86 The Fall of Paris

23.3.3: The Fall of Paris

Following Napoleon’s retreat from Russia and the subsequent defeat of his army by the Sixth Coalition at Leipzig (1813), the armies of the Sixth Coalition invaded France and advanced toward Paris, which capitulated on March 31, 1814.

Learning Objective

Connect the invasion of Russia to the fall of Paris.

Key Points

  • Following defeats in the Wars of the Fourth and Fifth Coalitions, Prussia and Austria were forcibly allied with France during the Russian Campaign. When this campaign resulted in the destruction of Napoleon’s Grande Armée, Prussia and Austria took advantage of the situation by forming a Sixth Coalition against France (1813-1814).
  • The retreat from Russia turned into a new war on German soil. The decisive battle of the war, the so-called Battle of Nations (October 16-19, 1813), took place in Leipzig where Napoleon was defeated. After the battle, the pro-French German Confederation of the Rhine collapsed and the supreme commander of the Coalition forces in the theater, the Russian Tsar Alexander I, ordered all Coalition forces in Germany to cross the Rhine and invade France.
  • After retreating from Germany, Napoleon fought a series of battles, including the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube in France, but was steadily forced back against overwhelming odds. In early February 1814, Napoleon fought his Six Days’ Campaign in which he won multiple battles against numerically superior enemy forces marching on Paris. However, the Emperor’s victories were not significant enough to make any changes to the overall strategic picture.
  • Napoleon realized he could no longer continue with his current strategy of defeating the Coalition armies. He had two options: fall back on Paris and hope that the Coalition members would come to terms or copy the Russians and leave Paris to his enemies. He decided to move eastward to Saint-Dizier and raise the whole country against the invaders. He started on the execution of this plan when a letter to Empress Marie-Louise outlining his intention to move on the Coalition lines of communications was intercepted and his projects exposed to his enemies.
  • Tsar Alexander I of Russia and King Frederick of Prussia along with their advisers reconsidered; realizing the weakness of their opponent, they decided to march to Paris. The battle ended when the French commanders surrendered the city to Tsar Alexander on March 31.
  • On April 2, the Senate declared Napoleon deposed. He abdicated in favor of his son on April 4. The Allies forced Napoleon to abdicate unconditionally on April 6. The terms of his abdication, which included his exile to the Isle of Elba, were settled in the Treaty of Fontainebleau on April 11. A reluctant Napoleon ratified it two days later.

Key Terms

French Invasion of Russia
A military campaign, known in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 and in France as the Russian Campaign, that began in June 1812 when Napoleon’s Grande Armée crossed the Neman River to engage and defeat the Russian army. Napoleon hoped to compel Tsar Alexander I of Russia to cease trading with British merchants through proxies to pressure the United Kingdom to sue for peace. The official political aim of the campaign was to liberate Poland from the threat of Russia.
War of the Sixth Coalition
A war fought from March 1813 to May 1814 in which a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, and a number of German states finally defeated France and drove Napoleon into exile on Elba.
Six Days’ Campaign
A final series of victories by the forces of Napoleon I of France as the Sixth Coalition closed in on Paris, February 10-15, 1814.
Battle of Paris of 1814
A battle fought on March 30–31, 1814 between the Sixth Coalition—consisting of Russia, Austria, and Prussia—and the French Empire. After a day of fighting in the suburbs of Paris, the French surrendered on March 31, ending the War of the Sixth Coalition and forcing Emperor Napoleon to abdicate and go into exile.
German Campaign of 1813
A military campaign fought in 1813, in which members of the Sixth Coalition fought a series of battles in Germany against the French Emperor Napoleon and his Marshals. The campaign liberated the German states from the domination of the First French Empire.

 

Background: German Campaign of 1813

Following defeats in the Wars of the Fourth and Fifth Coalitions, Prussia and Austria were forcibly allied with France during the Russian Campaign (the French Invasion of Russia). When this campaign resulted in the destruction of Napoleon’s Grande Armée, Prussia and Austria took advantage of the situation by forming a Sixth Coalition against France (1813-1814). The retreat from Russia turned into a new war on German soil. Napoleon vowed to create a new army as large as that he sent into Russia. Although he inflicted 40,000 casualties on the Allies at Lützen and Bautzen (1813), lost about the same number of men during those encounters. The belligerents declared an armistice, during which both sides attempted to recover from losses. During this time, Allied negotiations finally brought Austria out in open opposition to France.

Following the end of the armistice, Napoleon seemed to regain the initiative at Dresden, where he defeated a numerically superior allied army and inflicted enormous casualties while sustaining relatively few. However, at about the same time,  the French sustained defeats in the north at Grossbeeren, Katzbach, and Dennewitz. Napoleon, lacking reliable cavalry, was unable to fully take advantage of his victory and could not avoid the destruction of a whole corps at the Battle of Kulm, further weakening his army. He withdrew to Leipzig in Saxony where he thought he could fight a defensive action against the converging Allied armies. There, at the so-called Battle of Nations (October 16-19, 1813) Napoleon was defeated. After the battle, the pro-French German Confederation of the Rhine collapsed, ending Napoleon’s hold on Germany east of the Rhine. The supreme commander of the Coalition forces in the theater and the paramount monarch among the three main Coalition monarchs, the Russian Tsar Alexander I, ordered all Coalition forces in Germany to cross the Rhine and invade France.

Vladimir Ivanovich Moshkov (1792—1839), Battle of Leipzig.

The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations was fought on October 16-19, 1813, at Leipzig, Saxony. The coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Sweden, led by Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg, decisively defeated the French army of Napoleon I that also contained Polish, Italian, and German troops (from the Confederation of the Rhine). Being decisively defeated for the first time in battle, Napoleon was compelled to return to France while the Coalition hurried to keep their momentum, invading France early the next year.

March on Paris

After retreating from Germany, Napoleon fought a series of battles including the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube in France, but was steadily forced back against overwhelming odds. During the campaign, he issued a decree for 900,000 fresh conscripts, but only a fraction of these were ever raised. In early February 1814, Napoleon fought his Six Days’ Campaign in which he won multiple battles against numerically superior enemy forces marching on Paris. With an army of only 70,000, the Emperor was faced with at least half a million Allied troops advancing in several main armies. The Six Days’ Campaign was fought from February 10 to February 15, during which time Napoleon inflicted four defeats: in the Battle of Champaubert, the Battle of Montmirail, the Battle of Château-Thierry, and the Battle of Vauchamps. However, the Emperor’s victories were not significant enough to make any changes to the overall strategic picture.

However, after six weeks of fighting, the Coalition armies hardly gained any ground. The generals still hoped to bring Napoleon to battle against their combined forces. However, after Arcis-sur-Aube, Napoleon realized he could no longer continue with his current strategy of defeating the Coalition armies in detail and decided to change his tactics. He had two options: fall back on Paris and hope that the Coalition members would come to terms, as capturing Paris with a French army under his command would be difficult and time-consuming, or copy the Russians and leave Paris to his enemies as they had left Moscow to him two years earlier. He decided to move eastward to Saint-Dizier, rally what garrisons he could find, and raise the whole country against the invaders. He started on the execution of this plan when a letter to Empress Marie-Louise outlining his intention to move on the Coalition lines of communications was intercepted and his projects exposed to his enemies.

The Coalition commanders held a council of war at Pougy in March and initially decided to follow Napoleon, but the next day Tsar Alexander I of Russia and King Frederick of Prussia along with their advisers reconsidered and realizing the weakness of their opponent, decided to march to Paris and let Napoleon do his worst to their lines of communications. The Coalition armies marched straight for the capital.

 

The Battle of Paris of 1814

The Austrian, Prussian, and Russian armies were joined together and put under the command of Field Marshal Count Barclay de Tolly who would also be responsible for the taking of the city, but the driving force behind the army was the Tsar of Russia and the King of Prussia. Napoleon left his brother Joseph Bonaparte in defense of Paris with additional troops under Marshals Auguste Marmont, Bon Adrien Jeannot de Moncey, and Édouard Mortier.

The Coalition army arrived outside Paris in late March. Nearing the city, Russian troops broke rank and ran forward to get their first glimpse of the city. Camping outside the city on March 29, the Coalition forces were to assault the city from its northern and eastern sides the next morning. Marmont and Mortier rallied available troops at a position on Montmartre Heights to oppose them. The battle ended when the French commanders surrendered the city. Alexander sent an envoy to meet with the French and hasten the surrender. He offered generous terms to the French and although willing to avenge Moscow more than a year earlier, declared himself to be bringing peace to France rather than destruction. On March 31, Talleyrand gave the key of the city to the Tsar. Later that day, the Coalition armies triumphantly entered the city with the Tsar at the head of the army followed by the King of Prussia and Prince Schwarzenberg. On April 2, the Senate declared Napoleon deposed.

Battle of Paris of 1814 by Bogdan Willewalde.

The Battle of Paris was fought on March 30–31, 1814 between the Sixth Coalition—consisting of Russia, Austria, and Prussia—and the French Empire. After a day of fighting in the suburbs of Paris, the French surrendered on March 31, ending the War of the Sixth Coalition and forcing Emperor Napoleon to abdicate and go into exile.

Napoleon had advanced as far as Fontainebleau when he heard that Paris had surrendered. Outraged, he wanted to march on the capital, but his marshals would not fight for him and repeatedly urged him to surrender. He abdicated in favor of his son on April 4. The Allies rejected this out of hand, forcing Napoleon to abdicate unconditionally on April 6. The terms of his abdication, which included his exile to the Isle of Elba, were settled in the Treaty of Fontainebleau on April 11. A reluctant Napoleon ratified it two days later. The War of the Sixth Coalition was over.

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