Siege of Belfort

Siege of Belfort 1870/71

Part of: Franco-German War

Monument to the Siege

date	November 3, 1870 to February 16, 1871
place	Belfort , France
output	Withdrawal of the French

Parties to the conflict
North German Confederation	France
Commander
Udo von Tresckow	Pierre Denfert-Rochereau
Troop strength
18,000	17,000
losses
2,100	4,750 soldiers killed, 336 civilians dead directly from the fighting

The siege of Belfort , which lasted from November 3, 1870 to February 16, 1871, was a siege in the Franco-Prussian War . The city of Belfort was the last besieged place in France after the fall of Paris, along with the Bitsch citadel . The last major skirmishes of the war took place here.

Starting position

Due to its natural location, the city of Belfort was suitable for building a fortress. It was created under Louis XIV and continuously modernized. In 1814 the fortress had been besieged for a long time and ultimately had to surrender. When the war broke out in 1870, Belfort was a garrison and fortress. At Belfort, the 7th French Corps gathered under the command of General Félix-Charles Douay , but only one division was ready for action and was able to intervene in the first fighting in the battle of Wörth . Around 17,000 men remained in Belfort under the command of Colonel Denfert-Rochereau .

Only after the fall of Metz on October 27, 1870 were enough troops available on the German side to step up action against the eastern French fortresses. Until then, only the XIV. Corps under the command of General August von Werder , which had become free after the fall of Strasbourg , was available for this purpose . General v. Tresckow had fought with his 1st  Landwehr Division near Strasbourg and was supposed to secure the further actions of the XIV. Corps and besieged the fortress Belfort. To this end, his division was reinforced by parts of the 4th  Reserve Division .

siege

Colonel Denfert

The fighting began on November 3, 1870 with the containment.

“With the siege of Belfort, the third Prussian reserve corps (formed by General von Löwenfeld in Glogau ), which had only recently arrived on the Upper Rhine, went into action for the first time. The siege of Belfort was necessary to cover the flank and rear of Werder's army advancing in the Saonethale . The fortified camp at Belfort holds 30,000 men, but is now occupied by about 10,000 men. It has to be mastered because it dominates the saddle between the Vosges and the Jura . "

- Report in the daily mail (Graz) of November 7th, 1870

By November 23, the pre-terrain had been captured and secured against multiple failures. Montbéliard Castle was conquered on November 9th. The actual siege of the city and the fortress began in early December on the west side; however, this was not successful. By January 21, the siege ring was slowly closed, but the attacks on the fortress were unsuccessful.

Since January 9th, the strength and direction of the French relief army had been known from the findings in the battle near Villersexel . In order to counter this danger, parts of the siege army and in particular artillery were withdrawn and placed on the planned line of defense on the Lisaine . From January 15th to 17th the battle of the Lisaine took place . The bombardment of the fortress and the construction of the batteries continued as far as possible, and the enclosed division missed the opportunity for a sortie. After the threat of relief had been averted and the siege troops were reinforced, the Prussians increased their pressure on the fortress. The Fort des Basses Perches and the Fort des Hautes Perches were attacked on the night of January 26th to 27th. However, this assault was repulsed with high losses (around 500 men). With this attack on the night before the general armistice came into force, which, however, expressly excluded the areas around Belfort and the Eastern Army , facts were still to be created for the time after the war. The attack against the forts was successfully repeated on February 8 after further preparations. From these positions the citadel and the forts La Miotte and La Justice could be successfully shelled. In an artillery battle that lasted several days, the German artillery proved to be clearly superior. The fortress could not last long under these conditions.

Handover and consequences

The surrender of the fortress took place on the express orders of the French government under Adolphe Thiers , as the surrender was made a condition for the extension of the armistice. On February 16, 1871, the surrender convention was signed. The garrison was given free retreat with their weapons and field guns. The fortress archives could also be taken along. The valiant defense was expressly recognized in the Convention. Military honors were even paid to the retreating French.

Of the 17,000 French soldiers, 4,750 had died. There were great civilian casualties and the city had been badly damaged by the bombardment.

Monuments

The Lion of Belfort monument , the work of Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi , was erected in memory of the defenders. The defender Denfert-Rochereau was erected on the Place de la République in Belfort, and the Place Denfert-Rochereau in Paris was named after him.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Looking back on the war. In:  (Grazer) Tagespost , February 18, 1871, p. 9 (online at ANNO ).
2. ↑ To the war. In:  (Grazer) Tagespost , November 7, 1870, p. 7 (online at ANNO ).
3. ↑ The Lion of Belfort. In:  Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung , September 23, 1880, p. 15 (online at ANNO ).

Web links

• Belfort in the Franco-German War 1870/71 . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon 1885-1892, Volume 2, page 643 f.
• Franco-German War 1870–1871, “Revenge for Sadowa”; Part 2, the war to Paris . Private website.
• Prussia side . Private website.