The siege of Hamburg took place from December 1813 to May 1814, at the end of the wars of the War of the Sixth Coalition. The French garrison of Hamburg, commanded by Marshal Davout, resisted the coalition forces of Prussia, the Russian Empire, and Sweden for nearly six months.
Isolated from the main theatre of war of the German Campaign of 1813 by the defeat of Marshal Oudinot at the Battle of Grossbeeren, Marshal Davout's 13th Corps withdrew to the Hamburg region, which the French had fortified during the summer. After the Battle of Leipzig and the retreat of the Grande Armée to the Rhine, the uprising in the Netherlands and the Russian occupation of Bremen severed communications between Hamburg and France.
Initially separated by the natural defenses formed by the lower reaches of the Elbe and the Bille, the French garrison and the besieging army engaged in psychological warfare throughout December. In January, the branches of the Elbe froze over, allowing Russian forces to launch several assaults against the city. Despite the loss of a few advanced positions, the French garrison managed to retain the strategic positions of Harburg and Wilhelmsburg. From 23 March, the thaw ended the assaults and marked a return to psychological warfare.
When Napoleon abdicated on 6 April 1814, Marshal Davout still firmly held Hamburg. He refused to believe in the return of the Bourbons until 28 April and continued, even after that date, to refuse the surrender of the city to his Russian adversary. In early May, the marshal was relieved of his command; General Foucher de Careil negotiated the restitution of the city, while General Étienne Gérard escorted the 13th Corps back to France. The corps left Hamburg freely, with arms and baggage, on 27, 29, and 31 May 1814.
Marshal Davout was criticized as early as May 1814 for his management of relations with the civilian population, particularly for the seizure of funds from the Bank of Hamburg. Although these accusations were quickly dropped, they, along with his late allegiance to Louis XVIII, resulted in a period of disgrace that ended only with the Emperor's return during the Hundred Days.
Context
Annexation of Hamburg
The cities of Hamburg and Bremen were occupied by the French army from 1806, following the end of the Prussian campaign. After having experienced several military governors, they were annexed to the French Empire on 13 December 1810, while Marshal Davout was appointed Governor-General of the Hanseatic cities on 1 December. This annexation reflected a desire to tighten the Continental System, which proved difficult to enforce in these trade-oriented cities.
Revolt of Hamburg
After the French invasion of Russia and the near-total destruction of the Imperial Grande Armée, nationalist sentiment revived throughout Germany. On 12 March 1813, a popular uprising forced General Claude Carra Saint-Cyr, commander of the 32nd Division that included Hamburg, to evacuate the city. On 18 March, a Russian corps commanded by General Tettenborn entered the city.
The French response was swift. While Marshal Davout was appointed head of the 32nd Division with authority over the 1st Corps of General Vandamme, the latter left Bremen in early May and marched on Hamburg. After repelling, on 6 May, an attempt by Tettenborn against one of his brigades, Vandamme opened fire on the city on the 19th. King Frederick VI of Denmark placed a division at Davout's disposal, which the marshal directed toward Lübeck. The Russians were forced to evacuate Hamburg, and Franco-Danish troops entered the city on 31 May.
Napoleon ordered severe repression following these events. Nevertheless, Davout managed to moderate the measures, eventually securing the promulgation of an amnesty on 26 July.
German Campaign
The French emperor's initial plan consisted of a vast envelopment of the Allied armies, in which the French army, after advancing as far as Dresden, would push toward Berlin and then turn south. Within this framework, the troops occupying the mouth of the Elbe were to play only a secondary role, and Napoleon replaced the experienced 1st Corps with the newly formed 13th Corps.
After the unexploited French victories at Lützen and Bautzen, an armistice was signed between the belligerents, halting operations from 4 June to 10 August. When hostilities resumed, Napoleon refused to withdraw to the Rhine or abandon the Netherlands and Hamburg, despite his clear numerical inferiority, considering both regions as French. While the emperor maneuvered around Dresden to keep Blücher at bay and defeated the Austrian army of Schwarzenberg, Oudinot, at the head of 60,000 men, advanced on Berlin between the Elbe and the Spree, intending to link up with the Hamburg garrison. He was stopped at Gross Beeren by Bernadotte, definitively isolating the 13th Corps from the main theatre of operations.
After the Battle of Leipzig, the French army retreated toward France, leaving behind in Germany only besieged garrisons in fortified places such as Hamburg, Magdeburg, and Dresden.
Preliminary operations
Fortification works of the city
In anticipation of a siege, the marshal initiated major fortification works. To secure control of the Elbe, the French restored the ramparts of Harburg, on the left bank of the river, and built a massive bridge between the two cities. The strengthening of the city's defenses followed the emperor's instructions, who entrusted General Haxo with supervising the works; overall command of the engineers on site was given to Colonel Charles François Deponthon.
During the armistice of the summer of 1813, the emperor dispatched an artillery reinforcement to Hamburg as well as a company of sailors under the command of Rear Admiral Lhermite. Their mission was to ensure the operation and defense of the many islands in the lower course of the Elbe.
By the end of the summer, after some dwellings located too close to the defensive works had been demolished, the fortress was considered ready for defense.
Operations in Mecklenburg and Holstein
After the armistice was broken on 11 August 1813, Davout transferred his headquarters from Hamburg to Wysoka Braniewska, on the road to Lübeck. The Allied forces, under the command of Bernadotte, occupied a line stretching from Lauenburg to Trittau. The 13th Corps broke through this defensive line during the Battle of Lauenburg and pushed its advance as far as Schwerin, which it reached on 27 August 1813. Upon learning of the defeat of Oudinot at the Battle of Grossbeeren, Davout withdrew behind a line running from Lübeck to Lauenburg.
Although Bremen was briefly occupied by the corps of Tettenborn, the 13th Corps maintained its communications with France via the Netherlands. However, after the Battle of Leipzig, the Grande Armée retreated toward France, pursued by the Allied armies, and the Netherlands rose in revolt. It was only on 11 November 1813 that Davout received orders from the emperor to withdraw toward France while leaving a garrison in Hamburg, but by then it was too late: the left bank of the Elbe was already occupied by strong Allied contingents.
On 1 December, the marshes and the Stecknitz Canal behind which the French were entrenched froze over. As these natural defenses could now be crossed on foot by the Allies, Marshal Davout ordered a withdrawal into the city of Hamburg, while his Danish allies moved northward to cover their own kingdom.
Forces present
French Army
At the beginning of the summer, the 13th Corps numbered 32,000 men, to which were added about 10,000 Danes. Upon returning to Hamburg, it was reinforced by remnants of various corps that joined the area under his control following the retreat after Leipzig.
At the beginning of the siege, the French forces totaled 42,000 men, of whom 8,000 were in hospitals.
The troops were organized as follows:
Commander-in-chief: Marshal Davout.
Staff
- Chief of staff: General César de Laville
- Governor of the fortress: General Hogendorp
- Deputy governor: General Soyez
- Chief of supplies: General Thiébault
- Commander of artillery: General de Jouffroy
- Commander of engineers: Colonel Deponthon
3rd Division
Commanded by General Loison, who was also responsible for security within the walls of Hamburg.
- 1st Brigade: General Rome
- 15th Line Infantry Regiment and 44th Line Infantry Regiment.
- 2nd Brigade: General Louis Nicolas Leclerc
- 48th Line Infantry Regiment and 108th Line Infantry Regiment.
- 8 divisional artillery pieces.
The division totaled 9,842 men.
40th Division
According to sources, it was commanded either by General Pécheux or by General Vichery.
- 1st Brigade: General Gengoult
- 30th Line Infantry Regiment and 61st Line Infantry Regiment.
- 2nd Brigade: General Delcambre
- 111th Line Infantry Regiment. Digby Smith also attaches the 33rd Light Infantry Regiment to this brigade.
- 8 divisional artillery pieces.
The division totaled 10,000 men.
50th Division
According to sources, it was commanded either by General Thiébault or by General Pécheux.
- 1st Brigade: General Avril
- 29th Line Infantry Regiment. François-Guy Hourtoulle and the author of Trophées des Armées Françaises also attach the 33rd Light Infantry Regiment to this brigade.
- 2nd Brigade: General Osten
- 3rd Line Infantry Regiment and 105th Line Infantry Regiment.
- 8 divisional artillery pieces.
- Digby Smith also assigns the 24th Light Infantry Regiment to the division.
The division totaled 9,680 men.
Cavalry Division
The cavalry division was commanded by Général de division Pierre Watier, assisted by the brigadier generals Dubois de Thimville and Marie Adrien François Guiton. It was organized around the 28th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment and included elements from several other regiments, including three provisional regiments of cuirassiers.
In total, the division comprised 5,800 men and 3,800 horses.
Other combat units
Rear Admiral Lhermite commanded a detachment of sailors numbering 1,200 men. This detachment was intended for service on the various branches of the Elbe between Hamburg and Harburg.
In addition to the 24 divisional artillery pieces, the fortress of Hamburg was equipped with 52 horse-drawn guns from the 8th Foot Artillery Regiment and various other regiments. The fortress also mounted 350 rampart guns.
Allied armies
The strength of the Allied armies varied considerably over the six months of the siege.
The besieging forces initially consisted of the corps of Lieutenant General von Wallmoden, numbering approximately 52,000 men, composed of Hanoverian and Hanseatic regiments. This corps was attached to the Army of the North commanded by Bernadotte. General Bennigsen subsequently took command of the siege operations, bringing with him a number of Russian troops. Bennigsen and Bernadotte were later joined by General Dokhturov's men, who arrived at Hamburg after taking part in the siege of Magdeburg. In January 1814, the Allies numbered about 120,000 in the siege area. When Bernadotte and his troops moved toward the Rhine, Bennigsen still had approximately 80,000 men at his disposal.
Course of the siege
Psychological warfare in December
Hoping that the inhabitants of Hamburg would renew the March uprising and that the Dutch troops of the 13th Corps would follow the example of their insurgent compatriots, Bennigsen issued two proclamations calling on them to rise up. These appeals remained without effect in the face of the firm measures taken by the French commander-in-chief.
Davout used this period to complete the fortifications around the "Deponthon causeway" linking Hamburg to Harburg by constructing a redoubt on an island opposite Altona and another opposite Hamm. In December, Davout ordered the evacuation of the city's orphans, as well as all children whose parents agreed to their removal. A total of 15,360 people were evacuated on 24, 25, and 26 December.
The marshal also divided responsibilities among the various generals. While Thiébault was placed in charge of supplies and Loison of security intra muros, Vichery was responsible for the sector east of the city, Gengoult and Delcambre held the northern sector facing Altona, and Pécheux defended Harburg while detaching General Osten's brigade to guard the islands of the Elbe.
Winter assaults
From January onward, the cold became so intense that the Elbe and the Bille froze, despite the constant efforts of the French to preserve the natural protection provided by the canal network. The Coalition forces then launched several assaults, forcing the French to withdraw from the villages of Eimsbüttel and Eppendorf to the north, as well as from several positions to the east.
On 20 January 1814, Russian troops under General Stroganov attacked the advanced fortifications of Harburg. The columns advancing along the Elbe and through Wilstorf were repulsed by General Delcambre, who lost 200 men in the action, while the Russians left 800 men on the field.
On 26 January, on the occasion of the birthday of Empress Elizabeth, Bennigsen ordered a general assault on the northern and eastern fronts. The only result of this attack, which cost the 13th Corps 700 men and the Russians 300, was the capture of the church of Hamm. Following this assault, Davout ordered the destruction of a large part of the houses in the suburb of Altona.