The Battle of St. Quentin was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War in which Prussian forces defeated French attempts to relieve the besieged city of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. While the Prussian armies under

Wilhelm I William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the ...

besieged Paris, the Prussian I Army, now under the command of

August Karl von Goeben August Karl Friedrich Christian von Goeben (10 December 181613 November 1880), was a Prussian infantry general, who won the Iron Cross for his service in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. Early career Born at Stade 30 km west of Hamb ...

was sent to deal with French forces north of Paris. After a first attempt to relieve Paris had been checked at the battle of Bapaume, the French were planning another relief effort. Von Goeben marched his army north and met the irregular French army under General Louis Faidherbe near Saint-Quentin. On 19 January the Prussians attacked and decisively defeated the French forces. The same day

General Trochu Louis-Jules Trochu (; 12 March 18157 October 1896) was a French military leader and politician. He served as President of the Government of National Defense—France's ''de facto'' head of state—from 4 September 1870 until his resignation on 2 ...

attempted a breakout of Paris but it too was defeated. No other significant attempts would be made to lift the siege of Paris.

Sources

* ''Compton's Home Library:'' Battles of the World
History of the Franco Prussian War
{{DEFAULTSORT:SAint Quentin, Battle of (1871) Battles of the Franco-Prussian War 1871 in France Battles involving France Battles involving Prussia St Quentin 1871 History of Aisne January 1871 events