Louis-Nathaniel Rossel (9 September 1844 – 28 November 1871) was a French army officer and a politician. On 19 March 1871, he became the only senior French officer to join up with the Paris Commune, playing an important role as Minister of War.
When Rossel became Minister of War, replacing Gustave Paul Cluseret after the abandonment of Fort Issy, he immediately ordered the construction of a new ring of barricades within the existing ramparts in case the Government forces penetrated the first line of defense. Rossel also tried to concentrate and centralize the 1,100 artillery pieces scattered throughout the city. Many were out of commission with their breechblocks stored in arsenals elsewhere in Paris, so that the only readily available guns were light pieces that fared poorly against the Government's heavy artillery. Furthermore, Rossel began work within the city on three citadels: at the Trocadero, on Montmartre, and at the Pantheon on the Left Bank. Here, the Communards would be able to make a final stand if necessary. He put the defense of the city ramparts under the direct tactical command of a pair of his most talented Polish emigres, youthful veterans of the 1863 Polish rebellion. These were men accustomed to desperate fighting against hopeless odds. Recognizing that a purely passive defense would enable the Government forces to mass at any given point, Rossel developed a plan to organize National Guard battalions into "combat groups," each of five battalions, commanded by a colonel, and supported by some 40 guns. Unfortunately, the National Guard units remained suspicious of central direction and for the most part refused to serve in parts of Paris other than those in which they lived.
On 9 May 1871 Rossel resigned from his position after a tenure of nine days, despairing of the barren prolonged deliberations of the Commune, which precluded any serious action.[1] He was replaced by Charles Delescluze.
After the fall of the Commune, Rossel fled and lived for a short while under an assumed identity. He was later apprehended and executed by a firing squad on 28 November 1871.
I shall never regret having tried to demolish that bastard oligarchy, the French bourgeoisie. We may have been beaten, but nevertheless our cannon shots have told; and I hope that the cause of democracy may find, at some future period, less unworthy and less incapable servants than ourselves.
— Louis Rossel. From a letter written before his execution.[2]
Referencesedit
^cf. Elizabeth Latimer, France in the Nineteenth Century
^Rossel, Louis-Nathaniel. Rossel's Posthumous Papers. Chapman and Hall. London 1872, p.203
May 16, 2024
louis, rossel, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, october, 200. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Louis Rossel news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2006 Learn how and when to remove this message Louis Nathaniel Rossel 9 September 1844 28 November 1871 was a French army officer and a politician On 19 March 1871 he became the only senior French officer to join up with the Paris Commune playing an important role as Minister of War Louis Nathaniel RosselBorn9 September 1844Saint Brieuc FranceDied28 November 1871 aged 27 Versailles FranceBuriedProtestant Cemetery of Nimes Nimes FranceAllegianceFrench RepublicParis CommuneService wbr branchFrench ArmyYears of service1864 1871RankColonelBattles warsFranco Prussian WarParis CommuneOther workMinister of WarBiography editHe was born on 9 September 1844 in Saint Brieuc Cotes d Armor but his father was a scion of a strongly republican Huguenot Protestant Nimes family and descended from Saint Jean du Gard Camisards His mother born Sarah Campbell was from Scotland Rossel was educated at the Prytanee Militaire and was executed on 28 November 1871 at the Satory military centre at Versailles When Rossel became Minister of War replacing Gustave Paul Cluseret after the abandonment of Fort Issy he immediately ordered the construction of a new ring of barricades within the existing ramparts in case the Government forces penetrated the first line of defense Rossel also tried to concentrate and centralize the 1 100 artillery pieces scattered throughout the city Many were out of commission with their breechblocks stored in arsenals elsewhere in Paris so that the only readily available guns were light pieces that fared poorly against the Government s heavy artillery Furthermore Rossel began work within the city on three citadels at the Trocadero on Montmartre and at the Pantheon on the Left Bank Here the Communards would be able to make a final stand if necessary He put the defense of the city ramparts under the direct tactical command of a pair of his most talented Polish emigres youthful veterans of the 1863 Polish rebellion These were men accustomed to desperate fighting against hopeless odds Recognizing that a purely passive defense would enable the Government forces to mass at any given point Rossel developed a plan to organize National Guard battalions into combat groups each of five battalions commanded by a colonel and supported by some 40 guns Unfortunately the National Guard units remained suspicious of central direction and for the most part refused to serve in parts of Paris other than those in which they lived On 9 May 1871 Rossel resigned from his position after a tenure of nine days despairing of the barren prolonged deliberations of the Commune which precluded any serious action 1 He was replaced by Charles Delescluze After the fall of the Commune Rossel fled and lived for a short while under an assumed identity He was later apprehended and executed by a firing squad on 28 November 1871 I shall never regret having tried to demolish that bastard oligarchy the French bourgeoisie We may have been beaten but nevertheless our cannon shots have told and I hope that the cause of democracy may find at some future period less unworthy and less incapable servants than ourselves Louis Rossel From a letter written before his execution 2 References edit cf Elizabeth Latimer France in the Nineteenth Century Rossel Louis Nathaniel Rossel s Posthumous Papers Chapman and Hall London 1872 p 203 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Louis Rossel amp oldid 1199268394, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
