86 The Fall of Paris
23.3.3: The Fall of Paris
Following Napoleon’s retreat from Russia and the subsequent defeat of his army by the Sixth Coalition at Leipzig (1813), the armies of the Sixth Coalition invaded France and advanced toward Paris, which capitulated on March 31, 1814.
Learning Objective
Connect the invasion of Russia to the fall of Paris.
Key Points
- Following defeats in the Wars of the Fourth and Fifth Coalitions, Prussia and Austria were forcibly allied with France during the Russian Campaign. When this campaign resulted in the destruction of Napoleon’s Grande Armée, Prussia and Austria took advantage of the situation by forming a Sixth Coalition against France (1813-1814).
- The retreat from Russia turned into a new war on German soil. The decisive battle of the war, the so-called Battle of Nations (October 16-19, 1813), took place in Leipzig where Napoleon was defeated. After the battle, the pro-French German Confederation of the Rhine collapsed and the supreme commander of the Coalition forces in the theater, the Russian Tsar Alexander I, ordered all Coalition forces in Germany to cross the Rhine and invade France.
- After retreating from Germany, Napoleon fought a series of battles, including the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube in France, but was steadily forced back against overwhelming odds. In early February 1814, Napoleon fought his Six Days’ Campaign in which he won multiple battles against numerically superior enemy forces marching on Paris. However, the Emperor’s victories were not significant enough to make any changes to the overall strategic picture.
- Napoleon realized he could no longer continue with his current strategy of defeating the Coalition armies. He had two options: fall back on Paris and hope that the Coalition members would come to terms or copy the Russians and leave Paris to his enemies. He decided to move eastward to Saint-Dizier and raise the whole country against the invaders. He started on the execution of this plan when a letter to Empress Marie-Louise outlining his intention to move on the Coalition lines of communications was intercepted and his projects exposed to his enemies.
- Tsar Alexander I of Russia and King Frederick of Prussia along with their advisers reconsidered; realizing the weakness of their opponent, they decided to march to Paris. The battle ended when the French commanders surrendered the city to Tsar Alexander on March 31.
- On April 2, the Senate declared Napoleon deposed. He abdicated in favor of his son on April 4. The Allies forced Napoleon to abdicate unconditionally on April 6. The terms of his abdication, which included his exile to the Isle of Elba, were settled in the Treaty of Fontainebleau on April 11. A reluctant Napoleon ratified it two days later.
Key Terms
- French Invasion of Russia
- A military campaign, known in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 and in France as the Russian Campaign, that began in June 1812 when Napoleon’s Grande Armée crossed the Neman River to en