Siege of Paris (1870–1871)

Lore & Background

The Prussian 3rd Army, led by Crown Prince Frederick, marched on Paris after the French defeat at Sedan. King William I and his chief of staff Helmuth von Moltke took command, and by 19 September 1870 the encirclement of Paris was complete. General Louis Jules Trochu commanded the city's defenses, which included 60,000 regular soldiers, 90,000 Mobiles, 13,000 naval seamen, and 350,000 National Guards, though the latter were untrained. The French had stockpiled provisions, including 8,000,000 kg of gunpowder and livestock in the Bois de Boulogne and Luxembourg Gardens, expecting a brief siege.

During the siege, the French made three failed breakout attempts. On 30 September, Vinoy attacked Chevilly with 20,000 soldiers and was repulsed. On 13 October, the French drove the II Royal Bavarian Corps from Châtillon but were forced back by artillery. The largest attack came on 30 November, when Trochu sent 80,000 soldiers under Ducrot against the Prussians at Champigny, Créteil, and Villiers in the Battle of Villiers. The Prussians initially used an ineffective artillery campaign, but deployed heavy Krupp siege artillery from 25 January 1871. Facing intensified bombardment, starvation, and disease, the Government of National Defense concluded an armistice on 28 January 1871, allowing food shipments into the city.

Reader's Guide

The Siege of Paris was a decisive event in the Franco-Prussian War, leading directly to the unification of the North German Confederation with South German states and the proclamation of the German Empire. The siege also radicalized the Parisian population, who took control of Paris and formed the Paris Commune. The armistice ended over four months of fighting, but the capture of the capital and the disaster of the war had a long-lasting impact on the French populace, Franco-German relations, and Europe as a whole. The siege demonstrated the effectiveness of Prussian military organization and the vulnerability of Paris to encirclement and starvation, despite its extensive fortifications. The German high command initially avoided shelling the city to spare civilians and avoid turning third-party opinion against them, but eventually deployed heavy artillery to force surrender.

Did You Know?

• The French government stockpiled 8,000,000 kg of gunpowder and stored much of its cereals, salted meat, and preserves in the Opéra Garnier.
• The Bois de Boulogne held some 250,000 sheep and 40,000 oxen during the siege.
• On 31 October 1870, an angry mob besieged the Hôtel de Ville and took General Trochu and his cabinet hostage, but the insurgents evacuated peacefully on November 1.
• The Prussians deployed heavy Krupp siege artillery from 25 January 1871, after an initially ineffective artillery campaign.