The siege of Fort-Louis (14 October – 14 November 1793) saw a force composed of Habsburg Austrians, Hessians and

Bavarians Bavarians ( Bavarian: ''Boarn'', Standard German: ''Baiern'') are an ethnographic group of Germans of the Bavaria region, a state within Germany. The group's dialect or speech is known as the Bavarian language, native to Altbayern ("Old Bava ...

led by

Franz von Lauer Franz von Lauer (11 May 1736 – 11 September 1803) entered the Imperial Army as a military engineer in 1755 and ended his career as Feldzeugmeister. After serving in the Seven Years' War, by 1783 he had reached the rank of oberst, or colonel. He ...

lay siege to Fort-Louis which was held by a Republican French garrison under Michel Durand. The French capitulated after a defense lasting exactly one month. The siege occurred during the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the Kingdom of France (1791-92), constitutional Kingdom of France and then t ...

, part of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

. In 1793 the fortress was sited on an island in the

Rhine River ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , sourc ...

, but today Fort-Louis is a village in the

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

department in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Siege

General of Brigade Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

Michel Durand's 4,500-strong garrison consisted of the 1st Battalions of the 4th Light, 37th Line and 40th Line Infantry Demi Brigades and the ''Strasbourg'' Volunteers, 3rd Battalions of the ''Gard'' and ''Saône-et-Loire'' Volunteers, and the 12th Battalion of the ''Vosges'' Volunteers. Dominique-André de Chambarlhac supervised the technical elements of the defense. Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Courcelle
''Dictionnaire universel de la noblesse de France''
Au Bureau général de la noblesse de France,1822, pp. 73–74. Altogether, Fort-Louis mounted 111 artillery pieces.

General-major Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

commanded the 4,700-man besieging force which included a siege train of 55 guns. Lauer commanded three battalions of the Combined Bavarian Regiment, one battalion from the Hessian ''Leib'' Regiment, the Hessian ''Leib'' Grenadier Battalion, one Austrian battalion from an unknown regiment and two squadrons of the ''Szekler''

Hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

Regiment.

Notes

References

* * Sieges of the French Revolutionary Wars Battles involving Austria Battles involving Bavaria Battles involving Hesse-Kassel Battles involving France Fort-Louis 1793 Conflicts in 1793 Battles of the French Revolutionary Wars Sieges of the War of the First Coalition Battles of the War of the First Coalition {{mil-hist-stub