Siege of Riga (1812)

The Siege of Riga was a military operation undertaken by the Grande Armée during the French invasion of Russia in 1812.

Siege of Riga
Part of the French invasion of Russia
Date July – September 1812 Location Riga, Russian Empire (present-day Latvia) Result Russian victory
Belligerents
France  Prussia	Russian Empire  United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Jacques MacDonald Julius von Grawert Ludwig Yorck	Magnus Gustav von Essen Filippo Paulucci Ivan Fyodorovich Emme Thomas Byam Martin
Units involved
X Corps

The siege, beginning in July 1812, was led by Marshal Jacques MacDonald, with a force of 30,000 men, facing Russian defenders under command of military governor of Riga Magnus Gustav von Essen (who in October 1812 was replaced by Filippo Paulucci) and Riga commandant Ivan Fyodorovich Emme.[1] The defenders were aided by the British Baltic squadron under Rear Admiral Thomas Byam Martin.[2] In August, Martin led a British-Russian force on a diversionary naval raid on the major French base at Danzig.[3] The French did not try to storm Riga and eventually withdrew in September 1812.

See also

• Battle of Ekau
• Battle of Mesoten

References

1. A. M. Gorshman. "ЭММЕ, Иван Федорович, генерал-лейтенант." In N. Mikhailovka, ed. Словарь русских генералов, участников боевых действий против армии Наполеона Бонапарта в 1812—1815 гг., vol. 7, pp. 626–627. Russian Archives, 1996. (in Russian)
2. Robson, Martin (2014). A History of the Royal Navy: Napoleonic Wars. I.B.Tauris. p. 157. ISBN 9781780765440.
3. Grainger, John D. (2014). The British Navy in the Baltic. Boydell & Brewer. p. 207. ISBN 9781843839477.

Further reading

• The Commodore by C.S. Forester includes a fictional account of the siege.