Key Facts
- Duration
- March – 2 July 1807 (~4 months)
- Result
- French siege lifted; Prussian fortress held
- Ended by
- Peace of Tilsit, 2 July 1807
- Province
- Only Prussian-held fortress in Pomerania
- Naval support
- One British and one Swedish vessel aided defense
Strategic Narrative Overview
French forces under Teulié encircled Kolberg by mid-March 1807, with Loison subsequently placed in overall command by Napoleon. The defense was entrusted to Gneisenau by Frederick William III. Command briefly passed to Mortier, who brought reinforcements from besieged Stralsund before being recalled. Coalition contingents from Württemberg, Saxon duchies, Nassau, and Holland bolstered the French effort. Fighting focused on the eastern forefield and the Wolfsberg sconce, while British and Swedish vessels supported the defenders from the Baltic. In late June, Napoleon sharply reinforced the siege force and targeted the port.
01 / The Origins
Following Prussia's catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt in October 1806, French forces swept north into Prussian Pomerania. Fortified Stettin surrendered without resistance, leaving the province under French control. Kolberg alone refused to capitulate, becoming the last Prussian-held fortress in the region. French commanders were tasked with reducing it, though operations were delayed for months by the freikorps of Ferdinand von Schill, who disrupted preparations and even captured the originally assigned French siege commander, Victor-Perrin.
03 / The Outcome
The siege was lifted on 2 July 1807 following Prussia's acceptance of peace terms after Russia's decisive defeat at Friedland. The Peace of Tilsit ended the War of the Fourth Coalition on unfavorable terms for Prussia. Kolberg, one of the very few Prussian fortresses still in Prussian hands, became a celebrated symbol of resistance. Its memory was later appropriated by Nazi propaganda, and after 1945, when the city became Polish, commemorations shifted to honor the Polish troops who had fought alongside the defenders.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Louis Charles Vincent Le Blond de Saint-Hilaire (Teulié), Louis Henri Loison, Édouard Mortier.
Side B
1 belligerent
August Neidhardt von Gneisenau, Lucadou, Ferdinand von Schill.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.