Storming of the Bastille Storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille ( ) occurred in Paris, France, on the afternoon of 14 July 1789. The medieval fortress, armory, and political prison in Paris known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. The prison contained just seven inmates at the time of its storming, but was seen by the revolutionaries as a symbol of the monarchy's abuses of power; its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution. In France, "Le quatorze juillet" (14 July) is a public holiday, usually called Bastille Day in English. During the reign of
Siege of Belgrade (1789) command. Emperor Joseph appointed Laudon to replace Hadik on 28 July. At this time the emperor wrote to Loudon, "Cost what it may. I want you to take Belgrade". Loudon arrived at Semlin on 14 August, met with the outgoing commander Hadik on the 16th, and conferred with the temporary commander François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt at Mehadia soon afterward. On 28 August the Ottomans attacked Mehadia but were driven off by Clerfayt. On 30 August 1789, Laudon gave orders for his army to concentrate at Novi Banovci, northwest of Belgrade and Semlin. His plan was