Historical Organization
National Guard
National Guard
Details
Organization Timeline
The government decides to seize the National Guard’s cannons
đź“… 17 March 1871A council of ministers led by Adolphe Thiers ordered the army to remove cannons held by the National Guard in working-class districts and to arrest leading revolutionaries. The decision prepared the...
Paris rises after the army attempts to seize the cannons
đź“… 18 March 1871Government troops tried to remove National Guard artillery from Montmartre and Belleville. Residents and guards resisted, many soldiers fraternized with the crowd, and the operation collapsed. The...
Generals Lecomte and Clément-Thomas are killed
📅 18 March 1871After troops refused orders to fire on the crowd, General Claude Lecomte and former general Jacques Léonard Clément-Thomas were seized and shot. Their deaths became a central charge in the...
The Central Committee announces municipal elections
đź“… 19 March 1871With the national government established at Versailles, the Central Committee of the National Guard announced elections for a new communal government and presented its rule as temporary.
A hostile demonstration confronts the National Guard
đź“… 22 March 1871Supporters of the Versailles government marched against the Central Committee. A confrontation near the Place VendĂ´me ended in gunfire and casualties, deepening the division between revolutionary...
The Paris Commune is publicly proclaimed
đź“… 28 March 1871Before a large crowd at the HĂ´tel de Ville, the elected Commune was formally proclaimed. The red flag became the symbol of the new revolutionary municipal government.
The Commune abolishes conscription and the standing army
đź“… 29 March 1871The Commune declared that the National Guard, composed of armed citizens, would replace conscription and the permanent army. This measure expressed its conception of popular self-government.
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...
DÄ…browski becomes commander of the defence of Paris
📅 6 April 1871The Polish revolutionary Jarosław Dąbrowski was appointed commander of the Paris military district. He became one of the Commune’s most important battlefield commanders.
Cluseret resigns as delegate for war
📅 30 April 1871Gustave Paul Cluseret was removed after the loss of military positions and growing criticism of the Commune’s defence. Louis Rossel replaced him as delegate for war.
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.
Rossel resigns as delegate for war
đź“… 10 May 1871Louis Rossel resigned after criticizing the military organization of the Commune and the National Guard. Charles Delescluze assumed responsibility for the war effort the following day.
An explosion destroys the Avenue Rapp ammunition factory
đź“… 17 May 1871A major explosion at an ammunition works killed and injured workers and nearby residents. Communards suspected sabotage, although the precise cause remained disputed.
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...
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.
Hostages are killed in the Rue Haxo
📅 26 May 1871A crowd of guards and civilians killed clergy, gendarmes and other prisoners in the Rue Haxo amid the collapse of Commune authority. Commune members including Eugène Varlin attempted unsuccessfully to...
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.
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.