Battle of Paris (1814)

The Battle of Paris was fought during the Napoleonic Wars in 1814. The French defeat led directly to the abdication of Napoleon I. For other uses of the name see: Battle of Paris

Background

In 1813 Napoleon I was retreating from his failed invasion of Russia. Allied armies were joined together and defeated the French at the battle of Leipzig. Austrian emperor, Francis I, was interested in seeking peace with the French but both Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Frederick William III of Prussia wished to invade France. Just as Napoleon had entered Moscow, so did Tsar Alexander wish to enter Paris.

The Forces

The Austrian, Prussian and Russian armies were joined together and put under the command of Field Marshall Prince Karl von Schwarzenberg, but the driving force behind the army was the Russian Tsar and King of Prussia moving with the army. The allied army totaled about 100,000 troops. Napoleon had left his brother Joseph Bonaparte and Auguste Marmont in defense of Paris with about 20,000 regular troops along with an additional 30,000 National and Imperial Guards.

The Battle

The Allied army arrived outside Paris in late March. Nearing the city, Russian troops broke rank and ran forwards to get their first glimpse of Paris. Camping outside the city on the 29th the Allies were to assault next morning. Early in the morning of March 30th the Allied attack began beginning when the Russians attacked and drove back the French Young Guard near Romainville in the center of the French lines. A few hours later the Prussians, under Gebhard von Blucher attacked north of the city and carried the French possition around Aubervilliers, but did not press their attack. The Wurtemberg siezed the possitions at Saint-Maur to the southwest. The Russians attempted to press their attack but became caught up by trenches and artillery before falling back before a counterattack of the Imperial Guard. They continued to hold back the Russians in the center until the Prussian forces appeared to their rear. A group of Young Guards were trapped between the Russians and Prussians forced to surrender. The Russian forces then assailed the Montmartre Heights where Joseph's headquarters had been at the beginning of the battle. Control of the heights was severaly contested. Joseph fled the city and Marmont had no choice but surrender the city.

The Surrender

The Russian Tsar sent and envoy to meet with the French to hasten the surrender. The Tsar offered generous terms to the French and declared himself to be bringing peace to France rather than its destruction. On March 31 Marmont met with the Russian envoy and discussed the surrender terms. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand gave the key of the city to the Tsar. Later that day the allied armies entered the city with the Tsar at the head of the army followed by the King of Prussia and Schwarzenberg. Napoleon was outraged by the surrender of Paris. He was forced to abdicate a few days later on April 4.

Trivia

• Until this battle no foriegn army had entered Paris in 400 years.

Sources

• http://web2.airmail.net/napoleon/Paris_1814.htm
• Compton's Home Library: Battles of the World CD-ROM