See Battle of Le Mans

Battle of Le Mans

The Battle of Le Mans was a Prussian victory during the Franco-Prussian War which ended French resistance in western France.-Background:After the victory at the Battle of Orleans , Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia marched his army further to the west towards Le Mans. Antoine Chanzy had under his...

 for the battle here in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War.

The Battle of Le Mans was a battle of the War in the Vendée. It resulted in the rout of the Vendéen forces by Republican troops during the Virée de Galerne

Virée de Galerne

The Virée de Galerne was a military operation of the War in the Vendée during the French Revolutionary Wars across Britanny and Normandy. It takes its name from "gwalarn", a Breton word for the "vent de noroît" ....

.

Prelude

Victorious at the Battle of La Flèche after their setback at Angers

Siege of Angers

The Siege of Angers was a siege of the French town of Angers on 3 December 1793 in the War in the Vendée.-Background:Pushed back at Granville, the Vendéens hoped to reach the south of the Loire to which the path was open thanks to their victory in the Battle of Dol. On 23 November, the Vendéen...

, where they were unable to cross the River Loire, the desperate Vendéens, always sporadically attacked by the Republican cavalry, continued their march towards Le Mans

Le Mans

Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...

. Their numbers were greatly reduced: the Catholic and Royal Army

Catholic and Royal Army

The Catholic and Royal Armies , is the name given to the royalist armies in western France composed of insurgents during the war in the Vendée and the Chouannerie, who opposed the French revolution, hence they were counterrevolutionary by definition.-Catholic and Royal Army of Vendée:The Catholic...

 now numbered less than 20,000 men, and had with it thousands of wounded, women and children. Of the 80,000 the Vendéens had at the start of the Virée de Galerne

Virée de Galerne

The Virée de Galerne was a military operation of the War in the Vendée during the French Revolutionary Wars across Britanny and Normandy. It takes its name from "gwalarn", a Breton word for the "vent de noroît" ....

, only 40,000 remained. Suffering of famine and the cold, ravaged by gangrenous dysentery

Dysentery

Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...

, typhus

Typhus

Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...

 and putrid fever, they mostly tried to obtain supplies.

The Vendéens had managed to repel 4,000 Republicans in a half-hour at Pontlieu, but still demoralized and having lost a great part of their weaponry, they took Le Mans on 10 December 1793 at 4:00 in the afternoon. They then spread out through the city and managed to find provisions, supplies and clothes. Nonetheless, morale was still low, sickness continued to ravage the army and the soldiers, disobeying their officers, didn't try to prepare the defenses of the town despite the fact that the Republican army, reorganized since its defeat at Dol

Battle of Dol

The Battle of Dol was a succession of battles in the war in the Vendée. They lasted three days and two nights from 20 to 22 November 1793 around Dol-de-Bretagne, Pontorson and Antrain....

, was marching towards the city.

The battle

On 12 December the first Republican troops under Westermann and Muller appeared at the gates of the city. Henri de La Rochejaquelein

Henri de la Rochejaquelein

Henri du Vergier, comte de la Rochejaquelein was the youngest general of the Royalist Vendéan insurrection during the French Revolution.-Early activities:...

 and Talmont assembled 3,000 men, especially Chouans, and took on the Republicans. They managed to set a trap in the woods near Le Mans. Westermann's surprised cavalry had to pull back whereas Muller's division panicked after the first shots fired. The Republican army was on the verge of being annihilated when Jacques Delaistre de Tilly's Army of the Cherbourg coasts arrived as reinforcements on the battle field. This time it was the Vendéens who panicked and fled and hid in the city. La Rochejaquelein thus re-entered the city, but his forces were dispersed, most of the Vendéens not even realizing the Republicans were so close, and some soldiers were even drunk.

Some time later, General François-Séverin Marceau arrived in turn at the battle and reassembled his troops at Cérans-Foulletourte

Cérans-Foulletourte

Cérans-Foulletourte is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays-de-la-Loire in north-western France.-References:*...

. He was followed by Kléber

Kléber

Kléber may refer to:* Jean Baptiste Kléber , a French general* Kléber de Carvalho Corrêa , a Brazilian football player* Kléber de Souza Freitas , a Brazilian football player...

 and his troops of the Army of Mainz

Army of Mainz

The Army of Mainz was a French Revolutionary Army set up on 9 December 1797 by splitting the Armée d'Allemagne into the Armée de Mayence and the Armée du Rhin...

. Marceau wished to wait for Kléber's troops to arrive before attacking but Westermann insisted and launched an attack, Marceau had to follow.

The Republican army entered Le Mans by nightfall, overwhelmed all the Vendéen defences. The Vendéens were completely disorganized, chaos resulted in the city where all night long street skirmishes were taking place.

La Rochejaquelein, seeing that all was lost, sought only to protect the retreat towards Laval for the survivors. The Vendéens deployed 14 canons at the gates of the city, managing to cover their retreat and stopping the Republicans.

Yet thousands of Vendéens, most of them non-combatants, were stuck inside the town, having taken refuge in the houses. Groups of resisting Vendéen soldiers were spread across the city. They resisted for a long while, standing their ground until the end of the day. Nonetheless, they were eventually destroyed by the Republican artillery under General François Carpentier, which opened fire on the buildings and houses from where shots were fired.

The battle then turned into a massacre, with the wounded, women and children who had taken refuge in the houses being forced out and massacred. Kléber and Marceau tried to save the prisoners, but could not hold back their troops.

Westermann assembled his hussards and pursued the Vendéens. Those who were slow and fell behind were massacred, but the larger part of the Vendéen army, reduced to half on its strength, managed to reach Laval

Laval, Mayenne

Laval is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France.It lies on the threshold of Brittany and on the border between Normandy and Anjou. Its citizens are called Lavallois.-Geography:...

 on 14 December. The Republican cavalry, not daring the enter the faubourgs, decided to head back.

According to the Committee of Public Safety

Committee of Public Safety

The Committee of Public Safety , created in April 1793 by the National Convention and then restructured in July 1793, formed the de facto executive government in France during the Reign of Terror , a stage of the French Revolution...

, 2,000 to 5,000 Vendéens, both combatants and non-combatants, died in Le Mans, while Republican losses totaled only 30 dead and approximately 100 wounded.

Adding to the Vendéen victims of the battle those killed south of Le Mans during the flight to Laval, the total deaths were approximately 15,000.