The Battle of Courbevoie was the first battle of the 1871

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

Skirmish

Two days into the Commune, on 30 March, exploratory Versaillais troops arrived at a Communard post on the approaches of

Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is a suburb of Paris, from the Kilometre zero, center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the ci ...

, near

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

. The troops hesitated when General Gaston Galliffet ordered them to fire. Galliffet charged on horseback, taking prisoners as the Commune retreated. This rallying of pro-government troops made the soldiers more willing to fire on fellow Frenchmen. President

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( ; ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian who served as President of France from 1871 to 1873. He was the second elected president and the first of the Third French Republic. Thi ...

, reassured, ordered their return without attempting to capture more Communards.

Battle

Galliffet returned with two

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

s on 2 April to attack Courbevoie's Rond-Point. A Versaillais military surgeon general, attempting to negotiate, was killed on approach by Communards who mistook his uniform for that of a colonel. A battle ensued. The Versaillais won the battle and took Courbevoie. When government forces fell back, some Communards mistakenly believed their side was victorious. The Versaillais had captured 30 Communards, five of whom became the first to be summarily executed.

Impact

Communards who fell back to Paris reported on

Joseph Vinoy Joseph Vinoy (; 10 August 1803 – 27 April 1880) was a French soldier, who commanded the French capital's defenses during the siege of Paris in the course of the Franco-Prussian War. Biography He originally intended to join the Church, but, ...

's orders for all those captured to be shot. In response, the Council of the Commune ordered a ''sortie'' counterattack. Later on April 2, the Commune informed the National Guard that the Versaillais had provoked civil war. The Versaillais' willingness to execute Communards marked a turning point for the Communards, convincing them that Thiers would use

unrestricted warfare ''Unrestricted Warfare: Two Air Force Senior Colonels on Scenarios for War and the Operational Art in an Era of Globalization'' () is a book on military strategy written in 1999 by two colonels in the People's Liberation Army (PLA), Qiao Liang ( ...

and that Paris must be defended. The death of the military surgeon general was used in Versaillais propaganda.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Courbevoie

19th century in Paris

History of Hauts-de-Seine April 1871