Historical Organization
Versailles Army
Versailles Army
Details
Organization Timeline
Versailles forces attack at Courbevoie
đź“… 2 April 1871Government troops opened a military offensive west of Paris and attacked National Guard positions near Courbevoie. The clash marked the beginning of open warfare between the Commune and Versailles.
Communard forces launch an unsuccessful offensive
📅 3 April 1871National Guard columns moved toward Versailles through Rueil, Bougival and Châtillon. Poor coordination and government artillery fire broke the offensive, after which prisoners including Émile Duval...
The Commune adopts the Decree on Hostages
đź“… 6 April 1871In response to summary executions by government forces, the Commune authorized the detention of people suspected of aiding Versailles and threatened reprisals if captured Communards continued to be...
MacMahon takes command of the Versailles Army
đź“… 6 April 1871Patrice de MacMahon was appointed commander of the reorganized government army. Released prisoners of war strengthened the force preparing to retake Paris.
Versailles troops capture Fort Issy
đź“… 9 May 1871After sustained bombardment and confused Communard command, government forces occupied Fort Issy. Its fall weakened the southwestern defence of Paris.
Versailles troops enter Paris
đź“… 21 May 1871Government troops entered through the Porte de Saint-Cloud after discovering that part of the western defences was unguarded. Their entry began the Bloody Week and the final destruction of the...
Barricades spread as Versailles forces advance
đź“… 22 May 1871The Versailles Army occupied western Paris while Communards constructed barricades and organized neighbourhood resistance. The centralized defence rapidly fragmented into local battles.
Montmartre falls to the Versailles Army
📅 23 May 1871Government troops captured Montmartre, the district where the uprising had begun. Jarosław Dąbrowski was mortally wounded during the fighting as the Commune lost much of northern and western Paris.
The HĂ´tel de Ville burns during the fighting
đź“… 24 May 1871As government forces advanced, fires destroyed the HĂ´tel de Ville and other public buildings. Responsibility for individual fires and their military purpose became a major subject of political...
Archbishop Darboy and other hostages are executed
đź“… 24 May 1871Communard officials executed Archbishop Georges Darboy and several other hostages in La Roquette prison while government forces carried out mass executions of captured Communards.
Communards defend the Butte-aux-Cailles
đź“… 25 May 1871Several thousand Communards resisted a much larger government force around the Butte-aux-Cailles. Versailles troops eventually took the position and continued eastward.
Charles Delescluze is killed at a barricade
📅 25 May 1871Charles Delescluze, the Commune’s delegate for war, walked unarmed toward a barricade at the Place du Château-d’Eau and was killed by government fire.
Jean-Baptiste Millière is summarily executed
📅 26 May 1871Versailles troops arrested republican deputy and journalist Jean-Baptiste Millière and shot him on the steps of the Panthéon without trial.
Fighting reaches Père-Lachaise Cemetery
📅 27 May 1871Communards fought government troops among the tombs of Père-Lachaise. Captured defenders were later shot near the wall remembered as the Mur des Fédérés.
The last major Commune resistance is defeated
đź“… 28 May 1871Government forces overcame the final organized barricades in eastern Paris. The defeat ended the Commune after seventy-two days, while arrests and summary executions continued.
Eugène Varlin is captured and killed
📅 28 May 1871Eugène Varlin, a labour organizer and member of the Commune, was recognized, beaten and shot at Montmartre without trial.
Fort Vincennes surrenders after the fall of the Commune
đź“… 29 May 1871The remaining Communard garrison at Fort Vincennes surrendered. Government forces executed several officers, marking the end of the last fortified position held in the name of the Commune.