Battle of Kaiserslautern, 23 May 1794

The battle of Kaiserslautern (23 May 1794) was the only Prussian contribution to the Allied campaign of 1794, and was a minor victory that saw them push their front line from the Rhine at Mannheim to Kaiserslautern and the northern end of the Vosges.

In May 1794 the Prussian forces on the Rhine were under the command of Marshal Richard von Mollendorf. The Duke of Brunswick had resigned in protest at interference from the King, who had moved east to concentrate on Poland. The Allied plan for the year had required the Prussians to move from the Rhine to the Meuse, but Mollendorf had refused to act without orders from Prussia.

At the start of the year the Prussians faces General Jourdan's Army of the Moselle and General Michaud's Army of the Rhine, but in May the French began to move troops from the Rhine to the Ardennes to help with the assault on Charleroi. Jourdan and his army arrived on the Sambre in early June, and played a major part in the French victory at Fleurus.

This left the Rhine front weakly defended, and so in late May the Prussians advanced towards Kaiserslautern, capturing the town on 23 May. They then set up a series of fortified camps in the area and halted their advance. The Rhine front then remained quiet until July, when the French went onto the offensive, pushing the Prussians out of their camps at Platzberg and Trippstadt (13-14 July 1794).

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How to cite this article: Rickard, J (10 February 2009), Battle of Kaiserslautern, 23 May 1794 , http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_kaiserslautern_1794.html

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