It took place in Bazeilles, France, a small village in the department of Ardennes near Sedan, and involved a force of Bavarian soldiers battling against French marines and partisans.

A small group under commander Arsène Lambert remained in the last house on the road to Sedan, the Auberge Bourgerie, fighting to the last bullet in order to cover the retreat.

[1] After seven hours of conflict, the Bavarian troops took the village, and the captured Franc-tireur partisans, along with other civilians who were considered unlawful combatants, were later executed.

Coupled with the loss of another French army at Metz, these battles effectively ended Napoleon III's Empire, ushering in the Third Republic.

The Bavarian vanguard had prevented the demolition of the railroad bridge south of Bazeilles the previous day, encountering fierce resistance in the pursuit of their enemy.

The painters Otto von Faber du Faur, Friedrich Bodenmüller, Franz Adam, Carl Röchling, Richard Knötel, and the Frenchman Alphonse de Neuville all created representations of the battle.

Today the French Troupes de Marine recognizes the defense of the last house on the road to Sedan as an identity-building event.