Siege of Riga (1812)
| Siege of Riga | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the French invasion of Russia | |||||||
Siege of Riga depicted in a painting by de:Carl Traugott Fechhelm. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
French Empire Prussia |
Russian Empire United Kingdom | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Jacques MacDonald Julius von Grawert Ludwig von Yorck |
Magnus G. von Essen Filippo Paulucci Ivan F. Emme Thomas Byam Martin | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| X Corps |
Garrison of Riga Army of Finland | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 31,000 men and 130 siege guns | 27,000 | ||||||
330km
205miles
205miles
15
Pultusk
14
Gorodeczno
13
Drohiczyn
12
Tauroggen
11
Riga
10
Tilsit
9
Warsaw
8
Berezina
7
Maloyaroslavets
6
Moscow
5
Borodino
4
Smolensk
3
Vitebsk
2
Vilna
1
Kowno
current battle
Prussian corps
Napoleon
Austrian corps
The siege of Riga was a military operation during the Napoleonic Wars. The siege lasted five months from July – December 1812, during which the left flank of Napoleon's "Great Army" (La Grande Armée) tried to gain a favorable position for an attack on Russian-controlled port city Riga, the capital of the Governorate of Livonia. They failed to cross the Daugava River, and accordingly the siege was not carried out completely.