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BATTLE // September 14, 1793

Battle of Pirmasens

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Overview

The Battle of Pirmasens saw the French Republican corps led by Jean René Moreaux attack the Prussian force led by Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. From prepared positions, the Prussians caught the French in a deadly crossfire, forcing them to withdraw their troops. The clash happened during the War of the First Coalition, part of a larger conflict known as the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1793 Pirmasens was part of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt but today the city is in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany, 34.4 kilometres (21 mi) south of Kaiserslautern.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

At Pirmasens in September 1793, a French Republican corps under Moreaux attacked a numerically inferior Prussian force commanded by the Duke of Brunswick and was repulsed with approximately 4,000 casualties — losses representing one-third of the attacking strength. The engagement demonstrated the continued capacity of Prussian arms to hold defensive ground against French Revolutionary forces during the 1793 campaigning season on the Rhine frontier, checking Republican offensive momentum in the region during a critical phase of the War of the First Coalition.

Tactics

Brunswick's Prussians prepared positions from which they caught the attacking French corps in a deadly crossfire. Moreaux's force, though larger at 12,000 men against 8,000 Prussians, was unable to overcome the advantages conferred by the defensive ground and was forced to withdraw.

Forces & casualties

Troop strength

  • Kingdom of Prussia8,000
    medium
  • Republican France12,000
    medium

Republican France fielded a 1.5 : 1 numerical advantage

Casualties

  • Republican France4,000
    medium33% loss rate
Order of battle →Casualties in detail →

Commanders (2)

Kingdom of Prussia

Republican France

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Last verified June 2026
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