The June Revolution

The Course of the Paris Uprising

by Frederick Engels

Gradually we gain a more comprehensive view of the June Revolution;
fuller reports arrive, it becomes possible to distinguish facts from either
hearsay or lies, and the nature of the uprising stands out with increasing
clarity. The more one succeeds in grasping the interconnection of the events
of the four days in June, the more is one astonished by the vast magnitude
of the uprising, the heroic courage, the rapidly improvised organization
and the unanimity of the insurgents.

The workers' plan of action, which Kersausie, a friend of Raspail
and a former officer, is said to have drawn up, was as follows:

The insurgents, moving in four columns, advance concentrically
towards the town hall.

The first column, whose base were the suburbs of Montmartre, La
Chapelle and La Villette, advance southwards from the gates of Poissonniere,
Rochechouart, St. Denis and La Villette, occupy the Boulevards and approach
the town hall through the streets Montorgueil, St. Denis and St. Martin.

The second column, whose base were the faubourgs du Temple and
St. Antoine, which are inhabited almost entirely by workers and protected
by the St. Martin canal, advance towards the same centre through the streets
du Temple and St. Antoine and along the quais of the northern bank of the
Seine as well as through all other streets running in the same direction
in this part of the city.

The third column based on the Faubourg St. Marceau move towards
the Ile de la Cite through the Rue St. Victor and the quais of the southern
bank of the Seine.

The fourth column, based on the Faubourg St. Jacques and the vicinity
of the Medical School, move down the Rue Saint Jacques also to the Cite.
There the two columns join, cross to the right bank of the Seine and envelop
the town hall from the rear and flank.

Thus the plan, quite correctly, was based on the districts in
which only workers lived. These districts form a semicircular belt, which
surrounds the entire eastern half of Paris, widening out towards the east.
First of all the eastern part of Paris was to be cleared of enemies, and
then it was intended to move along both banks of the Seine towards the
west and its centres, the Tuileries and the National Assembly.

These columns were to be supported by numerous flying squads which,
operating independently alongside and between the columns, were to build
barricades, occupy the smaller streets and be responsible for maintaining
communication.

The operational bases were strongly fortified and skillfully transformed
into formidable fortresses, e.g., the Clos St. Lazare, the Faubourg and
Quartier St. Antoine and the Faubourg St. Jacques, in case it should become
necessary to retreat.

If there was any flaw in this plan it was that in the beginning
of the operations the western part of Paris was completely overlooked.
There are several districts eminently suitable for armed action on both
sides of the Rue St. Honore near the market halls and the Palais National,
which have very narrow, winding streets tenanted mainly by workers. It
was important to set up a fifth centre of the insurrection there, thus
cutting off the town hall and at the same time holding up a considerable
number of troops at this projecting strongpoint. The success of the uprising
depended on the insurgents reaching the centre of Paris as quickly as possible
and seizing the town hall. We cannot know what prevented Kersausic from
organizing insurgent action in this part. But it is a fact that no uprising
was ever successful which did not at the outset succeed in seizing the
centre of Paris adjoining the Tuileries. Suffice to mention the uprising
[The uprising took place in Paris on June 5-6, 1832. -- Ed.]" which took
place during General Lamarque's funeral when the insurgents got as far
as the Rue Montorgueil and were then driven back.

The insurgents advanced in accordance with their plan. They immediately
began to separate their territory, the Paris of the workers, from the Paris
of the bourgeoisie, by two main fortifications -- the barricades at the
Porte Saint Denis and those of the Cite. They were dislodged from the former,
but were able to hold the latter. June 23, the first day, was merely a
prelude. The plan of the insurgents already began to emerge clearly (and
the Neue Rheinische Zeitung grasped it correctly at the outset,
see No. 26, special supplement), especially after the first skirmishes
between the advanced guards which took place in the morning. The Boulevard
St. Martin, which crosses the line of operation of the first column, became
the scene of fierce fighting, which, partly due to the nature of the terrain,
ended with a victory for the forces of "order".

The approaches to the Cite were blocked on the right by a flying
squad, which entrenched itself in the Rue de la Planche-Mibray; on the
left by the third and fourth columns, which occupied and fortified the
three southern bridges of the Cite. Here too a very fierce battle raged.
The forces of "order" succeeded in taking the St. Michel bridge and advancing
to the Rue St. Jacques. They felt sure that by the evening the revolt would
be suppressed.

The plan of the forces of "order" stood out even more clearly
than that of the insurgents. To begin with, their plan was merely to crush
the insurrection with all available means. They announced their design
to the insurgents with cannon-ball and grape-shot.

But the government believed it was dealing with an uncouth gang
of common rioters acting without any plan. After clearing the main streets
by the evening, the government declared that the revolt was quelled, and
the stationing of troops in the conquered districts was arranged in an
exceedingly negligent manner.

The insurgents made excellent use of this negligence by launching
the great battle which followed the skirmishes of June 23. It is simply
amazing how quickly the workers mastered the plan of campaign, how well-concerted
their actions were and how skillfully they used the difficult terrain.
This would be quite inexplicable if in the national workshops the workers
had not already been to a certain extent organized on military lines and
divided into companies, so that they only needed to apply their industrial
Organization to their military enterprise in order to create a fully organized
army.

On the morning of the 24th they had not only completely regained
the ground they had lost, but even added new strips to it. True, the line
of Boulevards up to the Boulevard du Temple remained in the hands of the
troops, thus cutting off the first column from the centre, but on the other
hand the second column pushed forward from the Quartier St. Antoine until
it almost surrounded the town hall. It established its headquarters in
the church of St. Gervais, within 300 paces of the town hall. It captured
the St. Merri monastery and the adjoining streets and advanced far beyond
the town hall so that together with the columns in the Cite it almost completely
encircled the town hall. Only one way of approach, the quais of the right
bank, remained open. In the south the Faubourg St. Jacques was completely
reoccupied, communication with the Cite' was restored, reinforcements were
sent there, and preparations were made for crossing to the right bank.

There was no time to be lost. The town hall, the revolutionary
centre of Paris, was threatened and was bound to fall unless resolute measures
were taken immediately.

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