Forbach, town, Moselle département, Grand Est région, northeastern France. It lies just southwest of Saarbrücken, Germany. Forbach, which has an important cokery and manufactures mining equipment, is at the edge of the Saar Coal Basin. Remains of the medieval castle of the counts of Forbach crown a nearby hill (Schlossberg). Forbach was the scene of a French defeat (August 6, 1870) during the Franco-German War. Pop. (1999) 22,807; (2014 est.) 21,740.