Aimed at General Schmedes, Chairman of the Officers' Association of the former. Wittich Infantry Regiment (3rd Kurhessisches) No. 83; di derMajor General (ret.) Heinrich Schmedes (1869-1955), from June to October 1915 leader of the 3rd Electoral Hessian Infantry Regiment "von Wittich" No. 83.
DatedGreene (Einbeck), 2nd December 1928.
"With all my heart regret that I was unable to attend today's commemoration ceremony for the Battle of Loigny-Poupry that took place 58 years ago due to illness, I, as the last living comrade in this rank of the officer's corse, offer my thanks Allen comrades united for the celebration My warmest greetings, with the wish that through (???) and exemplary solidarity, they may succeed not only in preserving the glorious traditions of our proud, proven regiment, but also in the widest circles of the German people, the love for hard to increase and strengthen the oppressed fatherland, so that in the not distant future a strong, powerful German imperial empire can arise again in the world!
Wilhelm von Dehn Rotfelsen, Lieutenant General (ret.)
Scope:2 of 4 pages described (17.8 x 11.5 cm); Paper with watermark "KRONEN BILLET".
Without envelope.
Condition: letter folded; Paper slightly browned and slightly wrinkled; with small tears in the fold. Please also note the pictures!
Internal note: KRSt 210520
About the battle (source: wikipedia):
The Battle of Loigny and Poupry (French: Bataille de Loigny) on January 2nd. December 1870 was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War. The meeting between three corps of the French Loire Army and a German army division under Friedrich Franz II. of Mecklenburg in the area north of Orléans ended with a German victory.
History: In the late autumn / winter of 1870, the newly formed French Loire Army went with two corps (XV. and XVI.) towards Paris to end the siege of the capital by the German 3rd. to abolish the army. In this advance she succeeded after the successful Battle of Coulmiers on the 9th. November 1870 to recapture the city of Orléans. There was no further advance for the time being because the commander-in-chief, Louis d'Aurelle de Paladines, wanted to better organize and train his troops. The advance towards Paris only began at the end of November and only under massive pressure from the National Defense Council under Léon Gambetta.
Initial situation: On the 20th November was the German 2nd, released after the siege of Metz. Army under Prince Friedrich Karl on the Pithiviers line (III. Army Corps), Montargis (X Army Corps) approached, the IX. The Army Corps remained at Angerville as a reserve for the time being. After the mass of the French Loire Army was established on the Orleans-Paris road, the prince ordered the concentration of the III. and IX. Army corps around Toury. The newly formed army department under the Prussian general of infantry Friedrich Franz received orders from the prince to act directly against the French left wing via Beaugency.
The new French advance was 80 kilometers wide, with the individual divisions marching side by side. The attacked German X Army Corps was able to defeat the enemy on the 28th. November 1870 in the Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande. The right wing of the Loire Army then had to retreat back into the Orléans forest. In order to counter the danger on the right wing, the center, consisting of the XV. and XVI. Corps swings to the right towards Pithiviers. This happened on the 1st. December to the battle of Villepion, in which the beleaguered 1st Bavarian division had to withdraw. Since it was now known where the French were, Army Group Friedrich Franz received December gave the order to counterattack. The German front on the right consisted of the 4th Cavalry Division (Prince Albrecht of Prussia) and the I Bavarian Corps under General von der Tann and the Prussian 17th Infantry Division in the center, as well as the 22nd Infantry Division and 2nd Cavalry Division (Graf zu Stolberg) on the left wing.
The battle
Battles at Loigny: According to the orders of General d'Aurelle de Paladines, the XVI. Corps under General Chanzy to advance against the heights of Jouville, the XVII. Corps under General de Sonis had to march behind, follow from the northern edge of the Forest of Orleans, on the right the XV. Corps under General Martin des Pallières advance via Artenay to Poupry.
The 2. and 3. Division of the Chanzy Corps had advanced from Terminiers in the morning against the Loigny and Lumeau lines, the 1st Division followed as reserve and General Michel's cavalry division secured on the left flank. The Battle of Loigny began at 9 a.m. with the attack of the XVI. French Corps on the Bavarians at Goury Castle (between Loigny and Champdoux). The castle was occupied by parts of the 2nd World War. Bavarian division (Lieutenant General von Maillinger) only shortly before the arrival of the French.[1] At about the same time, the 1st Bavarian Division (Lieutenant General Karl von Dietl), the 4th Cavalry Division (Prince Albrecht of Prussia) and the Bavarian Cuirassier Brigade (Major General von Tausch) reached the town of Tanon-Baigneaux,[2] from where the attack was to take place in the direction of Terminiers[3]. The Bavarians were exhausted by the fighting of the last few days and were unable to stop the advance of their numerically superior opponent and had to retreat. At Beauvillers the Bavarian 2. Division was only able to stop the French advance with difficulty. In order to prevent the impending defeat here, Friedrich Franz the 17th ordered Division (General von Tresckow), which was to the left of the Bavarians at Lumeau, to swing to the right and attack the French on the right flank. From 11:30 onwards, an additional Bavarian counterattack between Beauvillers and Chateau de Goury was able to push the French division under Admiral Jaureguiberry back to Loigny. As a result of the simultaneous attack, the French in the town were surrounded on several sides. By exposing his right wing, General Chanzy had to let several battalions form a hook position near Terre noire. After several attempts, the 33rd succeeded. Brigade under Major General Hugo von Kottwitz to take Loigny and in the next few hours against all further attacks by the arriving XVII. Corps to hold.
Henry Herluison from Orléans created the French medal shown for the battle. On the front is the battle and its period, on the back there is a map of the locations of the battles of the Army of the Loire.
Battle of Poupry: The 22nd Division (Lieutenant General Ludwig von Wittich) was a little back near the town of Baigneaux in the morning and was supposed to advance towards Lumeau to provide support. This resulted in the expansion of the battle front in the southeast and contact with the 2nd. and 3. Division of the French XV. Corps that advanced from Artenay. The 22nd Division was forced to turn left against this enemy and establish itself near Poupry. The French left wing column, the 3rd, hit first. Division under General Peyvatin near Dambron only focused on the German 3rd Division. Cavalry Brigade. As soon as General Wittich found out about this, he moved the bulk of his division via Anneux towards Poupry to provide support. Tete of the 43rd, running through Anneux. The brigade managed to throw out the enemy who had already penetrated the town. Six batteries from the 43rd Brigade drove up south of Morale and supplied the columns of the French 2nd Division under General Martineau fought a sustained firefight between Poupry and Autroches. It was possible to repel several French attacks with great losses. At about 4 p.m. the French, for their part, advanced along the entire line with strong swarms of tirailleurs, which were repelled at Poupry and Morale. The commander of the 43rd Brigade, Colonel von Kontzki fell during the advance beyond Poupry. The 22nd The division remained in a defensive position ready for combat until 10 p.m. and only returned to better positions around Anneux after the victory achieved in the center near Loigny.
Final phase
Location on the 2nd December evening: Until around 4:30 p.m. it was the Bavarian 2nd. Brigade under Major General von Orff managed to push the French back about two kilometers behind Loigny, while the 4th Cavalry division on the left flank. However, an encirclement failed due to resistance from the French. In the center south of Lumeau the vanguard of the French XVII arrived late. Corps on the battle front, but could no longer change the lost battle in their favor. By nightfall, the German units had also withdrawn again; the battlefield remained occupied by the respective outpost lines. At Poupry the French XV. Corps retreated to the Artenay and Dambron line.
Consequences: The advance of the French troops on Paris was no longer possible after this defeat. At 3. In December the German 2nd Army under Friedrich Karl launched a general attack in the Orléans area. The Friedrich Franz army group also continued its attack and captured on the 5th. December Orleans. Although Gambetta was largely responsible for this defeat through his unauthorized intervention in the military operations, General d'Aurelle de Paladines alone was held responsible for the disaster and was killed on January 6th. Relieved of his command in December.
Commemoration: A relief on the Prince Albrecht of Prussia Monument (Berlin) by the sculptors Eugen Boermel and Conrad Freyberg shows a scene from this battle. It shows, among other things, Prince Albrecht of Prussia, who took part in the war against France as a cavalry general.