke of Saxony. As compensation he received instead the...
that ended the war, France eventually withdrew from Kehl and Philippsburg, but eventually annexed Lorraine.
Sources
Histoire philosophique du règne de Louis XV - Page 374 - de Hervé de Tocqueville - 1847- The New Monthly Magazine History of Austrian Battles Jahrbücher für die Deutschen Armee und Marine, Volume 79 A fairly detailed account of the French conduct of the siege http://books.google.com/books?id=GavwcXD7cv8C&dq=Phull%20kehl&lr=&pg=PA193#v=onepage&q=Phull%20kehl&f=false Articles of capitulation