Siege of Paris (1870–1871)

Siege of Paris
Part of the Franco-Prussian War
The Siege of Paris by Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier. Oil on canvas.
Date 19 September 1870 – 28 January 1871 Location Paris, France Result Decisive German victory
Belligerents
Prussia  Baden  Bavaria  Württemberg (later  German Empire)	France
Commanders and leaders
Wilhelm I of Prussia Otto von Bismarck	Louis Jules Trochu Joseph Vinoy (POW)
Strength
240,000 regulars	200,000 regulars 200,000 militia and sailors
Casualties and losses
12,000 dead or wounded	24,000 dead or wounded 146,000 captured 47,000 civilian casualties

The Siege of Paris, lasting from 19 September 1870 to 28 January 1871, and the consequent capture of the city by Prussian forces, led to French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the establishment of the German Empire as well as the Paris Commune.

As early as August 1870 the Prussian 3rd Army led by Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia (the future Emperor Frederick III) had been marching towards Paris, but was recalled to deal with French forces accompanied by Napoleon III. These forces were crushed at the Battle of Sedan, and the road to Paris was left open. Personally leading the Prussian forces, King William I of Prussia, along with his chief of staff Helmuth von Moltke, took the 3rd Army and the new Prussian Army of the Meuse under Crown Prince Albert of Saxony, and marched on Paris virtually unopposed. In Paris, the Governor and commander-in-chief of the city's defenses, General Louis Jules Trochu, assembled a force of 60,000 regular soldiers who had managed to escape from Sedan under Joseph Vinoy or who were gathered from depot troops. Together with 90,000 Mobiles (Territorials), a brigade of 13,000 naval seamen and 350,000 National Guards, the potential defenders of Paris totalled around 513,000 personnel. The compulsorily enrolled National Guards were however untrained.

The Prussian armies quickly reached Paris, and on 15 September Moltke issued orders for the investment of the city. Crown Prince Albert's army closed in on Paris from the north unopposed, while Crown Prince Frederick moved in from the south. On 17 September a force under Vinoy attacked Frederick's army near Villeneuve-Saint-Georges in an effort to save a supply depot there, but it was eventually driven back by artillery fire. The railroad to Orléans was cut, and on the 18th Versailles was taken, and then served as the 3rd Army's and eventually Wilhelm's headquarters. By 19 September the encirclement was complete, and the siege officially began. Responsible for the direction of the siege was General (later Field Marshal) von Blumenthal.

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