Siege of Mainz (1814)

Siege of Mainz (1814)
Part of the German campaign of the Sixth Coalition
French soldiers fell ill with typhus.
Date 3 January – 4 May 1814 Location Mainz, French Empire 50°00′00″N 8°16′00″E / 50.00000°N 8.26667°E / 50.00000; 8.26667 Result Inconclusive, see Aftermath
Belligerents
France	Russia Berg Nassau
Commanders and leaders
Charles Morand Armand Charles Guilleminot Jean-Baptiste Pierre de Semellé	Louis Alexandre de Langeron Ernest III
Strength
31,000 46 guns	30,000
Casualties and losses
19,000	Unknown
class=notpageimage| Location within Europe

The siege of Mainz (3 January – 4 May 1814) saw an Imperial French corps under Charles Antoine Morand besieged in Mainz Fortress by an Imperial Russian corps led by Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron. When the Russians left in February 1814, they were replaced by the V German Corps, led by Duke Ernest of Saxe-Coburg and made up of the soldiers from the County of Nassau, the Duchy of Berg and several other minor German states. The French were far too strong for the Allies to directly attack the fortress. However, an outbreak of typhus ravaged the city. Despite the epidemic, Morand did not surrender the city until the news of Napoleon's abdication arrived.