Battle of Borny–Colombey
The Battle of Borny–Colombey or the Battle of Colombey-Nouilly took place on 14 August 1870 as part of the Franco-Prussian War. During the battle the escape route of the French army under François Bazaine was blocked when the French encountered the First Army under von Steinmetz. The outcome of the battle itself was indecisive as although the French were able to escape to Metz, they were delayed for 12 hours.
| Battle of Borny–Colombey | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Franco-Prussian War | |||||||
Situation 5 PM | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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North German Confederation | French Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz | François Bazaine | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| First Army | Army of the Rhine | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 50,000 | 30,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 4,906-5,222 | 3,608-3,915 | ||||||
Borny - Colombey Grand Est Region | |||||||
Like most of the early battles of the war, Borny was one that neither side had planned or wanted. For the French, the battle had dire consequences as they neglected to use their numerical superiority to force a passage and it delayed the Army's retreat out of Metz for twelve precious hours. This gave the Prussians the time to bring up their Second army under Prince Frederick Charles and assured that after the battles fought in the following days (Mars-la-Tour and Gravelotte) France's premier army would be trapped at Metz.