Key Facts
- Date
- 23–24 December 1870
- French forces
- 40,000 troops under Faidherbe
- Prussian forces
- 22,500 troops under Manteuffel
- French casualties
- 1,000 killed; 1,300 captured
- German casualties
- ~927 killed and wounded
Strategic Narrative Overview
On 23–24 December 1870, General Faidherbe's Army of the North, numbering 40,000 men, confronted 22,500 Prussians under von Manteuffel along the Hallue river. French troops suffered heavily in the villages before their lines, though Prussian attacks on the entrenched French heights were repulsed. The French then mounted a counter-offensive but achieved no decisive breakthrough, leaving the battle without a clear victor.
01 / The Origins
The Franco-Prussian War began in July 1870 after tensions between Prussia and the French Second Empire escalated over the candidacy for the Spanish throne. Prussia, leading the North German Confederation, swiftly mobilized and invaded France. By late 1870, Paris was under siege and French provincial armies were attempting to relieve pressure on the capital and resist Prussian advances in the north.
03 / The Outcome
The battle ended inconclusively. France lost approximately 1,000 soldiers killed and 1,300 taken prisoner, while Prussian forces suffered around 927 killed and wounded. Neither side gained a strategic advantage; the Prussian advance was temporarily checked but French forces could not exploit the repulse. The Army of the North remained in the field but the broader war continued to go against France.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel.
Side B
1 belligerent
General Louis Faidherbe.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.