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38 Army Hist. 1 (1996)

handle is hein.milandgov/aryhsy0038 and id is 1 raw text is: ARMY HISTORY THE PROFESSIONAL BULLETIN OF ARMY HISTORY PB-2-96-3 (No. 38) Washington, D.C. Summer 19% A Staff Ride to the Franco-Prussian War Battlefields of Spicheren, Mars-la-Tour, and St. Privat Robert H. Larson The growing popularity of staff rides in the US. Army during the past decade generally has focused on battlefields from the Civil War and from World War II. This is understand able, given the importance of these conflicts in the American mitary experience, and the easy availability of sites and primary sources for many military personnel. To neglect battles from ot her wars, however, wastes valuable opportunities forexpanding historical knowledge and for trarng in different set- tings. The opening battles of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 fought at Spicheren, Mars-la-Tour, and SL Privat offer an excellent case in point. Bet ween 6 August and I8 August 1871, the First and Second Armies of the North German Confedera- tion de feated the French forces of Napoleon III m three bloody battles, which resulted in the entrapment of one French army in Metz and paved the way for the capitulation of another two weeks later at Sedan. As a consequence, Napoleon's Second French Empire col- lapsed. and Germany not only w as united, but also was propelled into position as the premier military powerof the Western World. German military institutions and practices were, to some degree. adopted by all of the other European powers and even reached the U.S. Army, where a behef in German military superiority became a staple in many quarters. exemplified as early as the works of Emory Upton, and as recently as the works of Trevor Dupuy. As a historical exercise, the study of these three battles can serve as a test for the validity of this belief and as an excellent counterpoi to the American Civil War, illustrating the impact of weapons and organization on the conduct of battle. To those planning staff rides and who, conse- quently, are concerned with the application of history to the training of officers, these battles are no less valuable. Specifically, they offer an excellent vehicle for studying the problems of the encounter battle, the need for proper reconnaissance and evaluation of intel- ligence, and, most importantly ,thedifficulty inbalanc- ing the necessary aggressiveness that all armies want to inculcate into theirofficers with the equally important quality of prudence. Preparations for a staff ride to these battlefields obviously is more difficult than to Civil War sites because of the limited number of books in English Two works that are especially valuable and easily available are Michael Howard's classic The Franco- Prussian War and David Ascoli's A Day f Batle which, despite its title, is adetailed account of the war through the disaster at Sedan. Older sources available at the U.S. Army Military History Institute (M1I) at Carlisle B arracks, Pennsylvania.are G. R. Henderson, The Battle of Spicheren and Harry Bell. Sr. Privat: German Sources. As for maps, the current Michelin map of Alsace and Lorraine (No. 242) is extremely useful for plotting the strategic situation, as well as for planning the route of the tour. The topographical maps accompanying the German official history of the war (copies of which can be obtained through M1) are superb for studying the terrain as well as for placing German units on the ground at specific times in the battles. It should be emphasized thata detailed prelimi- nary terrain study of these battlefields is absolutely essential, as there is virtually nothing on the ground to indicate the course of the battles. The focus of this preliminary study should be to bring out the most important characteristics of the contending armies. Perhaps the most striking is the aggressiveness of the German armies and the almost passive atitude of the French. Regardless of the circumstances. German commanders on all levels sought to attack the French whenever contact was

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