Battles inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe
Appearance
The following is a list of the 158 battles inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris,[1][2] which were fought by the French First Republic and the First French Empire between 1792 and 1815:
- The names of 96 battles are engraved on the inner façades of the monument, under the great arches (24 on each of the four pillars).
- The names of 32 battles are engraved on the inner façades of the monument, under the small arches (8 on each of the four pillars).
- The names of 30 battles are engraved on the attic (11 on each of the long façades and 4 on each of the short ones).
Additionally, some of these battles are represented in low relief on the inner and outer façades of the monument:
- On the inner façades of the monument, under the small arches, four low reliefs list the names of 16 battles (6 on the low relief on the northern pillar, 4 on the low reliefs on the eastern and southern pillars, 2 on the low relief on the western pillar).
- On the outer façades of the monument, 5 of these battles are represented in low relief (2 on the northern façade facing the Avenue de la Grande Armée, 1 on each of the other façades).
Related list: Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe.
-
Great arches
96 battles. -
Small arches
32 battles. -
Attic
30 battles. -
Low reliefs
16 battles.
Great arches
[edit]-
Northern pillar: Siege of Lille – Battle of Höchstädt.
-
Eastern pillar: Battle of Wertingen – Battle of Bautzen.
-
Southern pillar: Battle of Loano – Siege of Gaeta.
-
Western pillar: Battle of the Baztan Valley – Siege of Valencia.

The names of the 96 battles inscribed under the great arches
Small arches
[edit]-
Northern pillar: Battle of Diersheim – Siege of Bergen op Zoom.
-
Eastern pillar: Siege of Jaffa – Battle of Champaubert.
-
Southern pillar: Battle of Verona – Siege of Mequinenza.
-
Western pillar: Siege of Roses – Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro.

The names of the 32 battles inscribed under the small arches
Northern pillar | Eastern pillar | Southern pillar | Western pillar | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
• | • | • | • | |||||
Left column | Left column | Left column | Left column | |||||
DIERSHEIM | JAFFA | ADIGE | ROSES | |||||
DUSSELDORF | PESCHIERA | MONTAGNE NOIRE | ASTORGA | |||||
GRAND PORT | CAIRE | POZZOLO | GIRONE | |||||
M.JAROSLAWIETZ | CAPRÉE | LA PIAVE | OLIVENZA | |||||
• | • | • | • | |||||
Right column | Right column | Right column | Right column | |||||
YPRES | GRATZ | NAPLES | TOULOUSE | |||||
LUXEMBOURG | C. DE SPRIMONT | PLAISANCE | M. DEL RIOSECO | |||||
BRESLAW | GEISBERG | MADRID | OPORTO | |||||
BERG-OP-ZOOM | CHAMPAUBERT | MEQUINENZA | FUENTE D'OŨORO | |||||
• | • | • | • |
Attic
[edit]-
Avenue des Champs-Élysées: Battle of Valmy – Battle of Alkmaer.
-
Avenue de Wagram: Battle of Zurich – Battle of Hohenlinden.
-
Avenue de la Grande Armée: Battle of Ulm – Battle of Dresden.
-
Avenue Kléber: Battle of Hanau – Battle of Ligny.

The names of the 30 battles inscribed on the shields of the attic
Avenue des Champs-Élysées | ||
---|---|---|
VALMY ・ JEMMAPES ・ FLEURUS ・ MONTENOTTE ・ LODI ・ CASTIGLIONE ・ ARCOLE ・ RIVOLI ・ LES PYRAMIDES ・ ABOUKIR ・ ALKMAER | ||
• | ||
Avenue de Wagram | ||
ZURICH ・ HELIOPOLIS ・ MARENGO ・ HOHENLINDEN | ||
• | ||
Avenue de la Grande Armée | ||
ULM ・ AUSTERLITZ ・ IENA ・ FRIEDLAND ・ SOMO SIERRA ・ ESLING ・ WAGRAM ・ MOSKOWA ・ LUTZEN ・ BAUTZEN ・ DRESDE | ||
• | ||
Avenue Kléber | ||
HANAU ・ MONTMIRAIL ・ MONTEREAU ・ LIGNY | ||
• |
Low reliefs
[edit]Inner low reliefs
[edit]-
Northern pillar: Battle of Austerlitz – Battle of Eylau.
-
Eastern pillar: Capture of Alexandria – Battle of Heliopolis.
-
Southern pillar: Battle of Marengo – Battle of Lodi.
-
Western pillar: Battle of Jemappes – Battle of Fleurus.

The names of the 16 battles inscribed on the tablets of the inner low reliefs
Outer low reliefs
[edit]-
Avenue des Champs-Élysées (left): Battle of Abukir.
-
Avenue des Champs-Élysées (right): Funeral of General Marceau.
-
Avenue de la Grande Armée (left): Capture of Alexandria.
-
Avenue de la Grande Armée (right): Battle of Arcole.
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Avenue de Wagram: Battle of Austerlitz.
-
Avenue Kléber: Battle of Jemappes.

The names of the 5 battles represented in low relief on the outer façades
Left low relief | Avenue des Champs-Élysées | Right low relief | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
ABOUKIR | MARCEAU[3] | |||
• | ||||
Avenue de Wagram | ||||
AUSTERLITZ | ||||
• | ||||
Left low relief | Avenue de la Grande Armée | Right low relief | ||
ALEXANDRIE | ARCOLE | |||
• | ||||
Avenue Kléber | ||||
JEMMAPES | ||||
• |
See also
[edit]- Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
- French Revolutionary Wars
- Napoleonic Wars
- Lists of battles of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
References
[edit]- ^ Battles on the Arc de Triomphe.
- ^ Inscriptions on the Arc de Triomphe.
- ^ The low relief on the right (facing the Avenue des Champs-Élysées) does not represent a battle, but the funeral of General François Séverin Marceau in Altenkirchen on 21 September 1796.
Further reading
[edit]Wikimedia Commons has media related to Inscriptions on the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile.
- Jensen, Nathan D. (2012). "FrenchEmpire.net: 1789–1815 military history". Arcdetriomphe.info. Retrieved 3 August 2021.