| Siege of Riga | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theFrench invasion of Russia | |||||||
.jpg) Siege of Riga depicted in a painting byde:Carl Traugott Fechhelm. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 French Empire Prussia |  Russian Empire United Kingdom | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Jacques MacDonaldJulius von GrawertLudwig von Yorck | Magnus G. von EssenFilippo PaulucciIvan F. EmmeThomas Byam Martin | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| X Corps | Garrison of Riga Army of Finland | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 31,000 men and 130 siege guns | 27,000[1][2] | ||||||
Thesiege of Riga was a military operation during theNapoleonic Wars. Thesiege lasted five months from July – December 1812, during which the left flank of Napoleon's "Great Army" (La Grande Armée) tried to gain a favorable position for an attack on Russian-controlled port cityRiga, the capital of theGovernorate of Livonia. They failed to cross theDaugava River, and accordingly the siege was not carried out completely.
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DuringEmperorNapoleon'sInvasion of Russia, two corps were sent to towards theBaltic Sea viaCourland andLithuania in-order to secure his northern flank. One of the corps,MarshalÉtienne MacDonald'sX Corps was sent towards the Courland and subsequently began moving towardsRiga.[3]
By mid July 1812, the Riga garrison had grown to around 14,000 troops. The RussianArmy of Finland commanded byFabian Steinheil arrived with a further 10,000 troops shortly after the beginning of the siege.[3]
After the beginning of the siege, the French situation was precarious as Marshal MacDonald's 25,000 troops had to not only continue the siege, but control some 80 miles of theDaugava up toDünaburg. This was further undermined as the 'allied' Prussian forces loyalty was increasingly dubious.[3][4]
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On July 7 theBattle of Iecava took place, in which the troops commanded by Prussian GeneralJulius von Grawert, who approached Riga, defeated the forces of GeneralFriedrich von Löwis of Menar. Governor-GeneralMagnus Gustav von Essen, overestimating his opponent's options, ordered preparations for the siege and the burning of the suburbs, after doubt and cancellation — including those on the right bank. CommandantIvan Emme announced the partial destruction of theMoscow and St. Petersburg (German:Petersburger Vorstadt) suburbs, and on the evening of July 11, police were ordered to start the arson. The fire, wind and poor organization spiraled out of control, causing even more damage to the townspeople than planned.
On July 19, 67 Russiangunboats finally arrived in Riga, much more than those made byThomas Byam Martin. At that time, the Prussians were located around Riga in the southern semicircle along the lineSloka –Olaine –Kekava. Löwis of Menar's forces launched a counterattack in a western direction, and the Russian and British warships supporting it, moving up theLielupe River, managed to reach Sloka and furtherKalnciems. The boats moved on toJelgava, which was shelled but retreated from it as a result of the Prussian artillery response fire. However, after a few days, the Prussians were able to push the Russians back from the captured territory.
On August 10 the Russians, after hoax attacks in the directions of Sloka and Olaine, attacked Kekava, forcing opponents to retreat to the south. OnAugust 26 (September 7), the Prussians launched a counterattack and the Russians, in turn, retreated to the starting positions.
Jacques Macdonald, who was based in Dünaburg (Daugavpils) and, despite Napoleon's orders, had carried out very few active activities from there, after that he was transferred toJēkabpils Ginenbein's brigade from the French 7th Division, which was to help take Riga. 130 heavy ("siege") cannons were placed inPilsrundāle. But at the time, Moscow-leaning Napoleon himself called on Maconald not to rush, hoping for peace talks that were never launched.
On August 9, 1812, Martin, having decided that his further presence in Riga was not necessary, received permission to leave, but before that he took the British and Russian navies in a raid to the port ofDanzig. They managed to create such panic that Maconald had to send some of his strength from Daugavpils to Danzig to calm his minds.
On September 10 the 10,000-strong Steinheil Corps arrived in Riga fromHelsinki and was ordered to help the Riga garrison throw the enemy away from the vicinity of the city and destroy the siege cannons. Now the balance of power had changed for the Russians (22-25 thousand to 17) and they launched an attack in the direction of Pilsrundale, but Steinheil failed to find a common language with Essen, for whom it seemed more important to liberate Jelgava, and the Rosean Regiment and Steinheil's forces sent by Essen went in different directions.
On September 14 (26) Steinheil crushed a group of Prussian troops commanded by Horne, andYorck von Wartenburg, who protected Jelgava, decided to withdraw from it without fighting and joined the Pilsrundale group, fearing siege. Rosen, having captured the city, also seized its arsenal of numerous war materials, which convinced Essen of the correctness of his actions and allowed him to solemnly come to the city the next day. Essen ordered Steinheil to send a few more regiments (3,000 men) to Jelgava for the guard of the loot. All this delayed and weakened Steinheil while the Prussians actively prepared for the battles around Pilsrundale. Belgard's regiment sent by Steinheil, with the task of forsaken through the brass Lielupe and tying the Prussian left wing at Gravendhall, collided with fierce resistance; Yorck von Wartenburg used the excitement and fatigue of Russian forces, moved on to attack and forced Steinheil to retreat towards Jelgava as a result of theBattle of Mezotne (Mesoten). Jelgava was not held either: Essen fled from it without waiting for Steinheil, and the city was occupied by the Prussians.
In mid-October, the Russians tried to carry out attacks in the direction of Ķekava and along the Lielupe River, but the Prussians managed to hold their recovered positions.
Russian military failures led to organizational changes. On October 14 (26) Essen was replaced withFilippo Paulucci and the Steinheil Corps was subjected toPeter Wittgenstein,[5] who wassuccessfully fighting in thePolotsk neighborhood at the time.
The regiments driving Macdonald from the east to Riga, meanwhile, succeeded. On November 1, Günerbein capturedTome, taking 9 Russian officers and 130 soldiers prisoners. The next day,Masenbach scored the same victory inJaunjelgava. A cold autumn began, and in Riga they began to worry that after theDaugava was frozen, the Prussian forces south of Riga would no longer have natural obstacles to achieving it, and were preparing for winter protection. Some gunboats were even frozen in the ice of the Daugava River. But on December 8 Prussian forces, on Macdonald's orders, following the example of the entire Napoleon Great Army, began to withdraw from Russia.
The consequence of these battles was the economic devastation caused by the requisitions carried out by both armies and the burning of part of Riga. At that time, the progressive or radical ideas that the French brought to parts of Europe with their occupation did not reach Latvia in this way.
A monument was erected in Riga in 1913 forBarclay de Tolly. In 1915 the monument was evacuated from the city due to war and lost at sea, but in 2002 it was restored.[6] Essen died inBaldonesulphur spring on August 11, 1813; there is an unconfirmed version of suicide as a result of depression (from both drowning and shooting).[7][8][9]
On July 12, 1812, part of Riga was burned down, including Moscow and St. Petersburgvorstadt. At least 4 churches, 36 warehouses, 35 state and 705 residential buildings, and other unconfirmed buildings were also burned down.[10][11]
The order of battle of the forces involved was as follows (note: the nation of origin is listed behind units which came from said areas (other than French/Prussian/Russian)):
| French X Corps |
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| Riga Garrison |
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| Russian Reinforcements |
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Reinforcements/Other Forces[edit]
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| British Baltic Fleet |
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Bei der Annäherung des Yorkschen Korps, das von Preussen im Kriege Napoleon I. gegen Russland als Kontingent gestellt worden war, wurden am 11. und 12. Juli 1812 die Vorstädte voreilig niedergebrannt. Nicht weniger als 4 Kirchen, 35 öffentliche und 705 private Baulichkeiten gingen in Flammen auf.
Media related toSiege of Riga (1812) at Wikimedia Commons
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