Battle of Courbevoie

The Battle of Courbevoie was the first battle of the 1871 Paris Commune.

Battle of Courbevoie
Part of Paris Commune
Date2 April 1871 (1871-04-02)
Location
Courbevoie, France
Result Versaillais victory
Belligerents
French Third Republic (Versaillais) Paris Commune (Communards)
Strength
9,000 500–600
Casualties and losses
5 deaths, 21 wounded 17 deaths, 25 imprisoned

Skirmish

Two days into the Commune, on 30 March, exploratory Versaillais troops arrived at a Communard post approaching Courbevoie, near Neuilly-sur-Seine. The troops hesitated when General Gaston Galliffet commanded them to fire. Galliffet charged on horseback, taking prisoners as the Commune retreated. This instance of rallying the pro-government troops had made the soldiers more willing to fire on fellow Frenchmen. President Adolphe Thiers, reassurred, ordered their return without attempting further capture.[1]

Battle

Galliffet returned with two brigades on 2 April to attack Courbevoie's Rond-Point. A military surgeon general who advanced to negotiate was mistaken for a colonel soldier, based on his uniform, and the Communards killed him. A battle ensued.[2]

The Versaillais won the battle and held Courbevoie. When the government forces fell back, some Communards mistook themselves as the victor. The Versaillais had captured 30 Communards.[2]

Impact

Communards who fell back to Paris told of Joseph Vinoy's orders, that all those captured would be shot. In response, the Council of the Commune ordered a sortie counterattack. Late in the day of the attack, the Commune informed the National Guard that the Versaillais had provoked civil war. The Versaillais' willingness to execute Communards represented an inflection point for the Communards, convincing that Thiers would use unrestricted violence and that Paris must be defended.[3]

The death of the military surgeon general was used in Versaillais propaganda.[2]

References
  1. Merriman 2014, pp. 61–62.
  2. Merriman 2014, p. 62.
  3. Merriman 2014, pp. 62–63.

Bibliography
  • Merriman, John M. (2014). Massacre: The Life and Death of the Paris Commune of 1871. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-21290-7.
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