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 Duchy of Berg 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 ravaged the city. Despite the epidemic, Morand did not surrender the city until the news of Napoleon's abdication arrived.

Siege of Mainz (1814)
Part of the German campaign of the Sixth Coalition

French soldiers fell ill with typhus.
Date3 January – 4 May 1814
Location50°00′00″N 8°16′00″E / 50.00000°N 8.26667°E / 50.00000; 8.26667
Result Inconclusive, see Aftermath
Belligerents
First French Empire France Russian Empire Russia
Berg
Duchy of Nassau Nassau
Commanders and leaders
First French Empire Charles Morand
First French Empire Armand Charles Guilleminot
First French Empire Jean-Baptiste Pierre de Semellé
Russian Empire Louis Alexandre de Langeron
Duchy of Nassau Ernest III
Strength
31,000
46 guns
30,000
Casualties and losses
19,000 Unknown
Siege of Mainz (1814) is located in Europe
Siege of Mainz (1814)
Location within Europe

Garrison

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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.[1]

Aftermath

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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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  1. ^ Nafziger 2015, pp. 536–537.

References

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  • Nafziger, George (2015). The End of Empire: Napoleon's 1814 Campaign. Solihull, UK: Helion & Company. ISBN 978-1-909982-96-3.

Further reading

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