The Siege of Danzig (1807)

Danzig occupied an important strategic position. It was a fortified port at the mouth of the Vistula River, in which about 60 thousand inhabitants lived. If the French were advancing east, then this Prussian city would be in the rear of their left flank, and troops could calmly land for action against the French. It was possible to attack Danzig only from the west, since from the north it was covered by the Vistula, and from the south and east by swamps. In addition to the strategic position, for the Great Army he was also interested in his reserves of valuable supplies (gunpowder, grain, etc.), necessary for a further campaign in the east. In his letter to Lefebvre on February 18, 1807, Napoleon wrote:

Your glory is associated with the capture of Danzig. You must go there.

The task of capturing the city was entrusted in mid-February to Marshal Lefebvre and his 10th corps . To help them were given General Chassel-Loba , who commanded the sappers, and Baston de Lariboisier , who commanded the artillery, who were the best specialists of the French army in the relevant fields. The chief of staff was General Drouot . The 10th corps consisted of two Polish divisions under the command of General Dombrowski , the Saxon corps, the military contingent from Baden, two Italian divisions, and about 10 thousand people of the French troops - a total of about 27 thousand people and 3 thousand horses.

Inside the walls of Danzig were about 11 thousand people and 300 guns under the command of von Kalkreuth . Napoleon described them as "canals."

On March 20, following Napoleon’s order to block Danzig, the French general Schramm led 2,000 soldiers to the north bank of the Vistula over Fort Weichselmünde, taking up positions directly north of the city. On April 2, the ground was thawed enough to start siege work. On April 8, the second trench began, completed on April 15, and by April 25, the third trench was completed. After Wandam took the Schweidnitz fortress in Silesia on April 11, large siege weapons were sent to Danzig on April 21.

On March 23, French artillery began shelling the city. Between May 10 and 15, the Russian command made an attempt to deliver to the city reinforcements in the amount of 8 thousand people under the command of General Kamensky . Reinforcements went on 57 transport vessels under the protection of the English sloop Falcon and the Swedish battleship. Due to the delay of the Swedish ship, on board of which there were 1,200 soldiers, Kamensky was delayed, which gave Lefebvre time to strengthen his position. The Russian attempt to break through to the city was repelled; British sources claimed that Russian troops lost 1,600 soldiers and 46 officers, the French brought the value of Russian losses to 3,000 people. An attempt by the British 18-gun Dauntless corvette to deliver 150 barrels of gunpowder along the river also failed: the ship ran aground and was boarded by French grenadiers.

After the failure of the attempts to release the city, the French continued siege work. On May 21, the Mortier Corps arrived, which made it possible to storm Hagelsberg. In view of the impossibility of further holding the city, von Kalkreuth offered Lefebvre negotiations, demanding the same conditions for surrender that the Prussians had provided to the French after the siege of Mainz in 1793. Due to the fact that Napoleon agreed to this in advance, the conditions were accepted, and the garrison was allowed to leave the city with all military honors - with fluttering banners and a drum battle. The conditions were mild, as Napoleon sought to end the siege before the summer, in order to eliminate the threat to his rear by the beginning of the summer campaign and to transfer troops to other sectors.

Danzig surrendered on May 24, 1807. Napoleon ordered the nearby Fort Weichselmünde to be besieged, but General Kamensky fled with his troops, and the garrison preferred to capitulate. To mark Lefebvre's merits, Napoleon awarded him the title "Duke of Danzig." On September 9, 1807, Napoleon formed the Free City of Danzig from the city of Danzig and surrounding Prussian territories.

• Danzig // Military Encyclopedia : [in 18 vol.] / Ed. V.F. Novitsky [et al.]. - SPb. ; [ M. ]: Type. t-va I. D. Sytin , 1911-1915.