Baron Charles Pierre René Victor Corvisart () (29 June 1857 – 7 May 1939) was a general in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

who rose to prominence in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and a diplomat.

Biography

Corvisart was the grandnephew of

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's personal physician

Jean-Nicolas Corvisart Jean-Nicolas Corvisart-Desmarets (15 February 1755 – 18 September 1821) was a French physician. Born in the village of Dricourt (now in Ardennes), Corvisart studied from 1777 at the Ecole de Médecine in Paris, later qualifying as ''docte ...

, and son of Baron Francois Remy Corvisart Lucien (1824–1882), medical officer of Health Service of the

French Second Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930s a ...

. He was born at

Château de Saint-Cloud The Château de Saint-Cloud was a château in France, built on a site overlooking the Seine at Saint-Cloud in Hauts-de-Seine, about west of Paris. On the site of the former palace is the state-owned Parc de Saint-Cloud. The château was expand ...

, outside of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and was a playmate of the Prince Imperial as a child. In 1877 he entered the

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, literally the "Special Military School of Saint-Cyr") is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ...

, where he specialized in

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

. From January 1900 to July 1904, Corvisart was a

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

and

military attache A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

at the French embassy in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and subsequently served as an official observer to Japanese operations in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

of 1904-1905. He was promoted to colonel in 1906. During his stay in Japan, he learned

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, and translates and annotated the official Japanese Field Service Regulations of the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

in 1907.Sisemore, James D. (2003
"The Russo-Japanese War, Lessons Not Learned," p. 109.
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. On 28 July 1911, Corvisart was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

and was in command of the 11th

Dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...

Brigade at the start of

. He was transferred to command the French 9th Infantry Division on 2 August 1915 and the 123rd French Infantry Division of 14 June 1915. He rose to command the French 16th Army Corps on 30 April 1917.Military Times
Army Distinguished Service Medal
US War Department, General Orders No. 4 (1923); authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918. He was awarded the Grand Officer of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

by the French government and the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...

by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

government for his role in the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

. After the end of the war, he served as a military attache to the French embassy in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

from 2 September 1918. He went into the reserves on 29 June 1919 and retired completely from military service on 31 October 1919.

Honors

(07/10/1999), Officer (30/12/2008), Commander (27/04/16), Grand Officier (01/10/17) *

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

1914–1918 2 fins *Commander and Grand Officer of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( it, Ordine della Corona d'Italia, italic=no or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civi ...

( Italy ) *Knight Commander of the

Order of Saint Michael and Saint George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

( UK ) *

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

, US, 1923.

Selected works

* 1909 &mdash
''Reglement du 14 octobre 1907 sur le service en campagne dans l'armee japonaise, suivi des prescriptions pour les manoeuvres. Traduit du japonais et annoté par le colonel Corvisart. Avec 19 figures ou tableaux'' (translated from the official Japanese Field Service Regulations).
Paris, Berger Levrault.

Notes

References

* Sisemore, James D. (2003). Sisemore, James D. (2003).
"The Russo-Japanese War, Lessons Not Learned."

U.S. Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Corvisart, Charles Pierre 1857 births 1939 deaths People of the Russo-Japanese War French generals École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George French expatriates in Japan Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States)

Biography

Honors

Selected works

See also

Notes

References