Atlas of Battles

battle, major, nineteenth century

Battle of Mars-la-Tour

Battle of Mars-la-Tour was a battle fought on 16 August 1870 at Mars-la-Tour, in what is now France. It was part of the Franco-Prussian War, which ran from 1870 to 1871. The recorded result: Prussian victory. Recorded strength: 80,000; 210+ guns against 80,000.

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Franco-Prussian War 1870-71, Battle of Mars-la-Tour from "Canadian Illustrated News" Date: 19 November, 1870 , Pagination: vol. II , no. 21 , 336, Franco-Prussian War, 1870-71
Franco-Prussian War 1870-71, Battle of Mars-la-Tour from "Canadian Illustrated News" Date: 19 November, 1870 , Pagination: vol. II , no. 21 , 336, Franco-Prussian War, 1870-71. This image is from the Canadian Illustrated News, 1869-1883, held in the Library and Archives Canada under record 3724, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought16 August 1870
WhereMars-la-Tour, France49.103N, 5.873E
OutcomePrussian victory
BelligerentsNorth German Confederation; Kingdom of PrussiaagainstFrench Empire
Part ofFranco-Prussian War1870 to 1871

Where it sits in the Franco-Prussian War

Siege of Metz, 1870Second Battle of Orléans, 1870Siege of Thionville, 1870Lichtenberg Siege, 1870Siege of Marsal, 1870Battle of Saarbrücken, 1870Battle of Wissembourg, 1870Battle of Spicheren, 1870Battle of Wörth, 1870Siege of Bitche, 1870Siege of Phalsbourg, 1870Battle of Borny-Colombey, 1870Battle of Mars-la-Tour, 1870Siege of Strasbourg, 1870Siege of Toul, 1870Battle of Gravelotte, 1870Battle of Buzancy, 1870Battle of Nouart, 1870Battle of Beaumont, 1870Battle of Noisseville, 1870Battle of Bazeilles, 1870Battle of Sedan, 1870Siege of Montmédy, 1870Battle of Montmesly, 1870Siege of Paris, 1870First Battle of Châtillon, 1870Battle of Sceaux, 1870Battle of Chevilly, 1870Battle of Nompatelize, 1870Battle of Saint-Quentin, 1870Battle of Artenay, 1870Siege of Verdun, 1870Battle of Châtillon, 1870Siege of Neu-Breisach, 1870Battle of Bellevue, 1870Battle of Châteaudun, 1870Battle of Buzenval, 1870Battle of Dijon, 1870Battle of Le Bourget, 1870Siege of Belfort, 1870Siege of La Fère, 1870Battle of Coulmiers, 1870Battle of Havana, 1870Siege of Mézières, 1870Battle of Amiens, 1870Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande, 1870Battle of Villiers, 1870Battle of Choisy-le-Roi, 1870Battle of Villepion, 1870Battle of Loigny-Poupry, 1870Battle of Beaugency, 1870Battle of Longeau, 1870Battle of Nuits, 1870Second Battle of Le Bourget, 1870Battle of Hallue, 1870Siege of Péronne, 1870Battle of Pontarlier, 1871Battle of Bapaume, 1871Battle of Villersexel, 1871Battle of Le Mans, 1871Battle of the Lisaine, 1871Battle of Saint-Jean-sur-Erve, 1871Battle of Saint-Melaine, 1871Battle of St. Quentin, 1871Battle of Buzenval, 187118701871Battle of Mars-la-Tour, 1870
65 placed engagements of the Franco-Prussian War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date16 August 1870
PlaceMars-la-Tour, France
49.103N, 5.873E
KindBattle, nineteenth century
Strength80,000; 210+ guns80,000
Casualties and losses15,799; 4,421 killed; 10,411 wounded; 967 missing; 2,736 horses17,007; 1,367 killed; 10,120 wounded; 5,472 missing
Commanders
Battle of Mars-la-TourBattle of Mars-la-TourBattle of GravelotteBattle of SpicherenFort DriantBattle of the FrontiersBattle of Les ÉpargesBattle of SpicherenBattle of the FrontiersBattle of Les ÉpargesStrasbourgLuxembourgSaarbrückenWiesbadenNancyFreiburgReimsTroyes100 km49.103N, 5.873E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Mars-la-Tour
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Mars-la-Tour today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-08-24. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 238 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 187 to 305 m, 118 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 74% cropland, 15% grassland, 8% tree cover.

cropland: 74%grassland: 15%tree cover: 8%cropland 74%grassland 15%tree cover 8%
west to east, 10.0 km196 to 277 mnorth to south, 10.0 km188 to 264 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1870

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: GER 1ST & 2ND ARMIESDefender: FR ARMY OF LORRAINE
Strength63,000113,000
Casualties16,000 (25.4%)14,000 (12.4%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1084
Outcomeattacker won
Duration1 day
Front width12 km10 km
Attacker advanced2.4 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 223), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

Battle of Mars-la-Tour is one of 3,507 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 1,383 in present-day France.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q699262, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Mars-la-Tour, revision 1381525005, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.