The siege of Hamburg was a military engagement of the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition () (December 1812 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation (), a coalition of Austrian Empire, Austria, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia, Russian Empire, Russia, History of Spain (1808– ...

fought between French and

Sixth Coalition Sixth is the ordinal form of the number six. * The Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution * A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel * The fraction A fraction (from , "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, ...

forces in Hamburg. After being freed from Napoleonic rule by advancing

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

and other following Coalition troops it was once more occupied by Marshal Davout's French XIII Corps on 28 May 1813, at the height of the German Campaign of the war. Ordered to hold the city at all costs, Davout launched a characteristically energetic campaign against a similar numbered Army of the North made up of Prussian and other Coalition troops under the command of Count von Wallmoden-Gimborn, winning a number of minor engagements. Neither force was decidedly superior and the war ground to a halt and resulted in a rather stable front line between Lübeck and Lauenburg and further south along the Elbe river, even after the end of the cease-fire of the summer 1813. In October 1813 a French column's movement towards Dannenberg resulted in the only major engagement in

Northern Germany Northern Germany (, ) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city-states Hambur ...

, the Battle of the Göhrde. The defeated French troops retreated back to Hamburg. Despite steadily shrinking manpower, food and ammunition supplies, Davout's forces displayed no signs of abandoning Hamburg. When French armies withdrew west after the lost

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...

at the end of the year, the Allies deployed a large portion of Bernadotte's Army of the North to watch the city during the 1814 campaign for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Davout was still in control of Hamburg when the

ended in April, and eventually capitulated to Russian forces under General Bennigsen on 27 May 1814, obeying orders delivered by General Gérard from the new king of France,

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

Strengths

French forces are estimated to 42,000 (Including 10,000 Danes and 8,000 wounded)
Allied forces are estimated to 52,000 in the start ( Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn's corps) to 120,000 in the seat area, in January 1814, when Levin August, Count von Bennigsen took command.

Other

During Davout's defense of Hamburg, one type of silver coin was issued. The design of the 32 schilling coin of 1809 was reused, and the date was not changed, but the mintmaster's initials were changed from HSK (for Hans Schierven Knoph) to CAIG (for C. A. J. Ginquembre, who was the French director of the mint in 1813). The coins were issued in 1813, and are listed in the Standard Catalog of World Coins 1801-1900 by Krause Publications as type number KM242 for Hamburg.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamburg 1813–1814 German campaign of 1813 Battles of the War of the Sixth Coalition involving Russia Battles of the War of the Sixth Coalition involving Prussia Sieges of the Napoleonic Wars 1810s in Hamburg 1813 in the Confederation of the Rhine 1814 in Germany Battles in 1813 Conflicts in 1814 Sieges involving Prussia Sieges involving the Russian Empire Military history of Hamburg

Strengths

Other

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links