page_title: Battle of Le Mans
section_title: Prelude
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Le Mans / Prelude
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: quartier des tanneries, Le Mans, Sarthe, France
context_page_description: The Battle of Le Mans was a German victory during the Franco-Prussian War that ended French resistance in western France.
context_section_description: Friedrich Karl arranged his army on a broad arc to encircle the French at Le Mans and began the offensive on 6 January. The Württembergian XIII Corps under the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg advanced on the right flank along the Huisne river. X Corps under General Konstantin Bernhard von Voigts-Rhetz covered the left flank by advancing down the Loir. In the center, III Corps and IX Corps followed each other down the main road to Le Mans.
  The Germans defeated Jouffroy's attack and pursued his retreating men west, using the same routes as Chanzy's army had done weeks before. French delaying tactics and the difficult terrain did not prevent the Germans from advancing 50 miles in six days. Chanzy was angered by the speed of the German offensive and on 8 January gave his most trusted lieutenant, Admiral Bernard Jauréguiberry, command over the forward columns to shore up their retreat. The advance of the German X Corps was halted for the day. The two German corps in the center continued to push forward with little opposition and on 9 January Chanzy sent a division to check them at Ardenay. The French held their positions in the snow until nightfall. These delaying actions could not stop the Germans and on 10 January Chanzy launched a general counter-attack to buy time for his defensive preparations in Le Mans.
caption: Tanners' quarter, Le Mans c. 1900
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