Siege of Antwerp (1814) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Siege of Antwerp (1814)
Part of the War of the Sixth Coalition
'The Allies Taking Possession of Antwerp in 1814'. By Mathieu Ignace van Brée
Date 14 January – 4 May 1814 Location Antwerp, then part of the French Empire (now Belgium) 51°13′04″N 04°24′01″E / 51.21778°N 4.40028°E / 51.21778; 4.40028 Result Coalition victory Garrison surrenders upon Napoleon's abdication
Belligerents
French Empire	United Kingdom  Prussia
Commanders and leaders
Lazare Carnot	Thomas Graham von Gablenz
Strength
10,000	Jan–Feb: 8,000 Mar–May: 5,000
Casualties and losses
unknown	unknown

The siege of Antwerp took place during the War of the Sixth Coalition and lasted from 14 January 1814 to 4 May 1814.

Background

After the German campaign of 1813, Napoleon had to retreat back across the Rhine. Whereas the two armies of Blücher and Schwarzenberg invaded France and marched on Paris, a third allied army under Bernadotte entered the Low Countries.

In January 1814 Napoleon appointed the old republican Lazare Carnot as governor of Antwerp. The 10,000 men garrison was composed of troops from I Corps, and the Young Guard, including a 500-strong battalion of Irish troops.

Siege

After the French defeat at the Battle of Hoogstraten (11 January 1814), Carnot retreated to the fortified city and the Antwerp Citadel, which was then besieged first by British and up to the end by Prussian forces. The French garrison under Lazare Carnot, aided by a French naval flotilla under Missiessy, resisted the Allied siege and only surrendered the city after Louis XVIII of France signed an armistice upon Napoleon's abdication.