Battle of Paris (1814)

{{mergefrom|Battle of Montmartre|discuss=Talk:Battle of Paris (1814)#Merging|date=September 2010}} {{Other uses|Battle of Paris (disambiguation)}} {{Campaignbox Sixth Coalition}} The '''Battle of Paris''' was fought during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in 1814. The French defeat led directly to the abdication of [[Napoleon I]]. ==Background== In 1813 [[Napoleon I]] was retreating from his failed invasion of [[Russia]]. Coalition armies were joined together and defeated the French at the [[Battle of Leipzig]]. Austrian emperor [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis I]] was interested in seeking peace with the French, but both [[Alexander I of Russia|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]]. Until this battle no foreign army had entered Paris in nearly 400 years. ==Forces== The Austrian, Prussian and Russian armies were joined together and put under the command of [[Field Marshal]] [[Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg|Prince Karl von Schwarzenberg]], but the driving force behind the army was the Russian Tsar and King of Prussia moving with the army. The Coalition army totaled about 100,000 troops. Napoleon had left his brother [[Joseph Bonaparte]] in defense of Paris with about 20,000 regular troops under Marshal [[Auguste Marmont]] along with an additional 30,000 [[National Guard (France)|National Guard]]s and a small force of the [[Imperial Guard (Napoleon I)|Imperial Guard]] under Marshals [[Bon Adrien Jeannot de Moncey]] and [[Édouard Mortier]]. ==Battle== [[Image:Battle of Paris 1814.png|250px|thumb|left|Battle of Paris 1814]] The Coalition 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 Coalition forces were to assault next morning. Early in the morning of March 30 the Coalition attack began when the Russians attacked and drove back the [[Young Guard (Napoleon)|Young Guard]] near Romainville in the center of the French lines. A few hours later the Prussians, under [[Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher|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 (Napoleon I)|Imperial Guard]]. They continued to hold back the Russians in the center until the Prussian forces appeared to their rear. 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, and Joseph fled the city. Marmont contacted the Coalition and reached a secret agreement with them. Shortly afterwards, he marched his soldiers to a position where they were quickly surrounded by Coalition troops; Marmont then surrendered, as had been agreed. ==Surrender== [[Image:Russparis.jpg|thumb|300 px|''Russian army enters Paris'']] 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 [[Charles Maurice de Talleyrand|Talleyrand]] gave the key of the city to the tsar. Later that day the Coalition 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 on April 6. The terms of his abdication, which included his exile to the [[Isle of Elba]], were settled in the [[Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814)|Treaty of Fontainebleau]] on April 11. A reluctant Napoleon ratified it two days later. ==See also== *[[Parizh]], a [[Cossack]] settlement named to honour the battle. * [[Freiwilliges Feldjäger-Korps von Schmidt]] ==External links== *[http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/Paris_1814.htm Battle of Paris 1814, maps, illustrations] ==Sources== *''Compton's Home Library:'' Battles of the World CD-ROM {{coord missing|France}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Paris, Battle of}}