An explosion destroys the Avenue Rapp ammunition factory

Louis 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.

The peace treaty ending the Franco-Prussian War required France to cede Alsace and part of Lorraine and pay a large indemnity. The agreement helped the Versailles government concentrate military...

The Council called on other French cities to support communal liberty and the struggle against the Versailles government. By this point, most provincial communes had already been suppressed.

Members opposing the Committee of Public Safety announced that they would withdraw from council meetings and work in their districts. They objected to concentrating power in an executive committee.

The Vendôme Column, viewed as a monument to militarism and imperial conquest, was demolished in a public ceremony. Gustave Courbet had earlier proposed moving the monument, but later became associated...

The Commune directed that religious symbols and instruction be removed from schools and accelerated the creation of secular education. The policy accompanied efforts to improve education for girls.

Government 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...

The Versailles Army occupied western Paris while Communards constructed barricades and organized neighbourhood resistance. The centralized defence rapidly fragmented into local battles.

Government 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.

As government forces advanced, fires destroyed the Hôtel de Ville and other public buildings. Responsibility for individual fires and their military purpose became a major subject of political...