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 The Napoleonic Wars are the wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule of France. ... March 30 is the 89th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (90th in Leap years). ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining, as the final day of March. ... 1814 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: PrÅ«sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of... Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (January 7, 1768 – July 28, 1844) was the elder brother of the French Emperor Napoleon I, who made him King of Naples (1806–1808) and Spain (1808–1813). ... Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, Marshal of France Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, duke of Ragusa (July 20, 1774 - July 22, 1852), marshal of France, was born at Châtillon-sur-Seine. ... Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg (or Prince Karl Philipp zu Schwarzenberg (April 18, 1771 - October 15, 1820), Austrian generalissimo, was born at Vienna. ... Aleksandr Pavlovich Romanov or Tsar Alexander I (The Blessed), (Russian: Александр I Павлович) (December 23, 1777–December 1, 1825), Emperor of Russia (reigned March 23, 1801–December 1, 1825), King of Poland (reigned 1815–1825), son of the Grand Duke Paul Petrovich, afterwards Paul I, and Maria Fedorovna, daughter of... Frederick William III Frederick William III, known in German as Friedrich Wilhelm III, reigned as king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. ... The Napoleonic Wars are the wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule of France. ... 1814 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ... Battle of Paris refers to a 1862 Battle of the US Civil War[1] 1929 Movie[2] 1961 Massacre of Parisian protestors[3] This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

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. 1813 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ... The Battle of Leipzig (16-19 October 1813), also called the Battle of the Nations, was the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars and the most decisive defeat suffered by Napoleon Bonaparte. ... Francis II Francis I Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, who may also be referred to as Francis von Habsburg or Emperor Franz I of Austria (February 12, 1768 - March 2, 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until August 6, 1806, when the Empire was disbanded. ... Aleksandr Pavlovich Romanov or Tsar Alexander I (The Blessed), (Russian: Александр I Павлович) (December 23, 1777–December 1, 1825), Emperor of Russia (reigned March 23, 1801–December 1, 1825), King of Poland (reigned 1815–1825), son of the Grand Duke Paul Petrovich, afterwards Paul I, and Maria Fedorovna, daughter of... Frederick William III Frederick William III, known in German as Friedrich Wilhelm III, reigned as king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. ... Saint Basils Cathedral Moscow (Russian/Cyrillic: Москва́, IPA:   listen?) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva, and encompassing 1097. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...

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. Note: This article is about the military usage of the word marshal. For other usages, see the end of this article. ... Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg (or Prince Karl Philipp zu Schwarzenberg (April 18, 1771 - October 15, 1820), Austrian generalissimo, was born at Vienna. ... Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (January 7, 1768 – July 28, 1844) was the elder brother of the French Emperor Napoleon I, who made him King of Naples (1806–1808) and Spain (1808–1813). ... Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, Marshal of France Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, duke of Ragusa (July 20, 1774 - July 22, 1852), marshal of France, was born at Châtillon-sur-Seine. ...

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 Blücher attacked north of the city and carried the French position around Aubervilliers, but did not press their attack. The Württemberg troops seized the positions 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 severely contested. Joseph fled the city and Marmont had no choice but surrender the city. March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... March 30 is the 89th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (90th in Leap years). ... Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (December 16, 1742 in Rostock (Mecklenburg) - September 12, 1819 in Krieblowitz (Silesia) (now Krobielowice in Poland)), Graf (Count), later elevated to Fürst von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian general who led his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of... Württemberg (often spelled Wurttemberg in English) refers to an area and a former state in Swabia, a region in south-western Germany. ... An imperial guard describes any group of military bodyguard or retainers responsible for the protection of an imperial person, be they an Emperor, Empress or Imperial Prince or Princess. ...

The Surrender

The Russian Tsar sent an 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. 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. March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining, as the final day of March. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ...

Trivia

• Until this battle no foreign 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