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Siege of Paris (1870–1871)

The siege of Paris took place from 19 September 1870 to 28 January 1871 and ended in the capture of the city by forces of the various states of the North German Confederation, led by the Kingdom of Prussia. The siege was the culmination of the Franco-Prussian War, which saw the Second French Empire attempt to reassert its dominance over continental Europe by declaring war on the North German Confederation. The Prussian-dominated North German Confederation had recently emerged victorious in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, which led to the questioning of France's status as the dominant power of continental Europe. With a declaration of war by the French parliament on 16 July 1870, Imperial France soon faced a series of defeats at German hands over the following months, leading to the Battle of Sedan, which, on 2 September 1870, saw a decisive defeat of French forces and the capture of the French emperor, Napoleon III.

For other sieges with this name, see Siege of Paris.

With the capture of Napoleon III, the government of the Second French Empire collapsed and the Third French Republic was declared, provisionally led by the Government of National Defense. Despite German forces reaching and besieging Paris by 19 September 1870, the new French government advocated for the continuation of the war, leading to over four more months of fighting, during which Paris was continuously besieged. With the city fully encircled, the Parisian garrison attempted three unsuccessful break-out attempts and German forces began a relatively ineffectual artillery bombardment campaign of the city in January 1871. In response to the poor results of the artillery bombardment, the Prussians brought forth large-caliber Krupp heavy siege artillery to attack the city beginning 25 January 1871. With the renewed artillery attack and an increasingly starving and ill Parisian population and garrison, the Government of National Defense would conclude armistice negotiations with the North German Confederation on 28 January 1871. While the armistice led to food shipments being immediately permitted into the city, the capture of their capital city and the disaster of the war itself would have a long-lasting impact on the French populace, Franco-German relations, and Europe as a whole. French defeat in the war would directly lead to a victorious North German Confederation unifying with still-independent South German states and declaring the German Empire[2] as well as a disgruntled and radicalized Parisian population taking control of Paris and forming the Paris Commune.[3]

Background[edit]

As early as August 1870, the Prussian 3rd Army led by Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia (the future Frederick III, German Emperor), had been marching towards Paris.[4] A French force accompanied by Napoleon III was deployed to aid the army encircled by Prussians at the Siege of Metz. This force 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 Albert, Crown Prince 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 totaled around 513,000.[5] The compulsorily enrolled National Guards were, however, untrained. They had 2,150 cannon plus 350 in reserve, and 8,000,000 kg of gunpowder. [6]


The French had expected the war to be fought mainly on German soil; it was not until the defeats at Spicheren and Frœschwiller that the authorities began to take serious action in organizing the defenses of Paris.[7] A committee under the leadership of Marshal Vaillant was formed and given a budget of 12 million francs to strengthen the defenses. Barriers were put up around the city, 12,000 workers employed to dig earthworks, a barrage placed across the Seine, and select approaches to the city laid with electrically-triggered mines. Forests and houses were cleared to improve the firing sight lines, roads were torn up, and railroad and road entrances to the city blocked. The Paris Catacombs were sealed off, along with certain quarries and excavations outside the city to deny an entry-point to the Prussians.[8][9]


The authorities in Paris also attended to provisions and took steps to stockpile cereals, salted meat, and preserves for the population. Much of this was stored in the Opéra Garnier. The Bois de Boulogne and Luxembourg Gardens were packed with livestock – the former received some 250,000 sheep and 40,000 oxen.[10][11] The government believed it had enough flour and wheat to last for 80 days, more than enough based on the assumption, then prevalent, that the siege would be relatively brief.[12]

In popular culture[edit]

Empires of Sand by David W. Ball (Bantam Dell, 1999) is a novel in two parts, the first of which is set during the Franco-Prussian war, more particularly the Siege of Paris during the winter of 1870–71. Key elements of the siege, including the hot-air balloons used for reconnaissance and messages, the tunnels beneath the city, the starvation and the cold, combine to render a vivid impression of war-time Paris before its surrender.


The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett is a novel which follows the fortunes of two sisters, Constance and Sophia Baines. The latter runs away to make a disastrous marriage in France, where after being abandoned by her husband, she lives through the Siege of Paris and the Commune.


The King in Yellow, a short story collection by Robert W. Chambers, published in 1895, includes a story titled "The Street of the First Shell" which takes place over a few days of the siege.[59]

. The Siege of Paris (B.T. Batsford, 1964)

Baldick, Robert

(1980). Atlas of Military Strategy. New York: Free Press. ISBN 978-0-02-905750-6.

Chandler, David G.

. "The Siege of Paris, 1870-71" History Today (Sep 1969), Vol. 19 Issue 9, pp 593–599

Richardson, Joanna

Richardson, Joanna (editor). Paris Under Siege 1870–71 (Folio Society, 1982)

The French Army 1600–1900

Map of European situation at the time of the Siege of Paris (omniatlas.com)

Archived 2017-12-01 at the Wayback Machine

The Siege and Commune of Paris, 1870–1871: Photographs in the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections at Northwestern University

– Collections of the Museum Adrien Mentienne, related to the major events that occurred in Bry-sur-Marne, including the Battle of Villiers in 1870, during the Siege of Paris (English version available)

Website of the Bry-sur-Marne's Museum