The siege of Lyon is one of the battles during the French Revolutionary Wars between the army of the First French Republic on the one hand and the troops of the royalists and federalists on the other; The siege lasted from August 9 to October 9, 1793 .
| Siege of Lyon | |||
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| Main Conflict: French Revolutionary Wars | |||
 Siege of Lyon | |||
| date | August 9 - October 9, 1793 | ||
| A place | Lyon , France | ||
| Total | Victory of the Convention | ||
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As far back as 1792, a bloody clash took place in the city of Lyon between the royalists (the municipality and the townspeople) and the Republicans. In May 1793, government troops were called up to Lyon to open cannon and gun fire on the crowd. The survivors fled around the city, calling everyone to arms. Soon, two columns of Lyonians, numbering about 2 thousand people, attacked the town hall, which was protected by 1800 soldiers with two artillery guns and captured it [1] .
At the same time, the Lyons placed in their favor General Francois Christophe Kellerman , who commanded the Alpine Army, by sending him several guns and food supplies, which his army urgently needed. Kellerman tried to soften the fate of Lyon, interceding for him before the convention himself and through the commissioner of the convention at the Alpine Army. But at this time, the Toulon royalists surrendered to the protection of Great Britain (at the end of August they transferred to the Admiral Hood, cruising in the mind of Toulon, all forts, a raid and 46 ships; see the Siege of Toulon ), and Marcel sent an army to help Lyon. This led the French government to fear that the uprising in Lyon did not happen by chance, but in connection with Toulon and Marseilles, as a result of which there was a danger of secession throughout the south of France [1] .
In view of this, the convention ordered Kellerman to go with the Alpine army to Lyon and besiege it. Kellerman’s army on the road was to be strengthened by the national guard and volunteers. In addition, Karto moved from the south along the left bank of the Rhone , met the enemy at the Salon (near Marseilles), defeated him, strengthened at Saint-Esprit, at Avignon, and thus deprived Lyon of support from the south [1] .
At that time, the 25,000th army was assembled in Lyon, under the command of Louis Francois Perrin de Presie , Francois-Henri de Virieux and . The enthusiasm of the Lyons was enormous. The military engineer Schannelett drew up the project and built amazing fortifications to protect the outskirts of the city. The houses were adapted for defense. Residents quickly erected batteries, produced gunpowder, and cast tools [1] .
Kellerman launched an attack on the Perrache and Croix-Russ quarters at the confluence of the Rhone and Sona . The Fourviere quarter was attacked from the suburb of Wes. Kellerman conducted an attack only on external buildings and, apparently, sparing the city. This made it possible for the besieged to push forward the trenches and, under their cover, maintain contact with Saint-Etienne and Montbrison , from where they received food supplies, which Lyon really needed. The besieged city stubbornly defended the advanced buildings and waited for help from the Piedmontese army, which descended from the mountains and captured Tarantez and the Maurienne Valley. In addition, the Alpine army in Savoy, weakened by the siege, was pushed back by the Prussians and Austrians to Weissenburg , and Prince Conde , having unhindered Franche-Comté , captured Güningen and was about to go to the aid of Lyon. Therefore, Kellerman led the siege of Dumui, and he himself went to push the Piedmontese, which he soon successfully completed [1] .
But the National Convention , believing that the uprising in Lyon was connected with the movements of foreign armies, ordered that the rebellious city be burned. For several days, the besiegers bombarded the city, causing serious damage and causing large fires. The besieged had serious difficulties due to a lack of supplies, since access to Saint-Etienne and Montbrison was now discontinued. The besieged tried to expel part of the inhabitants from the city, but the attackers forced them to return back to the fortress. By early October, the attackers took possession of several blocks, and on October 9 the city surrendered [1] .
Presia and Virieux, not counting on a pardon, left the suburb of Wes, intending to break through with two columns to the department of En , then to leave for Switzerland . Two cavalry corps were sent for them. The Virieux column was completely destroyed, and only about fifty people escaped from the Presia column.
3,528 people accused of participating in the riot were put on trial, of which 1,682 were executed.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lyon // Military Encyclopedia : [in 18 vol.] / Ed. V.F. Novitsky [et al.]. - SPb. ; [ M. ]: Type. t-va I. D. Sytin , 1911-1915.
Literature
- Louis-Auguste Rougier. Eloge historique de Claude-Antoine Bouchet, ancien chirurgien-major de l'Hôtel-Dieu de Lyon: lu à la Société de médecine de Lyon, le 30 décembre 1839, par ... Rougier . - Impr. Louis Perrin, 1839.
Links
- 1793, Lyon n'est plus (Fr.)