Siege of Lille (1792)

Siege of Lille (1792)
Part of the French Revolutionary Wars
Siege of Lille by Louis Joseph Watteau
Date 25 September – 8 October 1792 Location Lille, Nord, France Result Austrian Strategic Withdrawal
Belligerents
Republican France	Habsburg Austria
Commanders and leaders
Jean-Baptiste Ruault	Albert of Teschen
Strength
10,000–25,000	13,800, 52 siege guns
Casualties and losses
100–200	43 dead, 161 wounded 20 siege guns

43 dead, 161 wounded

The Siege of Lille (25 September – 8 October 1792) saw a Republican French garrison under Jean-Baptiste André Ruault de La Bonnerie hold Lille against an assault by a Habsburg Austrian army commanded by Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen. Though the city was fiercely bombarded, the French successfully withstood the Austrian attack in the War of the First Coalition action. Because the Austrians were unable to completely encircle the city, the French were able to continuously send in reinforcements. After news of the French victory over the Prussians at Valmy, Albert withdrew his troops and siege cannons. The next battle was at Jemappes in November. The Column of the Goddess monument was completed in 1845 to commemorate the siege.

After the Kingdom of France captured Lille in 1668, the famous military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban was ordered to improve its defenses. The five-sided citadel was constructed between 1668 and 1672 at a cost of 1,500,000 florins and the result was announced by Vauban to be the "Queen of Citadels". The citadel was surrounded by marshes, except where it adjoined the city, and was protected by two flooded ditches and two covered ways. In 1670, parts of the old walls were torn down to make room for new fortifications. When the work was done, Lille was protected by 16 bastions and four hornworks. Vauban estimated that 12,000 soldiers were required to defend the huge fortifications, including 1,000 manning the citadel. The four-month 1708 Siege of Lille ended in the city's surrender to Prince Eugene of Savoy and John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough when the garrison of Louis François, duc de Boufflers ran out of gunpowder.

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