Siege of Modlin (1813)

The failed French invasion of Russia in 1812 ended with a very weakened Grande Armée and led to the strategic initiative going over to the Imperial Russian Army. The war spilled over from the territories then belonging to the Russian Empire to the neighbouring states of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Duchy of Warsaw. Thus, at the turn of 1812 and 1813, began the War of the Sixth Coalition.

In addition, the attempts in the latter half of 1812 by the Lithuanian Provisional Governing Commission to establish a new state as well as military units were ended by the Russian military. However, much of the Lithuanian infantry raised in 1812 retreated together with Napoleon's troops. After some back-and-forth in letters with Prince Józef Poniatowski, the Lithuanian infantry regiments, freshly created in 1812, untrained and inexperienced, were finally assigned by Napoleon to garrison the Modlin fortress.

The Saxon forces present on the defending side were the II/Prinz Friedrich Infantry Regiment and the Niesemeuschel Battalion.^[1] The latter battalion consisted of the survivors of the Battle of Kobrin, where an entire Saxon brigade was encircled.^[1]

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

In January 1813, Herman Willem Daendels was assigned to be in charge of the command of the Modlin Fortress, which had been designated a deposit site for supplies.^[2] The defence force consisted of 5,200^[3]–6,500^[2] men, mainly newly brought Lithuanian troops, who were recruited in 1812.^[2] The fortifications were in very insufficient condition.^[2] When the French armies had been pushed over to the western side of the Vistula, the fortress was initially surrounded by a weak force under the General Ivan Paskevich.^[2] Later, about 9,000–10,000 men, militia under the Russian General Pyotr Kleinmichel were assigned for this purpose.^[2] The Russians did not launch large attacks on the fortress, and decided to surround and starve the place.^[2]

Due to illness and desertion, the garrison was reduced to 2,000^[2]–3,000^[3] men.^[2] When the supply was almost exhausted and the French armies had been pushed back within France's borders, Daendels surrendered the fortress to the Russians in December 1813.^[2] The precise date of the surrender differs among the sources, with some naming the date as December 1,^[2] while others name December 25.^[3] Some German sources claim that the surrender gave the Russians 120 cannons, around 4,900 muskets, and, allegedly after ten months of siege, "a large quantity of food".^[4][5] All the survivors of the garrison were taken as prisoners of war.

There was a rumor circulating in the Russian-occupied Duchy of Warsaw throughout 1813 that while the fortresses of Modlin and Zamość held out, the revolutionary spirit in Poland would continue, and once Napoleon won in Germany (which ultimately did not happen due to his defeat at the Battle of Leipzig in late October 1813), there would be a mass uprising and Modlin would be the centre.^[6]

On February 28, 1813, the fortress was blockaded by Major General Ivan Paskevich's 7,000-strong corps with 48 guns.^[7] After Thorn's capitulation in April, its siege artillery was transferred to Modlin, but due to a lack of manpower, it was decided to limit the operation to a blockade of the fortress. When Paskevich's troop strength increased to 28,000, the Russians began a proper siege, including engineering work and bombardment of the fortress. The assault was interrupted by the June Truce of Pläswitz with Napoleon. Paskevich's corps joined Bennigsen's army, which was heading to join the Main Army in Saxony. The siege was then led by Lieutenant General Kleinmichel, whose forces included 10,000 militia.

Once Napoleon had suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Leipzig and then having been driven behind the Rhine, before the start of the Campaign in north-east France in 1814, the commander Daendels surrendered, no longer seeing any purpose in the continued resistance of the fortress.

Defenders (strength as of March 1813)

• 18th Lithuanian Infantry Regiment (54 officers/824 men)^[8]
• 19th Lithuanian Infantry Regiment (22/22)^[8]
• 20th Lithuanian Infantry Regiment (39/891)^[8]
• 21st Lithuanian Infantry Regiment (23/575)^[8]
• 22nd Lithuanian Infantry Regiment (12/53)^[8]
• 3rd Polish Infantry Regiment (unknown – in mid-February, the unit had 37/600^[9])
• 17th Polish Infantry Regiment (unknown – in mid-February, the unit had 34/419,^[9] 30/462 by March 25^[10])
• Saxon I/Niesemeuschel Infantry Regiment (12/414)^[8]
• IV/Würzburg Infantry Regiment (17/361)^[8]
• I/133rd Line Infantry Regiment [fr] (17/402)^[8]
• 18/7th Foot Artillery [fr] (3/103)^[8] (another source claims it was actually the 12th Company)^[11]
• 2/5th Foot Artillery [fr] (1/23)^[8]
• 8/9th Foot Artillery [fr] (0/7)^[8] (another source claims it was actually the 4th Company)^[11]

More information Infantry, Artillery ...

	Infantry		Artillery
Nationality	Officers	Infantry	Officers	Men	Guns
Lithuanians	150	2,365	/
Polish	61	1,019
Germans	29	775
French	17	402	4	133	120
Total:	267	4,561	4	133	120

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Russian

Initial Siege Force at Modlin, according to Nafziger^[12]

• Veliki-Loutzk Infantry Regiment
• Galitz Infantry Regiment
• Saratov Infantry Regiment