Today we once again turn to our Gallic brethren to provide us with a chance to look at one of those events that seems to repeat itself throughout military history. Few cities in the world have the majesty, culture, and history of Paris, and surely few have evoked as much awe, envy, and even contempt. Throughout her history, the city on the Seine has been the target of a number of invaders and would-be conquerors.
Prussian soldiers march through Paris after the end of the Franco-Prussian War, February, 1871.On February 17, 1871, Prussian troops celebrated their victory in the Franco-Prussian War with a parade past the Arc de Triomphe. The demonstration capped celebrations following the coronation of Wilhelm I, the first German Emperor. Fought mostly to unite Germany's southern kingdoms with Prussia against a common foe, the war was neither the first nor last period that saw foreigners march through Paris. To shake things up today, we'll take a look at some of the darker days in the City of Light.
52 BC:
During his conquest of Gaul, Julius Caesar crushes a local uprising led by the legendary Vercingetorix on the left bank of the Seine. A nearby settlement, named for the Parisii people, is renamed Lutetia by the Romans and begins growing rapidly.
Caesar is still in Paris, but only at the Louvre.
1420 AD:
During the Hundred Years' war, and after years of local popular uprisings, the English under Henry V capture Paris. Henry VI is crowned King of France at Notre Dame in 1429, and the English hold the city for seven more years.
The coronation of English King Henry VI as King of France. Note the fleur-de-lys on his crest.1814:
After Napoleon's failed invasion of Russia, his enemies in the east followed him back to France, culminating in a parade through Paris. Czar Alexander I was at the head of the column.
Russians parade though the city after the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon in 1814.1871:
Following a four-month siege of the city, Prussian troops enter Paris, resulting in the coronation of Wilhelm I, and yet another parade. Here is an awesome description of the first Prussians entering the city, originally published in Blackwell Magazine and reprinted in the New York Times, December 10, 1893:
[One] came tearing up the hill. As he neared we saw he was a hussar officer...He charged past us, his sword uplifted, his head thrown back, his eyes fixed straight...By Jove if that fellow's mother could see him, she'd have something to be proud of!
The youngster raced on far ahead...[to] the Arch of Triumph...We caught sight of him on the other side through the archway, his sword high up, as if he were saluting the vanquished city at his feet.
The coronation of Wilhelm I, held in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, 1871.1940:
After the Germans failed to capture the city during the First World War, Adolf Hitler makes sure Gay Paree sees the indemnity of a Wehrmacht parade in the Second. Later, with Allied armies closing in, Hitler orders the city to be destroyed, but Paris is spared by the military governor General Dietrich von Choltitz.
Hitler found the exact railroad car in which the Germans signed their surrender in 1914, and used it to hold the ceremony in reverse in 1940.To be sure, Paris' position as the envy of Europe has put it in some perilous spots in the past. The last time foreign soldiers paraded through her streets, it was on a much more joyous note. On August 25, 1944 American troops, spearheaded by Free French forces, marched into the city to end the German occupation.
Americans march through Paris after the liberation in 1944. That familiar landmark is just visible in the background.
No comments:
Post a Comment