War of the Sixth Coalition (siege of fortresses in 1813)

In the war of the 6th coalition of 1813-1814. Siege of fortresses against Napoleon did not play a decisive role. At the beginning of 1813, Napoleon tried to delay the advance of the Russian armies, relying on the chain of fortresses along the Vistula , but because of the small number of French forces (after the destruction of the Great Army in Russia), this plan failed. Also failed to stop the advance of the Allies in the Oder line thanks to the uprising of Prussia against Napoleon. Napoleon stopped the Allied armies in the area of Elba , where the main battles of the campaign of 1813 took place .

The Allies did not linger to seize the fortresses, leaving them in their rear upon the attack. Limited forces were assigned to the blockade, often in numbers inferior to the garrisons of the fortresses. Russian attracted for the siege of the militia, the Prussians used for this Landwehr . The fortresses, and especially the cities with large garrisons, were isolated from the main battlefield theater, then siege-assault actions began as the siege forces intensified. This strategy of the allies brought brilliant success, allowing them with a small loss to inflict irreplaceable losses to Napoleon.

After the defeat of Napoleon in October 1813 near Leipzig, all the French fortresses along the Vistula, the Oder and the Elbe capitulated by January 1814 with the exception of Hamburg and Magdeburg . As a result, Napoleon lost by approximate estimates 130 ^[1] —170 ^[2] thousand soldiers and 2 thousand guns, which he urgently needed to protect France itself from the troops of the 6th coalition (see the article on the War of the Sixth Coalition ).

In the publications there are different dates of surrender of some fortresses, discrepancies reach a month. This is due to the time-prolonged process of surrender, from the signing of the agreement, its approval and until the surrender passed days. Thus, the authors indicate the date of some of the stages of surrender, not always final. Also in some sources indicate the number of garrisons by the number of prisoners captured by the allies during the surrender of the fortresses.

The Russian armies, having left the border of the Russian Empire in January 1813 , overtook the French defense line on the Vistula on the move. The army of Wittgenstein passed through Prussia , leaving a separate corps for the blockade of Danzig ; in February, Kutuzov’s army peacefully occupied Warsaw on the middle Vistula and sent troops to blockade the fortresses occupied by the Polish-French garrisons. Along the line of the Vistula there were main fortresses with French-Polish garrisons:

• Danzig (35 thousand, 1300 guns, gen. Rapp ) on the Baltic coast at the mouth of the Vistula.
• Thorn (5,5 thousand, 52 guns, gene. Poitven) on the right bank of the Vistula roughly between Danzig and Warsaw .
• Modlin (up to 5.5 thousand, 120 guns, gen. Dundels ) on the Vistula 30 km from Warsaw downstream.
• Zamoć (4.5 thousand, 130 guns, gen. Gauke ) in the south of Poland, 100 km east of the Vistula.

Siege of Danzig. January — December 1813

Danzig was blocked on January 6 (18), 1813 by the Russian army of Wittgenstein . The garrison under the command of General Rapp consisted of the remnants of the Great Army who had survived the march on Russia. Its numbers vary greatly in different sources. According to the historian M. I. Bogdanovich, under Rapp, there were 35 thousand soldiers, with a total number of combat-ready 10 thousand, the French historian of the 1st half of the XIX century Thier called the number 28 thousand soldiers. The upper estimate of the number reaches 40 thousand soldiers.

When Danzig capitulated, 15 thousand soldiers and officers surrendered to captivity. Since there were no epidemics and famines in the garrison during the siege, large discrepancies in the estimates of numbers should be attributed both to the desertion of the demoralized multinational troops and to the high mortality rate after the Russian campaign .

The blockade of Danzig was initially led by Lieutenant Leviz from 13 thousand. corps, in April 1813, the authorities passed to the Duke Alexander Württemberg 's gen.-from-cavalry. In September, the Russians and the Prussians, after bringing in siege artillery, began preparing an assault, but the garrison successfully prevented siege work, which was already hampered by weather conditions and marshland. The situation changed after the defeat of Napoleon near Leipzig in October 1813 . The main battle theater shifted to France. General Rapp wanted to surrender the city on condition that the garrison would leave for France, but he had to accept a complete surrender to the allies. In the official French report, hunger was called the cause of the surrender, although in his memoirs Prince Volkonsky noted the best condition of prisoners from the garrison compared to the besiegers.

December 21, 1813 (January 2, 1814 ) the garrison laid down arms. During the siege, the Allies lost (mainly from diseases) up to 10 thousand people, up to 1300 Russians were killed.

Siege of Thorn. January — April 1813

Thorn's garrison (5,500 Bavarians and French) under the command of General Poitven was blocked on January 16 (28), 1813 by Admiral Chichagov's troops. Then the command of the siege corps (18 thousand, 38 siege weapons) was transferred to General Barclay de Tolly . In the first half of April 1813 , siege actions began with excavation and assault preparation. On April 13–15, the fortress was bombarded with large-caliber guns and mortars. On 4 (16) April 1813 the garrison surrendered the fortress on conditions of unimpeded departure to Bavaria and refusal to participate in the campaign.

Russian losses during siege operations amounted to less than 200 people, 28 of them killed.

Siege of Modlin

Modlin was a fortress on the right bank of the Vistula at the confluence of the Narew River near Warsaw. The fortress was reconstructed by order of Napoleon in 1812 with the help of French engineers, although the work was not fully completed. The Modlin garrison numbered 3,000 Polish soldiers, 2,000 Saxons and several hundred French artillerymen under the command of divisional general H. V. Dundels . Artillery consisted of 120 guns.

On February 16 (28), 1813, the fortress blocked 7 thousand. corps of Gen.-Major Paskevich with 48 guns. ^[3] After the surrender of Torn in April, siege artillery was transferred to Modlin, but due to lack of strength, it was decided to limit the blockade of the fortress. When the number of Paskevich's troops increased to 28 thousand, the Russians began a regular siege with engineering work and bombardment of the fortress. The assault was interrupted by the June truce with Napoleon. Paskevich's corps joined the army of Bennigsen, heading for a connection with the main army in Saxony. The siege was led by Lieutenant Kleinmichel, his staff consisted of 10 thousand. the militia.

The fortress capitulated on November 19 ( December 1 ), 1813 , 3 thousand soldiers were taken prisoner.

The Siege of Zamoa

The Zamoеie Fortress (now Polish Zamosc ) lay on a plateau 100 km east of the Vistula and was covered with swampy rivers. The garrison consisted of 4,500 Poles under the command of divisional general Gauke .

On February 10 (22), 1813 the fortress blocked 3 thousand. Russian detachment of General Lieutenant Radt . Later, when the troops were reinforced by the Poltava, Chernihiv and other militias, the number of the blockade corps reached 4,700 people with 16 guns. ^[four]

On April 27, the Poles managed to make a successful raid and capture 4 guns.

The fortress capitulated on November 10 ( 22 ), 1813 , 4 thousand soldiers were taken prisoner.

Along the line of the Oder, fortresses were besieged:

• Stettin (8-12 ^[5] thousand, 350 guns, gen. Grando) at the mouth of the Oder . The blockade began on March 18, 1813 by 11 thousand. Prussian corps of General Tauentsin using Swedish gunboats (small artillery ships). In the summer, the blockade was headed by Gen.-Major Plec. Capitulated on November 21, 1813 due to lack of provisions.
• Kustrin (4 thousand, gen. Fournier d'Alb) east of Berlin at the confluence of the River Warta in the Oder. The blockade began on March 9, 1813 , on March 17, the blockade was headed by Count Vorontsov with 4 thousand. detachment with 26 guns. ^[6] On April 14, the blockade continued for 2 thousand. detachment of Gen.-Lieutenant Kaptsevich. Capitulated in January 1814 .
• Glogau (6-8 thousand, gen. Laplan) on the Oder in northern Silesia . The blockade began on March 13, 1813 by the detachment of Count Saint-Prix , then on April 2 it was transferred to the Prussian detachment of Gen.-Major Zenden (4.5 thousand, 14 guns). On May 26, the siege was lifted in view of the approach of the French troops. Capitulated in January 1814 .
• Spandau (3,2 thousand, gen. Bruni) near Berlin , between the Elbe and the Oder. Capitulated on April 21, 1813 .

Siege of Spandau. January — April 1813

The fortress of Spandau was located 15 km west of Berlin at the mouth of the River Spree, adjacent to it across the bridge of the same name city. It had the shape of a square surrounded by a double moat with the waters of the Havel River . The garrison consisted of 3200 soldiers (of which 1,800 were Poles) under the command of General Bruni. ^[7]

After the Russian troops occupied Berlin, the Spandau fortress began to be blocked from March 15 . On April 1, the blockade was imposed on Major General Tyumen with a small Prussian detachment of 1,800 soldiers (of which 400 were Russian cavalrymen). A small number of besiegers due to the ability to quickly get reinforcements from Berlin. Before the arrival of the siege artillery, the actions of the Prussians were limited to the construction of bridges across the Spree and Havel rivers and the procurement of materials for siege operations. With the arrival of howitzers on April 8, shelling of the garrison began. On April 11, six 50-pound mortars were brought in, and after a few days ammunition.

On April 17, bombardment of the fortress from mortars began, 380 bombs were dropped ^[8] . The next day, batteries of smaller calibers were added to the shelling of the fortress. It was possible to blow up one of the powder cellars, as a result of which a part of the fortress wall collapsed. On April 20, the Prussians went to the assault, but were repulsed with damage of up to 50 people. The city burned 60 houses from accidental hits of shells.

On April 21, 1813, the commandant of Spandau found it impossible to stay longer in dungeons not intended to protect more than a thousand people, and agreed to surrender the fortress, having received permission to retreat for the Elbe. Captured 115 guns and 5400 guns.

Along the line of the Elbe fortresses were besieged:

• Hamburg (30-40 thousand, Marshal Davout ) at the mouth of the Elbe; put on May 27, 1814 after the end of the war.
• Magdeburg (25 thousand ^[9] , gene. Lemarrua) in the west of Prussia; put on May 24, 1814 after the end of the war.
• Wittenberg (3 thousand ^[1] , 96 guns, gene. Lanuan) in Saxony. The siege began on December 28, 1813 , taken by assault on January 13, 1814 by the troops of the Prussian general Tauentsin. The loss of the Prussians in the siege was about 800 people, 1,300 French were taken prisoner, the rest were killed during the assault. ^[ten]
• Torgau (25 thousand, 250-300 guns, gene. Narbonne) in Saxony. After Napoleon's retreat to France, up to 25 thousand soldiers took refuge in the fortress, among whom, due to crowding, the strongest epidemic of typhoid spread. Only about 10 thousand soldiers remained alive to surrender. ^[11] Capitulated on December 26, 1813 .
• Dresden (35 thousand, 212 guns, Marshal Saint-Cyr ), capital of Saxony; capitulated on November 7, 1813 .

Hamburg May 1813 - May 1814

Hamburg at the mouth of the Elbe was occupied on March 7, 1813 by a detachment of Colonel Tettenborn , consisting mainly of Cossacks and hussars. For the defense of Hamburg and the Lower Elbe, the Allies had 1,500 Russian soldiers of Tettenborn, a 2,000 militia (the Hanseatic Legion) of the inhabitants of Hamburg, and a Mecklenburg battalion of 400 people.

On May 9, the French corps of Vandamma captured Wilhelmsburg, an island on the Elbe opposite Hamburg. To help Hamburg on May 11 came the 2-thousandth detachment of the Danes. On May 14, the French began to shell the suburbs of Hamburg from the island of Fedel.

On May 19, the Danish troops left Hamburg, as the Allied powers insisted on the assignment of the Danish Norway to the Swedes, as a result of which the Danes chose an alliance with Napoleon. On May 21, Tettenborn called for help 4 Swedish battalions from neighboring Swedish Pomerania, but after 3 days the battalions left the city on the orders of the Swedish crown prince Bernadotte . On May 30, 1813, Hamburg was occupied without a fight by the Danish division, which in the evening transferred the city to the French corps (8,000) of Marshal Davout , appointed head of the 32nd military district with dictatorial powers.

Napoleon ordered Hamburg to be turned into a fortress, capable of withstanding the assault of a 50-thousand army for 20 days. Davu overlaid the inhabitants of a prosperous commercial city with a huge indemnity of 48 million francs, from June to the end of 1813 up to 10,000 citizens and hired workers were forcibly working on the construction of fortifications. The houses where redoubts were erected were demolished at the expense of the city. Discipline in the army was supported by executions, the citizens themselves suffered from devastating monetary penalties and confiscations. ^[12]

Davout was in possession of the 13th infantry. corps and Danish troops, which together numbered according to various estimates, from 30 ^[13] to 40 ^[1] thousand soldiers. At the end of the summer truce, Davout made a sortie from Hamburg on August 17 , attacking the siege corps of Count Valmoden (28 thousand). He captured nearby Lauenburg , then moved to Schwerin , where he stood 10 days in anticipation of the development of the march to Berlin by Marshal Oudinot. Upon learning of the defeat of Udino, he returned to Hamburg.

After the battle of Leipzig, the blockade of Hamburg was carried out by the Northern Army of Bernadotte, who directed the main blow against Denmark. The command of the siege corps in November 1813 was entrusted to the Russian General Bennigsen .

The first storming of the city of Bennigsen made February 9, 1814 , the next - February 17 . Both were unsuccessful. On February 27, Bennigsen launched another night attack. She was also beaten off by the French. After that, it was decided to no longer storm the city, limiting itself to siege.

Having received on April 25 news of the renunciation of Napoleon (held on April 6 ), Davout did not believe, demanded independent confirmation. April 29 white flags appeared over the city. Another month negotiations were held on the surrender of the city.

Marshal Davout surrendered Hamburg on May 27, 1814 , obeying the order of the new king of France, Louis XVIII . LL Bennigsen accepted the capitulation.

During the siege of the French lost about 11 thousand. Soldiers and officers.

Dresden. October — November 1813

When the Allied armies moved to Leipzig , they left the consolidated corps of Lieutenant Tolstoy against the grouping of French troops in Dresden (24 thousand, 64 guns). According to the Allies, the Dresden garrison numbered 18,000 soldiers, ^[14] but since the city was the rear center of Napoleon’s army, a large number of sick and wounded soldiers had accumulated there. The total number of the group is estimated by historians at 35 thousand people; consisted of the 1st Corps (gen. J. Mouton ), the 14th Corps (Marshal Saint-Cyr ) and 4 thousand. garrison city. Artillery was represented by 95 guns of the French corps and 117 guns. ^[15]

On October 15, Marshal Saint-Cyr made a sortie by the forces of 4 divisions against the troops of Tolstoy, destroyed the fortifications built against him and seized the pontoon fleet of Russians. On October 20, the French retreated to Dresden at the approach of 10 thousand. Austrian reinforcements from Bohemia . After the battle of Leipzig, the Allies sent the Austrian corps of Klenau (25 thousand) to strengthen the blockade of Dresden. On October 29, 1813, the troops of Tolstoy and Klenau drove away the French from the vicinity of Dresden for the fortifications inside the city. As a result of the battles, the troops of Saint-Cyr suffered great losses, mainly due to the desertion of German soldiers.

Quartering the army of Napoleon in Dresden before leaving for Leipzig exhausted warehouses, so that the group of Marshal Saint-Cyr did not have food supplies. Early in the morning of November 6, he made an attempt to break the blockade, about 10 thousand soldiers with 1 thousand cavalry and a large wagon train moved to join the Torgau garrison. The detachment was intercepted by the Allied forces and after the skirmishes that cost the French about 900 people, he returned to Dresden.

An epidemic of typhus among French soldiers was added to the famine, a large number of the wounded and sick turned out to be without help. Saint-Cyr offered the Allied generals the surrender of Dresden and weapons on the condition of passing unarmed soldiers to France with the obligation not to fight against the Allies, until the prisoners were returned to the Allies. On November 9, these conditions were signed by Austrian commander Klenau, then approved by other allied generals. The French, having laid down their arms, began to go in large batches to their homeland from November 12 .

When the disarmed French troops reached Altenburg on November 17 , they were stopped by the ban of Tsar Alexander I and Schwarzenberg on these terms of surrender. Saint-Cyr was offered surrender, or withdrawal to Dresden with the return of his weapons to the troops. Marshal chose captivity. They surrendered: 1 Marshal, 31 divisional and brigade generals, more than 1,700 officers and 27,700 soldiers (6 thousand of them remained in the hospitals). ^[15]

According to the inscription on the 48th wall of the gallery of military glory of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior , the Russians dropped 1500 soldiers during the siege.