Battle of Issy
| Battle of Issy | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Issy, France 48°49′26″N 2°16′12″E / 48.8239°N 2.2700°E | |
| Result | Prussian victory |
Prussia
France Hans von Zieten Dominique VandammeThe Battle of Issy was fought on the 2 and 3 July 1815 in and around the village of
Prelude
After French defeat at the
This was a thunderbolt to the French; it was then that their weakness and the Coalition's strength were seen most conspicuously, because at that moment the armies of Wellington and von Blücher were separated and the whole French army was between them, yet the French could not move to prevent their junction.[1]
After the war Lazare Carnot (Napoleon's Minister of Internal Affairs) blamed Napoleon for not fortifying Paris on the south side, and claimed he had forewarned Napoleon of this danger. The French were thus obliged to abandon all the works they had constructed for the defence of the capital, and moved their army across the Seine to meet the Prussians.[1]
Although a Prussian brigade was defeated in a
Attack
Zieten advanced on the 2 July towards the heights of
Counterattack
At a French Council of War, which was held during the night of 2/3 July in Paris, it was decided that the defence of the capital was not practicable against the two Coalition armies. Nevertheless, the French Commander-in-Chief Marshal Davout was desirous of another attempt before he would finally agree to a suspension of hostilities.[4]
At three o'clock on the morning of the 3 July Vandamme, commander of the French III Corps, advanced in two columns from
The 2nd Prussian Brigade was immediately ordered to join the 1st, and the whole of the troops of the I Prussian Corps stood to arms. Zieten sent a request to Blücher for the support of two brigades of
In the meantime the French renewed their attack upon Issy, which, however, again proved unsuccessful. This was followed by a heavy cannonade and by further assaults, without any decided advantage having been gained over the defenders. The French did not appear disposed to venture upon a more general attack, which would have offered them a much greater chance of forcing back the Prussian advanced guard; the French commanders probably considered that such an attack, if unsuccessful, might end with the suburbs of Paris being easily carried by storm. Accordingly, after four hours' continued but fruitless attempts upon Zieten's advanced position, the French fell back upon Paris, with the Prussian skirmishers following them until they came within a very short distance of the barriers surrounding the city.[6]
Aftermath
Issy was the final attempt of the French army to defend Paris and, with this defeat, all hope of holding Paris faded. The French high command decided that they would capitulate.[6]
Accordingly, at seven o'clock in the morning, the French ceased fire and Brigadier General Revest [fr] (chief of staff to the French III Corps) was delegated to approach Zieten's Corps, which was the nearest to the capital of all the Coalition forces, to offer a capitulation and to request an immediate armistice.[7]
On hearing of the unilateral French ceasefire, Blücher demanded that the French provide delegates with full powers of negotiation before he would finally agree to a suspension of hostilities, and indicated the
Officers furnished with full powers by their respective chiefs soon met at St. Cloud, where the Duke of Wellington had joined Prince Blücher. The result of their deliberations was the surrender of Paris under the terms of the
Napoleon Bonaparte had already announced his abdication (24 June 1815); unable to remain in France or to escape from it, a few days later, on 15 July, he surrendered himself to
See also
- List of Napoleonic battles
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Gifford 1817, p. 1505.
- ^ a b c Gleig 1847, p. 301.
- ^ a b c Siborne 1848, pp. 748–749.
- ^ a b Siborne 1848, p. 754.
- ^ Siborne 1848, p. 752.
- ^ a b c Siborne 1848, p. 753.
- ^ Siborne 1848, p. 753–754.
- ^ Siborne 1848, pp. 754–756.
References
- Gleig, George Robert (1847), Story of the Battle of Waterloo, Murray's home and colonial library, Harper & Brothers, pp. M1 301–302,
- Gifford, C. H. (1817), History of the Wars Occasioned by the French Revolution, from the Commencement of Hostilities in 1792, to the End of 1816: Embracing a Complete History of the Revolution, W. Lewis, p. 1505
- Siborne, William (1848), Waterloo Campaign 1815 (Fourth campaign ed.), A. Constable, pp. 748–749
Further reading
- Wood, James, ed. (1907), , The Nuttall Encyclopædia, London and New York: Frederick Warne
- Frederic Bey, Issy 1815 in C3i Magazine #32 (2018)
External links
Media related to Battle of Issy at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Battle of Rocquencourt |
Napoleonic Wars Battle of Issy |
Succeeded by Convention of Saint-Cloud |