Conscious of its strength, the Prussian Crown Prince ordered the leaders of his vanguard not to bring on a general engagement on August 6, when the invading army had not at hand its full striking strength[38].  But orders failed to hold in the ardour of the Germans under the attacks of the French.  Affairs of outposts along the Sauerbach early on that morning brought on a serious fight, which up to noon went against the invaders.  At that time the Crown Prince galloped to the front, and ordered an attack with all available forces.  The fighting, hitherto fierce but spasmodic between division and division, was now fed by a steady stream of German reinforcements, until 87,000 of the invaders sought to wrest from MacMahon the heights, with their woods and villages, which he had but 54,000 to defend.  The superiority of numbers soon made itself felt.  Pursuant to the Crown Prince’s orders, parts of two Bavarian corps began to work their way (but with one strangely long interval of inaction) through the wood to the north of the French left wing; on the Prussian 11th corps fell the severer task of winning their way up the slopes south of Woerth, and thence up to the Niederwald and Elsasshausen.  When these woods were won, the 5th corps was to make its frontal attack from Woerth against Froeschweiler.  Despite the desperate efforts of the French and their Turco regiments, and a splendid but hopeless charge of two regiments of Cuirassiers and one of Lancers against the German infantry, the Niederwald and Elsasshausen were won; and about four o’clock the sustained fire of fifteen German batteries against Froeschweiler enabled the 5th corps to struggle up that deadly glacis in spite of desperate charges by the defenders.

[Footnote 38:  See von Blumenthal’s Journals, p. 87 (Eng. edit.):  “The battle which I had expected to take place on the 7th, and for which I had prepared a good scheme for turning the enemy’s right flank, came on of itself to-day.”]

Throughout the day the French showed their usual dash and devotion, some regiments being cut to pieces rather than retire.  But by five o’clock the defence was outflanked on the two wings and crushed at the centre; human nature could stand no more after eight hours’ fighting; and after a final despairing effort of the French Cuirassiers all their line gave way in a general rout down the slopes to Reichshofen and towards Saverne.  Apart from the Wuertembergers held in reserve, few of the Germans were in a condition to press the pursuit.  Nevertheless the fruits of victory were very great:  10,000 Frenchmen lay dead or wounded; 6000 unwounded prisoners were taken, with 28 cannon and 5 mitrailleuses.  Above all, MacMahon’s fine army was utterly broken, and made no attempt to defend any of the positions on the north of the Vosges.  Not even a tunnel was there blown up to delay the advance of the Germans.  Hastily gathering up the 5th corps from Bitsch—­the corps which ought to have been at Woerth—­that gallant but unfortunate general struck out to the south-west for the great camp at Chalons.  The triumph, however, cost the Germans dear.  As many as 10,600 men were killed or wounded, the 5th Prussian corps alone losing more than half that number.  Their cavalry failed to keep touch with the retreating French.