September 2, 1870

Battle of Sedan

The French army capitulates at Sedan and Napoleon III becomes a prisoner

Wimpffen tried to surrender only Sedan, its artillery, and the men already taken. Moltke demanded “the entire army, with arms and baggage.”

The signature at Frénois

On the morning of 2 September 1870, General Emmanuel Félix de Wimpffen and Helmuth von Moltke signed the capitulation at Frénois. It surrendered the fortress of Sedan and the entire encircled French army, not merely the position.

Wimpffen had superseded Ducrot during the fighting because Patrice de MacMahon was wounded early on 1 September. When his attempt at narrower terms was rejected, he accepted Moltke's.

An emperor into captivity

Napoleon III, who had ordered the white flag raised the previous day, surrendered himself and about 83,000 remaining troops. He met Wilhelm I at Château Bellevue only after the capitulation had been signed, then left under Prussian escort for Wilhelmshöhe.

The often-quoted figure of 104,000 prisoners combines those 83,000 with roughly 21,000 men captured during the 1 September fighting. Officers could avoid captivity only by pledging in writing not to bear arms against Germany during the war.

What was carried off the field

Implementation began at once: the fortress was to be delivered by that evening, and the troops were disarmed and assembled by regiment for transfer on 2–3 September. The mass of prisoners was initially crowded onto the Iges peninsula, where Moltke reported that supplies were lacking.

Moltke's account lists 419 field-pieces, 139 fortress guns, 66,000 rifles, more than 1,000 wagons and 6,000 serviceable horses taken with the army. News of the capitulation helped bring down the Second Empire, and the Republic was proclaimed on 4 September.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 4 sources 2 audit passes

How this was checked

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What the sources leave uncertain

Contemporary and later sources count prisoners differently. Approximately 83,000 surrendered under the September 2 capitulation; the often-quoted 104,000 combines them with roughly 21,000 men captured during the September 1 fighting.
The main combat occurred on September 1. September 2 is principally the date of the signed capitulation, prisoner transfer, and capture of the emperor.