The siege of Mainz (3 January – 4 May 1814) saw an
Imperial French corps under
Charles Antoine Morand besieged in
Mainz Fortress by an
Imperial Russian corps led by
Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron. When the Russians left in February 1814, they were replaced by the V German Corps, led by
Duke Ernest of Saxe-Coburg and made up of the soldiers from the
County of Nassau
The County of Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire from the period of the formal recognition of the countly title in 1159 (though "de facto" sovereignty began in 1125) until the declaration of the Duchy of Nassau in 1806 with ...
, the
Duchy of Berg
Berg () was a state—originally a county, later a duchy—in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed as a distinct political entity from the early 12th to the 19th centuries. It was a member state of the Holy Roman Emp ...
and several other minor German states. The French were far too strong for the Allies to directly attack the fortress. However, an outbreak of
typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...
ravaged the city. Despite the epidemic, Morand did not surrender the city until the news of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's abdication arrived.
Garrison
At the beginning of January 1814, Morand's
IV Corps consisted of the 1st Division led by François Étienne Damas, the 13th Division commanded by
Armand Charles Guilleminot and the 51st Division directed by
Jean-Baptiste Pierre de Semellé. Damas' division counted 169 officers and 1,748 men in the brigades of Schweitzer and Jean-Baptiste Estève de Latour. Guilleminot's division included 187 officers and 2,438 men in the brigades of Antoine Gruyer, Jean-Marie Vergez and
Annet Morio de L'Isle. Semellé's division numbered 246 officers and 3,837 men in the brigades of Antoine Aymard and Henri-Jacques-Martin Lagarde. The artillery reserve was under Albert Louis Valentin Taviel who had charge of six 12-pound cannons, twenty-eight
6-pound cannons and twelve 24-pound howitzers. There were elements of seven cavalry regiments but the main mounted strength was 1,033 men of the 2nd Honor Guards Regiment.
Aftermath
Of the original garrison of 31,000 men, only 12,000 men survived. Most of the deaths were from typhus.
Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mainz 1814
Conflicts in 1814
1814 in Germany
Attacks on military installations in Germany
Battles of the War of the Sixth Coalition involving Russia
Sieges of the Napoleonic Wars
Sieges involving the Russian Empire
Battles involving the Duchy of Nassau
Military history of Mainz
Epidemic typhus
Duchy of Berg