Battle of Paris ( 1814 ) The Battle of Paris was fought on March 30 – 31 , 1814 between the Sixth Coalition - consisting of Russia , Austria , and Prussia - and the French Empire . After a day of fighting in the suburbs of Paris , the French surrendered on March 31 , ending the War of the Sixth Coalition and forcing Emperor Napoleon to abdicate and go into exile . Background . In 1813 , Napoleon was retreating from his failed invasion of Russia . Coalition armies were joined together and defeated the French at the Battle of Leipzig . Austrian emperor Francis I was interested in seeking peace with the French , but both Tsar Alexander I of Russia and King Frederick William III of Prussia wished to invade France . Just as Napoleon had entered Moscow a year earlier , Alexander wished to enter Paris . Until this battle no foreign army had entered Paris in nearly 400 years . Forces . The Austrian , Prussian and Russian armies were joined together and put under the command of Field Marshal Prince Karl von Schwarzenberg , but the driving force behind the army was the Tsar and the King of Prussia , moving with the army . The Coalition army totaled about 150 , 000 troops . Napoleon had left his brother Joseph Bonaparte in defense of Paris with about 20 , 000 regular troops under Marshal Auguste Marmont along with an additional 30 , 000 National Guard s and a small force of the Imperial Guard under Marshals Bon Adrien Jeannot de Moncey and Édouard Mortier . Battle . The Coalition army arrived outside Paris in late March . Nearing the city , Russian troops broke rank and ran forward to get their first glimpse of Paris . Camping outside the city on the 29th , the Coalition forces were to assault next morning . Early in the morning of March 30 the Coalition attack began when the Russians attacked and drove back the Young Guard near Romainville in the center of the French lines . A few hours later the Prussians , under Blücher , attacked north of the city and carried the French position around Aubervilliers , but did not press their attack . The Württemberg troops seized the positions at Saint - Maur to the southwest . The Russians attempted to press their attack but became caught up by trenches and artillery before falling back before a counterattack of the Imperial Guard . The Imperial Guard continued to hold back the Russians in the center until the Prussian forces appeared to their rear . The Russian forces then assailed the Montmartre Heights , where Joseph ' s headquarters had been at the beginning of the battle . Control of the heights was severely contested , and Joseph fled the city . Marmont contacted the Coalition and reached a secret agreement with them . Shortly afterwards , he marched his soldiers to a position , where they were quickly surrounded by Coalition troops ; Marmont then surrendered , as had been agreed . Surrender . Alexander sent an envoy to meet with the French to hasten the surrender . The Tsar offered generous terms to the French and declared himself to be bringing peace to France rather than its destruction . On March 31 Talleyrand gave the key of the city to the Tsar . Later that day the Coalition armies entered the city with the Tsar at the head of the army followed by the King of Prussia and Schwarzenberg . On April 2 , the Senate passed the Acte de déchéance de l ' Empereur , which declared Napoleon deposed . Napoleon had advanced as far as Fontainebleau when he heard that Paris had surrendered . Outraged , he wanted to march on the capital , but his marshals would not fight for him . He abdicated in favour of his son on 4 April . The allies rejected this out of hand , forcing Napoleon to abdicate unconditionally on April 6 . The terms of his abdication , which included his exile to the Isle of Elba , were settled in the Treaty of Fontainebleau on April 11 . A reluctant Napoleon ratified it two days later .