Editing Paris Commune (section)

=== Mobilization of both sides and attack by the government army ===

In Versailles, Thiers had estimated that he needed 150,000 men to recapture Paris, and that he had only about 20,000 reliable first-line soldiers, plus about 5,000 gendarmes. He worked rapidly to assemble a new and reliable regular army. Most of the soldiers were prisoners of war who had just been released by the Germans, following the terms of the armistice. Others were sent from military units in all of the provinces. To command the new army, Thiers chose [[Patrice MacMahon]], who had won fame [[Second Italian War of Independence|fighting the Austrians]] in Italy under Napoleon III, and who had been seriously wounded at the Battle of Sedan. He was highly popular both within the army and in the country. By 30 March, less than two weeks after the Army's Montmartre rout, it began skirmishing with the National Guard on the outskirts of Paris.

The Versailles Army was the first to attack. On 21 March, it occupied the fort of Mont-Valérien where the Commune's fédérés had neglected to settle. This position, which dominated the entire near western suburbs of Paris, gave them a considerable advantage. On 30 March, General de Gallifet occupied the Courbevoie roundabout and on 2 April, the Versaillais seized Courbevoie and Puteaux, the fédérés retreating towards Neuilly.