The Battle of Tauberbischofsheim was an engagement of the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

of 1866, on the 24 July at

Tauberbischofsheim Tauberbischofsheim is a German town in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg on the river Tauber with a population of about 13,200. It is the capital of the Main-Tauber district. It is a popular tourist destination due to its numerous historical ...

in the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918. It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...

between troops of the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

and the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

. It was part of the campaign of the Main and ended with a Prussian victory.

Preliminary campaign

After the Prussian ''Mainarmee'' (German for: army of the river Main) had beaten the Bavarians at

Kissingen Bad Kissingen is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and seat of the district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale river, it is one of the health resorts, which beca ...

, the Bavarian army retreated to

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

. The Prussians now turned west against the 8th Confederate Army (troops of Württemberg, Baden, Hesse and Nassau) which protected

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

. After the 8th Army had lost the Battle of Frohnhofen, near

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the Aschaffenburg (district), district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative sea ...

, it gave up the defence of Frankfurt and went south-eastward to unite with the Bavarians at the

river Tauber The Tauber () is a river in Franconia (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length. The name derives from the Celtic word for water (compare: Dover). It flows through Rothenburg ob der Taube ...

. The Prussian army followed.

The battle

The 8th Army, consisting of four divisions under the command of Prince Alexander of Hesse, was distributed to the following places on the day of the battle: The Württemberg division was in the centre at Tauberbischofsheim, the Baden division on the right flank at

Werbach Werbach () is a country town in the district of Main-Tauber in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Geographical location Werbach is located in the Taubertal between Tauberbischofsheim, Wertheim (Main) and Würzburg. History Werbach is firs ...

, the Grand Ducal Hessian division at Großrinderfeld and a division mixed of troops from Austria and Nassau on the left flank at Grünsfeld-Paimar. The Prussians were able to push back the federal troops in Tauberbischofsheim. The counter attacks failed and troops of Württemberg suffered a comprehensive defeat. At Werbach the troops of Baden were also beaten.

Theodor Fontane Theodor Fontane (; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist author. He published the first of his novels, for which he is best known to ...

: ''Der deutsche Krieg von 1866. Der Feldzug in West- und Mitteldeutschland''. Berlin 1871. p. 214-22
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Aftermath

After further clashes the next two days at Gerchsheim,

Uettingen Uettingen is a municipality in the district of Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and t ...

Helmstadt Helmstadt is a municipality in the Lower Franconian district of Würzburg in Bavaria in Germany. Geography Municipal structure Helmstadt consists of two districts: * Helmstadt * Holzkirchhausen Neighboring municipalities * Holzkirche ...

and Roßbrunn, which ended in favor of the Prussians, the federal troops withdrew to

where a truce ended the fighting. The Prussians occupied northern

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

and negotiated a peace in August 1866. Württemberg paid an indemnity of 8,000,000 gulden, and concluded a secret offensive and defensive treaty with her conqueror. Although not officially part of the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...

, the secret treaty effectively bound Württemberg to Prussia. A few years later, in 1870, Württemberger troops played a creditable part in the

Battle of Wörth The Battle of Wörth, also known as the Battle of Reichshoffen or as the Battle of Frœschwiller, refers to the second battle of Wörth, which took place on 6 August 1870 in the opening stages of the Franco-Prussian War (the first Battle of W� ...

and in other operations of the Franco-Prussian War. In 1871, Württemberg became a member of the new

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

Memorials

Württembergisches Kriegerdenkmal in Tauberbischofsheim 1.jpg, Monument to the Wurttemberg Fallen Württembergisches Kriegerdenkmal in Tauberbischofsheim 2.jpg, Monument to the Wurttemberg Fallen

References

External links

Battle of Tauberbischofsheim, 24 July 1866
Battles of the Austro-Prussian War Battles involving Austria Battles involving Prussia 1866 in Baden July 1866 events 1866 in Germany Battles in Baden-Württemberg {{Germany-battle-stub