Battle of Turckheim The Battle of Turckheim was a confrontation during the Franco - Dutch War fought on 5 January 1675 between the towns of Colmar and Turckheim in Alsace . The French army , commanded by the Viscount of Turenne , fought against the armies of Austria and Brandenburg , led by Frederick William , Elector of Brandenburg . Prelude . The aggressive campaign of Louis XIV against the Netherlands , since 1672 , had provoked a hostile reaction of other European states like Austria ( who controlled the Holy Roman Empire ) and Brandenburg . Their intervention had brought the war into the upper Rhine , creating a threat to French territory . In 1674 Marshal Turenne , French commander in that sector , failed to prevent the invasion of Alsace by a part of the imperial army . With the arrival of year ' s end 1n 1674 , the Imperials went into their winter quarters in the region of Colmar , a few miles south of the French winter barracks , situated in Haguenau . According to the conventions of war at the time , the military operations should have been halted during the winter until the return of the spring . Turenne , however , decided not to follow this custom . Using the Vosges mountains as a curtain of protection , he moved west and then south , reappearing in Belfort , south of his opponent , on 27 December 1674 . Finding no resistance , he reached Mulhouse on the 29th . The highly surprised Imperials hastily fell back on Turckheim . Battle . Turenne with 30 , 000 troops found the Imperial army very well positioned with 30 , 000 to 40 , 000 men under the command of Frederick William , the Elector of Brandenburg - Prussia , on the afternoon of 5 January 1675 . However , the Imperial forces had not yet gelled completely so as to be ready for battle . The ensuing battle did not follow the standards of the 17th century . Marshal Turenne feigned an attack from the center and then another from his right . With Imperial eye riveted on these two parts of the front , Turenne , then , led a third of his army marched around to his left flank . Their movement skirted the mountains and was hidden from view of the enemy because of the terrain . Turenne captured the small village of Turckheim . Frederick William attempted to retake the town but he was defeated by heavy fire from French guns and an infantry charge . Turenne , then , fell against the extreme right of the enemy . The speed of the attack ( which was not preceded by artillery fire ) and the numerical superiority concentrated on a single point , disrupted and demoralized the defenders , putting them to flight after suffering 3 , 000 casualties , retreating to avoid further casualties . Aftermath . Now , with their winter quarters threatened , Frederick William of Brandenburg ' s army was forced to leave Alsace , and sought the safety of Strasbourg where the army in the following week crossed the Rhine River , back onto the right bank into present - day Germany . This brief and but famous winter by Marshal Turenne campaign is considered one of the brightest of the 17th century . Here the Vicomte de Turenne , through two indirect maneuvers ( one strategic and one tactical ) saved France from invasion , suffering only negligible casualties .