page_title: Siege of Strasbourg
section_title: Formal attack
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Strasbourg / Siege / Formal attack
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Tafel „Festungskrieg II“, Original-Text: Belagerung von Strassburg. Vom 13. Aug. – 27. Sept. 1870. Maßstab 1&#160;: 33 000
context_page_description: The Siege of Strasbourg took place during the Franco-Prussian War, and resulted in the French surrender of the fortress on 28 September 1870.
  After the German victory at Wörth, troops from the Grand Duchy of Baden under Prussian General August von Werder were detached to capture Strasbourg with the help of two Prussian Landwehr divisions which had been guarding the North Sea coast. This 40,000-strong siege corps reached the fortress on 14 August and began to immediately bombard it. The defenses were largely obsolete and 7,000 of the 23,000-strong French garrison were National Guard militiamen. Desiring a quick surrender, the Germans began a terror bombardment to destroy the morale of the civilian population on 23 August. Explosive and incendiary shells were rained down on the city for four days and entire quarters were reduced to ash. Panic developed among the civilians but there was no capitulation.
  A shell shortage forced Werder to lower the intensity of the German fire on 26 August and switch to formal siege operations. The Germans dug their way closer to the fortress through trench parallels and destroyed specific sections of the defenses with concentrated bombardments.
context_section_description: On 26 August, Werder decided to go ahead with formal siege operations against the fortress. On 27 August, he sent a report to royal headquarters on his intention to open the first parallel on the night of 29–30 August. The Germans had carried out preparations for the formal siege even as the bombardment proceeded. These included entrenching tool depots at Bischheim and Suffelweyersheim and the platforms, artillery parks and materiel of the siege artillery at Kork, Kehl, Neumühl and Vendenheim. By 24 August, the infantry had trained in the building of trenches by engineer officers. To reconnoiter the fortress more closely and cover the main approach, the German lines of outposts moved forward on 27 August after dark between Königshoffen and the Aar to within 300 meters of the glacis. There was no French resistance. On the morning of 28 August, the lines of outposts were withdrawn back to their previous positions after pioneers had constructed sufficient cover in the rain.
  At 1000 on 28 August, the French garrison opened up with rifle and artillery fire. At 1200, two French companies sortied out from the covered way near the Stone Gate. A company of the Schneidemühl Landwehr battalion repulsed the attack with some support and skirmished with the French until dark. French wall pieces and infantry fired from the No. 44 lunette against the Prussian position at Kronenburg. A French detachment of several hundred men momentarily captured the outermost Prussian trenches but was then thrown back by the Prussian infantry's file-fire. Two Landwehr battalions from the Guard Landwehr Division occupied this line of trenches in the evening.
  On the night of 28–29 August, the line of trenches was extended to cover the entire attack sector and communications were established along the line. Werder ordered the island of Wacken taken to cover the left flank. A company of the Konitz Landwehr Battalion crossed a pontoon bridge that had been erected by pioneers and threw out the French outposts on the island. A French company from Jars island attempted a counterattack on the morning of 29 August, but was defeated by the Landwehr company with the help of some troops of the Deutsch-Krone Landwehr Battalion. The Landwehr company sent some skirmishers to pursue the French to Jars island but these were withdrawn by 9 am back to Wacken.
  Baden picket lines at Weghäusel, Meinau and Neuhof were thrown forward to Neudorf and the Schachen Mill. Detachment from Illkirch approached the glacis and skirmished with the French to distract the garrison of the real axis of attack. A detachment from Lingolsheim could not make it to the gorge of the Paté Lunette as the bridges had been destroyed. The French outwork maintained a continuous fire on the German siege batteries at Königshoffen and the outposts at Lingolsheim. French inhabitants attempting to escape Strasbourg to the south were sent back to the town by the Baden soldiers.
  Werder continued bombing the city, this time targeting selected fortifications. The German siege lines moved rapidly closer to the city as each fortress was turned into rubble. On 11 September, a delegation of Swiss officials went into the city to evacuate non-combatants. This delegation brought in news of the defeat of the French at the Battle of Sedan, which meant no relief was coming to Strasbourg. On 19 September the remaining civilians urged Uhrich to surrender the city, but he refused, believing a defense was still possible. However, that same day Werder stormed and captured the first of the city's fortifications. This event caused Uhrich to reconsider his ability to defend the city. On 27 September Uhrich opened negotiations with Werder, and the city surrendered the following day.
caption: Map of the siege.
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