Battle of Dijon

This battle of Dijon enters within the framework of the Franco-German Guerre of 1870.

Context

The battle of Dijon was fought in the context of the Franco-German Guerre of 1870, started on July 19th, comprised a fast succession of French defeats: evacuation of the north of Alsace (demolished French of Wissembourg and Froeschwiller), it demolished of Metz (Battle of Gravelotte), the defeat of the emperor Napoleon III with the Battle of Sedan, its capitulation of September 2nd. The Germanic armies will invade all Is France and will open the road for Paris. The Republic is proclaimed on September 4th and the provisional government decides, under the impulse of Leon Gambetta in charge of national defense, the continuation of the war.

First battle of Dijon

Dice the beginning of the head office of Paris (September 19th, 1870 - January 20th, 1871) the French strategy concentrated on actions of harassing on the Prussian troops established in the east of the Country, to reduce the pressure on the capital (September 28th capitulation of Strasbourg, October 23rd capitulation and end of the Siège of Metz).

The troops still available low, supported there defense committees local raised following the defeats of the summer, were invited to start a " war of partisans". Thus were born the bodies from the " francs tireurs" , body of volunteers of variable entity, which would have constituted, together to the Italian garibaldiens, the nerve of the army of Garibaldi, in little month. Their coordination with the remainder of the regular troops, resulted at all easy and as of on September 11th the government sought to integrate them in the rows of regular, with some vexations.

The battle of October 30th is the expression even difficulties of applying a strategy and deep disorganization of the French Armed forces. After the capitulation of Sedan and while they besieged Paris, the Prussians the conquests in the East consolidated. October 17th the troops of the Werder general occupied Luxeuil and Vesoul. 26 Gray. The 27, advanced on Dijon. the troops of the French general Fauconnet, are transfered forced to give up defending the city and folding up themselves on Beaune. The 29 the prefect and the mayor of the city, under the pressure of the population, claimed the return of the troops. While the local volunteers started the combat against two brigades of the Baden, avant-garde of the Prussian army. The engagements continued all the following day on the heights of Montmusard and in the periphery Is city. For lack of support of the share of the troops of Beaune, the city was occupied.

Second battle of Dijon

Meanwhile Giuseppe Garibaldi arrived at Marseilles on October 7th, to carry its assistance to the Republic which had substituted Napoleon III, whose armies had beaten Garibaldi with Rome in 1849 and the Bataille of Mentana in 1867. With mid-October the general is charged by the Provisional government with organizing an army in the east of France (it is in Dole on October 13rd). It is about a mission similar to that carried out between the lakes lombards in 1848 and 1859, and to the operations in Trentin in 1866: to act in a secondary zone of operations but with a considerable strategic role.

The army was made up of national guards (the maritime Alps and of Savoy), body-francs (Is and South-eastern of France), voluntary foreigners (Polish, Hungarian, Spanish, American and, especially, Italian): initially less than 4.000 manpower. It was assisted of its sons Menotti and Ricciotti, of his son-in-law Canzio and Joseph Bordone, an inhabitant of Avignon of Italian origin which had followed Garibaldi in the forwarding in both Siciles and which for the occasion was promoted general and Head of State major.

As from the month following Garibaldi installed its own general headquarter with Autun, and started the attacks on the Germanic army, disturbing the logistic lines of Strasbourg in Paris, with some success starting from the victorious shock of the Châtillon-on-Seine (November 14th), when Ricciotti Garibaldi made 200 prisoners with the convoys of weapons and ammunition. November 26th failed an attempt to invest Dijon, occupied by the Prussians.

December 18th takes place the battle in the plain, with the feet of the borough of Nuits-Saint-Georges (December 18th), when German hung the volunteers who barred the road to them towards the south. After one day of combat the body-francs beat a retreat: approximately 1.200 French prisoners, 97 killed German officers, prince de wounded Bade, total losses rising to some hundreds. The Prussians completed the runaways on the roads of the borough, except the survivors put at the shelter by the population, which covered them civil clothing. The winners plundered the hospital, the shops, the inns, set fire to, screened the house city by house.

Third battle of Dijon

The January 14th Garibaldi settled in Dijon, evacuated by the Prussians on December 17th, informed of the arrival towards the north of French regular troops carried out by the general Charles Denis Bourbaki (already ordering imperial guard of Napoleon III with the malchanceuses battles of the army of the the Rhine).

Bourbaki tried an ambitious operation to release Paris by taking with reverse the enemy troops, through a vast strategic movement of Bourges to the Alsace while passing by Belfort. This desperate attempt followed the two preceding ones carried out by the army of the Loire and the army of North. Garibaldi then carried out of Dijon a series of initiatives of accompaniment of the principal offensive.

Meanwhile the situation precipitated. The army of Paris failed in its efforts, while the retirement of Bourbaki towards Besancon was stopped by German of the Manteuffel and was pushed towards the Swiss with Glass-with-Joux on January 31st, broken and famished border. The 84.000 men still of weapons on the 150.000 parties, were disarmed and interned in the Confederation.

Following the retirement of the principal army of Bourbaki, Garibaldi reduced its action to the defense of Dijon and the " doors of Bourgogne" , preventing the enemy from advancing towards the south. The 21-22- January 23rd the city was attacked by 4.000 Prussians: Garibaldi left victorious and obtained the satisfaction of the capture of the ensigns of the 61° regiment Poméranie.

Epilog

The Provisional government started the talks for the armistice, signed on January 29th. The armistice excluded the department from Dijon (gold Coast), the Prussians thus wanting to humiliate Garibaldi and the bodies of volunteers.

Dijon remained occupied starting from January 18th, 1871 by the army German, become imperial, for approximately eight month and accepted the Legion of honor for its resistance on October 30th, 1870.

March 8th, 1871 Victor Hugo thus celebrated the Dijonese adventure in front of the National Assembly:

of all the powers of Europe none rose to defend this France which, so much of time, had endorsed the cause of Europe… not a king, not a state, nobody… a man intervened… the only one of the French generals who… was not overcome

And its resignation of the Parliament announced.

Internal bonds

Franco-German War of 1870
Italian Wikipédia.

External bonds

the battle of Dijon
Giuseppe Garibaldi

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