The Army of Châlons was a French army which took part in the Franco-Prussian War

Franco-Prussian War

The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...

 of 1870–71. It was formed in August 1870 from parts of the Army of the Rhine not blockaded at Metz

Metz

Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...

. It ceased to exist when it capitulated on September 2, 1870 after being encircled and defeated at Sedan

Sedan

A sedan or saloon car is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with A, B & C-pillars and principal volumes articulated in separate compartments for engine, passenger and cargo...

.

History

After its defeat at Gravelotte

Battle of Gravelotte

The Battle of Gravelotte was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine between Metz and the former French–German frontier.-Terrain and armies:...

, 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...

 Bazaine

François Achille Bazaine

François Achille Bazaine was a French General and from 1864, a Marshal of France, who surrendered the last organized French army to the Prussians during the Franco-Prussian war. He was the first Marshal who had started as a legionnaire and like the great Marshals of the First Empire, he had risen...

's Army of the Rhine retreated to Metz where it was besieged by over 150,000 Prussian troops of the First and Second Armies (Siege of Metz

Siege of Metz

The Siege of Metz lasting from 19 August – 27 October 1870 was fought during the Franco-Prussian War and ended in a decisive Prussian victory.-History:...

). Emperor Napoleon III, along with Marshal MacMahon, formed the new French Army of Châlons to march on to Metz to rescue Bazaine. With Napoleon III personally leading the army as its nominal commander, with Marshal MacMahon in actual command, they led the Army of Châlons in a left-flanking march northeast towards the Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 border in an attempt to avoid the Prussians before striking south to link up with Bazaine.

The Prussians, under the command of Helmuth von Moltke

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a German Field Marshal. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as one of the great strategists of the latter 19th century, and the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field...

, took advantage of this maneuver to catch the French in a pincer grip

Pincer movement

The pincer movement or double envelopment is a military maneuver. The flanks of the opponent are attacked simultaneously in a pinching motion after the opponent has advanced towards the center of an army which is responding by moving its outside forces to the enemy's flanks, in order to surround it...

. Leaving the Prussian First and Second Armies besieging Metz, Moltke took the Prussian Third Army, led by the Crown Prince of Prussia

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...

, and the newly formed Army of the Meuse under the Crown Prince of Saxony

Albert of Saxony

Albert of Saxony may refer to:* Albert of Saxony * Albert I, Duke of Saxony * Albert, Duke of Saxony * Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen * Albert of Saxony...

 northward where they caught up with the French at Beaumont-en-Argonne

Beaumont-en-Argonne

Beaumont-en-Argonne is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France.-Population:-References:*...

 on 30 August 1870. After a hard-fought battle

Battle of Beaumont

The Battle of Beaumont on August 30, 1870 was won by Prussia during the Franco-Prussian War.It was fought between Fifth French Corps d'Armee under General Pierre Louis Charles de Failly, and the IV and XII Army Corps under Prince George of Saxony The Battle of Beaumont on August 30, 1870 was won...

 with the French losing 5,000 men and 40 cannons in a sharp fight, they withdrew towards Sedan. The intention of the French was to rest the army, which had been involved in a long series of marches, resupply with ammunition and then retreat, rather than giving battle in the town. The French however were soon isolated and trapped by the Prussian armies in the town. The following battle of Sedan ended on September 2, 1870 with the capitulation of the army and with Napoleon III, a wounded MacMahon and 103,000 soldiers being lead away as prisoners of war.

The defeat at Sedan and the capture of Napoleon III sealed the doom of the Second Empire

Second French Empire

The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...

, which was soon overthrown. The defeat at Sedan and the capitulation of Bazaine at Metz two months later cost France its most experienced soldiers and, although the war would go on until early 1871, made ultimate defeat inevitable.

Reference

• Howard, Michael
  Michael Howard (historian)
  Sir Michael Eliot Howard, OM, CH, CBE, MC, FBA is a British military historian, formerly Chichele Professor of the History of War and Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford University, and Robert A...
  
  , The Franco-Prussian War: The German Invasion of France 1870–1871, New York: Routledge, 2001. ISBN 0-415-26671-8.