Siege of Riga (1812)

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Siege of Riga
Part of the French invasion of Russia
Siege of Riga 1812 Postcard.jpg
Siege of Riga depicted in a postcard
Date24 July – 18 December 1812[1]
Location
Riga, Russian Empire now Latvia
56°57′N 24°6′E / 56.950°N 24.100°E / 56.950; 24.100
Result Russian victory
Belligerents
First French Empire French Empire
 Prussia		 Russian Empire Russian Empire
 United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
First French Empire Jacques MacDonald
Kingdom of Prussia Julius von Grawert
Kingdom of Prussia Ludwig Yorck		 Russian Empire Magnus G. von Essen
Russian Empire Filippo Paulucci
Russian Empire Ivan F. Emme
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Thomas Byam Martin
Strength
28,000-32,500[1][2] 27,000[1][2]
French invasion of Russia
[Interactive fullscreen map]
  current battle
  Prussian corps
  Napoleon
  Austrian corps

The siege, lasting from July to December 1812, was tried in vain by Marshal Jacques MacDonald, with a force of 30,000 men of the Grande Armée, facing Russian defenders under command of military governor of Riga Magnus Gustav von Essen (who in October 1812 was replaced by Filippo Paulucci) and Riga commandant Ivan Fyodorovich Emme.[3] The defenders were aided by the British Baltic squadron under Rear Admiral Thomas Byam Martin.[4]

Highlights[]

The English Admiral, Martin, contributed greatly to the defence of Riga with his gunboats.[4]

The division of gunboats under Captain Stuart had proceeded up the Boldero river, to cooperate with the garrison of Dunamunde. The British destroyed the only bridge of Kalnezeen.[5]

In August, Martin led a British-Russian force on a diversionary naval raid on the major French base at Danzig.[6]

Result[]

The French did not try to storm Riga and eventually withdrew in December 1812, what finally led to the Convention of Tauroggen[7]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b c Clodfelter 1980, p. 175.
  2. ^ a b Bodart 1908, p. 446.
  3. ^ Gorshman 1996, pp. 626–627.
  4. ^ a b Naval Chronicle 1812, p. 159.
  5. ^ Naval Chronicle 1812, p. 253.
  6. ^ Grainger 2014, p. 207.
  7. ^ Riehn 1990, p. 398.

References[]

  • Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905). Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  • Clodfelter, Micheal (2008). Warfare and armed conflicts : a statistical encyclopedia of casualty and other figures, 1494-2007. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  • Gorshman, A. M. (1996). "N. Mikhailovka, ed. Словарь русских генералов, участников боевых действий против армии Наполеона Бонапарта в 1812—1815 гг vol. 7" (in Russian).
  • Grainger, John D. (2014). The British Navy in the Baltic. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 9781843839477.
  • Naval Chronicle (1812). General and Biographical History of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  • Riehn, Richard K. (1990). 1812 : Napoleon's Russian campaign. Retrieved 7 April 2021.

Further read[]

  • Robson, Martin (2014). A History of the Royal Navy: Napoleonic Wars. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9781780765440.

In popular culture[]

  • The Commodore by C.S. Forester includes a fictional account of the siege.
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