Battle of Villersexel Battle of Villersexel The Battle of Villersexel took place on 9 January 1871 as part of the Franco-Prussian War. Elements of the French "Armée de l'Est" under General Bourbaki engaged August von Werder's Prussian forces. It resulted in a French victory. In the turmoil and confusion following major reverses and capitulations at Sedan, Paris, and Metz, the remaining French armies faced major supply difficulties which restricted their movements. The "Armée de l'Est" was tasked with reaching and assisting Belfort, where Colonel Denfert-Rochereau still held out. Werder's Prussians caught up to Bourbaki in the evening of 9 January at Villersexel, where
Battle of the Netherlands level, while executing manoeuvre warfare was far beyond its capacities. German generals and tacticians (along with Hitler himself) had an equally low opinion of the Dutch military and expected that the core region of Holland proper could be conquered in about three to five days. In the 17th century, the Dutch Republic had devised a defensive system called the Hollandic Water Line, which during the Franco-Dutch War protected all major cities in the west, by flooding part of the countryside. In the early 19th century this line was shifted somewhat to the east, beyond Utrecht, and later modernised with fortresses.