Editing Paris Commune (section)

=== 25 May: Death of Delescluze ===
[[File:Louis Charles Delescluze.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Louis Charles Delescluze]], last military leader of the Commune, was shot dead after he stood atop a barricade, unarmed.]]

By the end of 24 May, the regular army had cleared most of the [[Latin Quarter, Paris|Latin Quarter]] barricades, and held three-fifths of Paris. MacMahon had his headquarters at the Quai d'Orsay. The insurgents held only the [[11th arrondissement of Paris|11th]], [[12th arrondissement of Paris|12th]], [[19th arrondissement of Paris|19th]] and [[20th arrondissement of Paris|20th arrondissements]], and parts of the [[3rd arrondissement of Paris|3rd]], [[5th arrondissement of Paris|5th]], and [[13th arrondissement of Paris|13th]]. Delescluze and the remaining leaders of the Commune, about 20 in all, were at the city hall of the 13th arrondissement on Place Voltaire. A bitter battle took place between about 1,500 national guardsmen from the 13th arrondissement and the Mouffetard district, commanded by [[Walery Antoni Wróblewski]], a Polish exile who had participated in the uprising against the Russians, against three brigades commanded by General de Cissey.{{sfn|Milza|2009a|pp=404–407}}

During the course of the 25th, the insurgents lost the city hall of the 13th arrondissement and moved to a barricade on Place Jeanne-d'Arc, where 700 were taken prisoner. Wroblewski and some of his men escaped to the city hall of the 11th arrondissement, where he met Delescluze, the chief executive of the Commune. Several of the other Commune leaders, including Brunel, were wounded, and Pyat had disappeared. Delescluze offered Wroblewski the command of the Commune forces, which he declined, saying that he preferred to fight as a private soldier. At about seven-thirty, Delescluze put on his red sash of office, walked unarmed to the barricade on the [[Place de la République|Place du Château-d'Eau]], climbed to the top and showed himself to the soldiers, and was promptly shot dead.{{sfn|Lissagaray|2000|pp=355–356}}