Storming of the Tuileries Palace
On 10 August 1792, a massive insurrection of Parisian sans-culottes — the artisan and working-class sections — combined with fédérés, provincial National Guard units who had marched to Paris for the 14 July anniversary and then stayed, stormed the Tuileries Palace. The proximate trigger was the Brunswick Manifesto of 25 July, in which the commander of the invading Austro-Prussian army threatened Paris with 'exemplary vengeance' if any harm came to the royal family, which radicalised Parisian opinion against the monarchy. Louis XVI took refuge with the Legislative Assembly before the assault, leaving his Swiss Guard to defend the palace. When the king ordered the Swiss Guard to cease fire, the order came too late or was not received by all units; some 600 Swiss Guards were killed in the battle or massacred in the streets afterwards. The Legislative Assembly suspended the king, imprisoned the royal family in the Temple tower, and called for elections to a National Convention to be chosen by universal male suffrage. The constitutional monarchy was over; the Republic was three weeks away.
- Year: 1792 CE
- Category: Military
