Walled cities in the Napoleonic era

[Joseon194]

I know that defending walled cities had fallen out of practice by the time gunpowder had become a staple in European armies by the year 1700s. But I have a few questions such as: was there ever a time during the Napoleonic Wars where a walled city was defended by the garrison on the walls while firing at them with a musket from above? Also, why was it that every time (especially for Paris, Berlin, Vienna, and Moscow) that an army was marching on the capital, they didn't even bother to defend their city through the walls or on the streets?

[exNowy]

Walled cities in the Napoloenic era existed however these often were in poor conditions and there was not common practice to besige all cities.
We should remember that gun powder changed military tactics. Heavy artillery bombardments or explosive mines can destruct any fortifications.
Then stone walls can not stop enemy for long time as it can in earlier periods. Fire arms became mass weapons these also changed warfare.

We also should remember that cities and armies in 18/19 centuries became bigger and it was hard defend big cities behind the walls against big armies.
These can led to big loses and horrible town destructions which could costs a lot. Then better was abandon the city than allow to kill masses of their citizens.

Therefore Wien, Berlin, Warsaw, Madrid, Moscow etc were not defended at that period.

Nevertheless there were some cases where smaller cities were defended behind the walls or other fortifications.

Sometimes there were bulit various fortifications at key points around the towns, but these needed garrsions which needed supply.
There still were many choke points and communication problems. Then combats in fortified towns were hard for defenders too.

Nevertheless there were some cases when garrisons defended cities behind the walls. There were log sieges e.g. Danzig(Gdansk), 1807 and 1813, Cadiz 1810 and short cases e.g. Regensburg(Ratison) 1809, Smolensk 1812. There were many other sieges cases in Iberian Peninsula, Prussia, Poland or Germany.

There also wers some streets fights e.g. Saragossa 1809, Smolensk 1812, Leipzig 1813 etc.

Then towns or fortreses sieges or blockades still happened.

[EmperorBatman999]

The most notable cases I can think of are Badajoz and Ciudad Rodrigo in Spain. In particular Badajoz was a bloodbath for the British attackers but they managed to seize the city as the British tried to scale the walls with ladders.

[Didz]

I think it also fair to assume that most large cities were simply too big to be fortified effectively. The cost, effort and garrison required would be impractical and the fortifications themselves would make the access to the city difficult. Bear in mind that to be effective everything around the city fortifications would need to be cleared and leveled to produce glacis and provide an unobstructed field of fire.

[exNowy]

I think it also fair to assume that most large cities were simply too big to be fortified effectively. The cost, effort and garrison required would be impractical and the fortifications themselves would make the access to the city difficult. Bear in mind that to be effective everything around the city fortifications would need to be cleared and leveled to produce glacis and provide an unobstructed field of fire.

Yes, that was important point. I also mentioned these cases earlier. Cities and armies were bigger at that time and it was hard defend big cities behind the walls against big armies.

That was somhowe effectiveness and economy of warfare case. Large garrisons, provisions, various fortifications and supply required for big cities defence were very costly and these together with possible big losses were difficult to accept.

It was more effective mantain big field army and try stop enemy in the battlefields or even led longer field campaign.

However we should remember that there were some cases when big cities were defended behind fortifications e.g. Danzig

[Diocle]

Siège de Gênes (1800)

In my town, Genoa, Massena was under a prolonged siege by the Austrians in 1800, for months the French defended the fortifications of the town with success, the town capitulated for starvation but the walls resisted very well ... then the Austrians were forced to leave the town almost immediately, because Bonaparte was marching on Alessandria from Milan, and then ... Marengo, that is, the most awesome Glory!

The walls had been built during the XVII century and they worked really well, the Austrians didn't find a point to storm them, we have to consider that the walls run on the top of the mountains following their shape, so their effectiveness was even greater.

[exNowy]

Yes, Siege of Genoa 1800 was famous affair, however it lasted c.a. 60 days.
That was because French led active defence and Austrian lacked in heavy artillery which could crushed the walls.
In rocky ground it was hard to laid explosive mines too. These conditions hardened normal siege techniques.
Austrian could not made a breach in fortifications so easy, therefore they laid blockade and starved French garrison. Defensive nature of Genoa location and strong fortification helped French, however they had to capitulate.

Similiar cases, where local conditions helped defenders were in other places e.g.
Siege of Cadiz 5 February 1810 to 24 August 1812
or two Sieges of Danzig 9 March - 24 May 1807 and January- 29 December 1813

Nevertheless these important sieges did not change the facts that Napoleonic Wars were decisievely fought in the open battlefields. Sieges were laid only in specific conditions.

There were many cases when walled towns did not stop advancing enemy forces e.g Ulm 1805, Erfurt 1806, Stettin 1806, Breslau 1806, Thorn 1806, Ratisbon 1809, Smolensk 1812 etc.

[Didz]

It's interesting to note that the fortifications shown are quite modern and clearly have glacis and ravelins unlike most walled cities which have walls dating back to medieval times. It also clear that the outer defences have been built well clear of the city itself thus avoiding the urban sprawl which has obviously compromised some sections of the inner wall particularly near the river. In fact, there is a long section of wall which links the inner and outer wall near the mouth of the river which doesn't seem to have any glacis or raveliins at all because there are buildings right under it.

[wangrin]

I know that defending walled cities had fallen out of practice by the time gunpowder had become a staple in European armies by the year 1700s. But I have a few questions such as: was there ever a time during the Napoleonic Wars where a walled city was defended by the garrison on the walls while firing at them with a musket from above? Also, why was it that every time (especially for Paris, Berlin, Vienna, and Moscow) that an army was marching on the capital, they didn't even bother to defend their city through the walls or on the streets?

It depend of what you call "walled fortification".

In some case, fortifications were mostly destroyed.
For example, Paris "Grands Boulevards" were created in place of Charles V and Louis XIII fortifications between 1668 and 1705.
One of the reason was that Louis XIV didn't forgot "La Fronde"... He didn't want to give fortification to Parisians.
So, Paris was left unfortified between the early XVIIIth century and about 1840 when Thiers' fortifications were built.
Link : Ancient maps of Paris

But places of strategic importance were fortified, Vauban's "Ceinture de Fer", a "ring" of citadels protecting France's borders.
But not only citadel, Strasbourg ([1], [2], [3]), Lille and a lot of other cities were fortified.

1. 2. 3.

4.

1. Lille
2 ./3. Arras
4. Brest

Link : fortified-places.com

Some other cities :

1.

1. Milan



In a war of movement, the role of fortification is to slow down or fix the enemy and to give time to move your armies.
Only point of strategic importance had to be defended such as port or when armies are surrounded :

• Siege of Dantzig - 1807
• Siege of Antwerp - 1814
• Siege of Almeida - 1810 and 1811
• Siege of Badajoz - 1811 (1st), 1811 (2d), 1812
• Defence of Berg-op-Zoom - 1814 (street fightings)
• etc.

[Didz]

Yes in that respect many cities and forts were protected by multiple forts and citadels rather than a solid defensive wall. Portsmouth for example is protected by a circle of forts rather than one wall. And Britain herself was protected by a line of martello towers round its coast. The of course there is the famous lines of Terres Vedras that protected Lisbon during the Peninsula Campaign.

[marcello]

Gunpowder caused a block obsolescence of medieval fortifications, relatively thin free standing walls being hard pressed to resist and support artillery. However once the necessary counters were developed, such as the use of earth to support and mask the walls and the employment of cross fires arrangements (bastions) to solve the issue of close defence, sieges were both viable and frequently practiced. Many were comparable to pre-gunpowder days in lenght, Candia was besieged for twenty years before it fell. It was not until towards the end of the 17th century attacks methods were improved and the balance began to shift against the defender. In the course of the 18th century more emphasis was put towards mobility but even at its end sieges like those of Mantua and Genova had a substantial influence on campaigning. Fortifications continued to absorb susbstantial investments, for instance Napoleon spent millions of gold francs to turn the town of Alessandria, near Marengo, into a colossal fortress capable of holding out for several months of open trenches. It was planned to be a logistical base and a shelter where a beaten army could retreat to reorganize. Less ambitious but still notable updates are still visible in other places such as Palmanova.
Note however that the use of detached forts was not widely adopted until after the napoleonic wars, before the focus was still on urban walls, outworks and advanced works in relatively close proximity. As for capitals not being defended, there were a number of reasons, among which efforts being focused on border defense. Paris did however get a new wall and detached forts in the 1840s, which were used in 1870.