Siege of Zara (1813)

The Siege of Zara (1813) was a military engagement during the Napoleonic Wars, specifically part of the Adriatic Campaign of 1813-1814. Zara (present-day Zadar, Croatia) was a strategically important port city on the Dalmatian coast, then part of the Illyrian Provinces, under French control.

The siege was conducted by a combined Austrian and British force, aimed at wresting control of the city from its French garrison. The British naval component blockaded the port, preventing supplies and reinforcements from reaching the defenders. The Austrian forces, largely composed of local levies and troops from the Austrian Empire, laid siege to the landward defenses.

The French garrison, under the command of a French general, put up a determined resistance, but faced with dwindling supplies, constant bombardment, and the threat of a land assault, their position became increasingly untenable.

After several weeks of siege, the French commander surrendered Zara to the Austrian and British forces in December 1813. The capture of Zara was a significant victory for the Allied forces, contributing to the overall weakening of French control in the Adriatic and paving the way for further Austrian advances along the Dalmatian coast. The siege effectively ended French rule in Zara, restoring it to Austrian control as part of the Austrian Empire (later Austria-Hungary).