Pierre Philippe Marie Aristide Denfert-Rochereau, (11 January 1823 – 11 May 1878), was a French serviceman and politician. He achieved fame by successfully defending besieged

Belfort Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Terri ...

during the Franco-Prussian War: this earned him the soubriquet

The Lion of Belfort The ''Lion of Belfort'', in Belfort, France, is a monumental sculpture by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''). Overview Finished in 1880, it is made entirely of red sandstone ...

( French: ''le lion de Belfort'').

Biography

Born in an upper-class, aristocratic Protestant family, he married a daughter of a leading

Montbéliard Montbéliard (; traditional ) is a town in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, about from the border with Switzerland. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department. History Montbéliard is ...

family, Pauline Surleau-Goguel. Denfert-Rochereau graduated from

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

in 1842. He distinguished himself during the French expedition in Rome in 1849, and participated in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

in 1855, where he was wounded at the taking of

Malakoff Malakoff () is a suburban commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department southwest of Paris, France. Located from the centre of the city, it had a population of 30,286 in 2016. The European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE) is base ...

. He was then sent to French Algeria from 1860 to 1864.

Siege of Belfort

France-90-Belfort-Place Republique-Denfert Rochereau

Appointed commander of Belfort in 1870, Colonel Denfert-Rochereau was confronted from November 1870 with the attack and the subsequent

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

of the city by the German armies under

August von Werder Karl Wilhelm Friedrich August Leopold Graf von Werder (12 September 1808 – 12 September 1887) was a Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian general. Life and career Early life and assignments Werder was born in Schloßberg near Norkitten in the Pr ...

. When asked to surrender the fortress, the Colonel responded: "We are aware of our duty towards France and the Republic, and are resolved to respect it". Refusing to permit the evacuation of the civilian population, in December 1870 the Germans started to shell the city. Denfert-Rochereau then led with his garrison of 15 000 men (of which only 3 500 were actual soldiers) and the city's population a 103 days resistance against the 40 000 soldiers of Werder. The heroic resistance would eventually end only under the order of the

Government of National Defense The Government of National Defense (french: Gouvernement de la Défense nationale) was the first government of the Third Republic of France from 4 September 1870 to 13 February 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. It was formed after the proclam ...

on the 18 February 1871: Denfert-Rochereau accepted to leave the stronghold with his troops and arms, freely and unconquered, avoiding the humiliation of a defeat. Refusing the armistice, he urged (de facto) President Thiers to pardon the young officer Louis-Nathaniel Rossel—also a Protestant— who had joined the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

after the French defeat. Rossel was nevertheless executed on 27 November 1871. The resistance of Denfert-Rochereau saved the honour of France, otherwise humiliated by MacMahon's defeat at Sedan and Bazaine' surrender at

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

. It also allowed Thiers to negotiate retention of the Belfort region which thereby was separated from the rest of German annexed-Alsace. A national hero, Denfert-Rochereau was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

as a député. There he supported

Léon Gambetta Léon Gambetta (; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government. Early life and education Born in Cahors, Ga ...

's policies. He died in Versailles in 1878, and was buried near his spouse in the Montbéliard Cemetery. The

Place Denfert-Rochereau Place Denfert-Rochereau, previously known as Place d'Enfer, is a public square located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, France, in the Montparnasse district, at the intersection of the boulevards Raspail, Arago, and Saint-Jacques, and the ave ...

in Paris (

14th arrondissement of Paris The 14th arrondissement of Paris ( ), officially named ''arrondissement de l'Observatoire'' (; meaning "arrondissement of the Observatory", after the Paris Observatory), is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. It is situa ...

, in the

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has bee ...

district) was named after him in 1879, as well as other streets and places across France.

Sources

* Adolphe Robert, Gaston Cougny (1889–1891). ''Dictionnaire des parlementaires français de 1789 à 1889''. Edgard Bourloton. * Biography (in French) of Denfert-Rochereau on the Assemblée Nationale (French Parliament)'s website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denfert-Rochereau, Pierre Philippe 1823 births 1878 deaths French military personnel of the Crimean War French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Politicians of the French Third Republic French Protestants