Claude-Étienne Michel
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

General Claude-Étienne Michel (3 October 1772 – 18 June 1815), an officer in
Napoleon's 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 ...
army, eventually rose to second in command of the Chasseur Division of the Imperial Guard and commander of the Brigade of the Middle Guard. He may actually be the officer who uttered the words often attributed to
Pierre Cambronne Pierre Jacques Étienne Cambronne, later Pierre, 1st Viscount Cambronne (26 December 1770 – 29 January 1842), was a general of the First French Empire. A main strategist of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, he was wounded at the ...
"''
La Garde meurt et ne se rend pas The Imperial Guard (French: ''Garde Impériale'') was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he ...
''" "The
Guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...
dies, and does not surrender".D.H. Parry (c. 1900) ''Battle of the nineteenth century'', Vol 1 Cassell and Company: London
Waterloo


Life

Michel was born in
Pointre Pointre () is a commune in the Jura department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, ov ...
in the Jura, the son of a surgeon.


Revolutionary Wars

During the French Revolution and the surrounding War of the First Coalition he enlisted in the '6th battalion of volunteers from the Jura department' on 1 October 1791. He was a Sergeant Major by the 15th of the month and promoted to Sous-Lieutenant on March 4, 1792. then Lieutenant on the 22 August 1792, and was made a Captain on October 6, 1792 a rapid rise in a year. During this year he was deployed on the borders of Switzerland; The 6th Jura Volunteers were moved to the army of the Rhine and Michel was taken prisoner by the Prussians on March 5, 1793 at
Rheindürkheim Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had about 82,000 inhabitants . A pre-Roman foundation, Worms is one of the oldest cities in northern Europe. It wa ...
. Michel was held for over two years and finally exchanged in June 1795. Meanwhile the 6th Jura Volunteers along with the old Royal Army's 2nd Battalion of the 96th Regiment and 1st Haute-Vienne volunteers was formed into the 174th Demi-Brigade in October 1793 during a major overhaul of the revolutionary armies fusing older royal units with the volunteer battalions in mixed regiment sized units. Michel joined this new unit which was attached to the Army of Sambre and Meuse. Soon promoted again to Chef-de-Bataillon on October 1, 1795. The Demi-Brigade was then merged with the 93rd Demi-Brigade to become a new 49th Demi-Brigade in 1796, in a second major shake up of the French infantry, and assigned to the new Army of Germany when it is formed from the armies of 'Sambre and Meuse' and 'Rhine and Moselle' in 1797. Michel and the 49th Demi-Brigade was then part of the Gallo-Batavian army assembled in the
Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic ( nl, Bataafse Republiek; french: République Batave) was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 and ended on 5 June 1806, with the accession of Louis Bona ...
and took part in the rushed 1798 expedition to Ireland but was captured at sea aboard ''La Furie'' and exchanged by the British at the end of the year. The Gallo-Batavian army provided much opportunity of action due to a combined British and Russian invasion of the republic in the War of the Second Coalition and he fought at Schoorldam, holding his positions at the end of the day, being slightly wounded towards the close of the battle. When the fighting renewed he had his right arm broken by a shot. The Gallo-Batavian army having succeeded in forcing the British/Russian forces to withdraw was moved into Germany in support of the fighting against Austria and Michel had recovered enough distinguish himself at the head of his battalion in the fighting at Burgeberach north of Nuremberg and was there shot in the other arm. This battle along with the larger Hohenlinden broke the Austrians and ended the war. The 49th Demi-Brigade is attached to the 'Army of England' and moved to quarters around Cherbourg.


Consulate and Empire

During the Consulate, with the temporary peace in Europe, France took stock of its colonial holdings. Michel was selected to join the disastrous expedition to
Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...
, in 1802, to attempt to reassert French control over the colony. He returned to France in 1803, one of the few survivors, joining the new 40th Regiment of the Line, there had been yet another reorganisation of the infantry and his old unit the 49th Demi-Brigade had been amalgamated with the 24th Demi-Brigade to form a new larger 24th Regiment in his absence. He was further promoted to
Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
, and so second in command, of the 40th Regiment of the Line on 22 November 1803. Then on March 25, 1804 he was made a member of the ''Légion d'Honneur''. The 40th was part of the 3rd Division of Lannes' V Corps of the ''
Grande Armée ''La Grande Armée'' (; ) was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed the French Empi ...
'' during the War of the Third Coalition and Michel's services at the battle of Austerlitz earned him, on December 27, 1805, the rank of Colonel and his admission, and transfer to, the 1st Regiment of Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard, on 1 May 1806. He took up the post of Major in the 1st Grenadiers as everyone serving in the Guard was considered to be a rank above those in the line infantry. In March 1806 he married Margaret Maret (1784–1875) who was the daughter of Count
Jean Philibert Maret Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...
, a politician and soon to be appointed to the army
Commissariat A commissariat is a department or organization commanded by a commissary or by a corps of commissaries. In many countries, commissary is a police rank. In those countries, a commissariat is a police station commanded by a commissary. In some ar ...
, and niece of
Hugues-Bernard Maret Hugues-Bernard Maret (, 1 May 1763 – 13 May 1839), 1st Duke of Bassano (''Duc de Bassano''), was a French statesman, diplomat and journalist. Biography Early career Maret was born in Dijon, in the province of Burgundy, as the second son o ...
one of the Emperor Napoleon's secretaries. He was promoted to Colonel of the 1st Grenadiers of the Guard, on February 16, 1807, in recognition of his conduct at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt where unused the Guard and Battle of Eylau where they were played a vital role. He fought at the Battle of Friedland again held in reserve, and left for Spain after the Treaty of Tilsit ended the war with Russia and Prussia, shattering the Third Coalition. In the Peninsular War He fought at Burgos on November 10, 1808 and was elevated to an ''
Officier de la Légion d'Honneur 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 ...
'' for displaying great valour and the title of '
Baron of the Empire As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution. Like many others, both before and since, Napoleon found that th ...
'. Now well on his way to becoming part of the new Imperial French aristocracy. Michel was recalled from Spain to the ''
Grande Armée ''La Grande Armée'' (; ) was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed the French Empi ...
'' in 1809, and was present at the battles
Battle of Eckmühl The Battle of Eckmühl, fought on 22 April 1809, was the turning point of the 1809 Campaign, also known as the War of the Fifth Coalition. Napoleon I had been unprepared for the start of hostilities on 10 April 1809, by the Austrians under th ...
, Battle of Aspern-Essling and Battle of Wagram. He was appointed '' Général d'Brigade'' on June 24, 1811, and fought in the campaign of 1812 in Russian. Again surviving the disastrous destruction of an expedition he returned to France. In 1813 Imperial France was fighting invasions on several fronts, Michel fought in Saxony as part of the German Campaign of 1813 and was elevated again in the ''Légion d'Honneur'' to ''Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur'' on April 6, was admitted to the Order of the Iron Crown on August 16 and finally promoted to '' Général de division'' on November 20. In 1814 Michel was in command of the 2nd Old Guard Division during the
Six Days' Campaign The Six Days Campaign (10–15 February 1814) was a final series of victories by the forces of Napoleon I of France as the War of the Sixth Coalition, Sixth Coalition closed in on Paris. The Six Days Campaign was fought from 10 February to 15 ...
and by early February in the fighting around
Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...
as a prelude to the main campaign, was hunting for the Allied vanguard commanded by the Prince of Lichtenstein. Supported by the dragoons of General
André Briche André-Louis-Elisabeth-Marie Briche (12 August 1772 – 21 May 1825) was a French General of the First French Empire who saw action during the Peninsular War. He was Colonel of the 10th Regiment of Hussars between 1806 and 1809, before being prom ...
, he surprised the allies at St. Theobald, and despite the greater numbers available to them, pushed them south to St. Parres les Vaudes, away from Troyes. The main events of the Six Day's ended for Michel when he was again shot in the arm on February 11 at
Battle of Montmirail The Battle of Montmirail (11 February 1814) was fought between a French force led by Emperor Napoleon and two Allied corps commanded by Fabian Wilhelm von Osten-Sacken and Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg. In hard fighting that lasted until evenin ...
although he saw out the day, leading a counter attack that pushed back the Prussians. He was still bedridden as a result of this injury, when the Allied armies approached Paris. At the noise of war, the General forgot his wound and reappeared, his arm in a sling, on March 30 before the walls of the capital. Placed in command of a division of conscripts during the battle he was again wounded, by grapeshot in the kidneys. However the fighting was in vain as Paris surrendered the following day and Napoleon was forced into abdication.


Restoration

Upon the restoration in common with many officers of the Empire he was accepted into the service of the King and Louis XVIII named him as a Knight of the
Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis) is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a rewar ...
on August 20, 1814, and granted him a commission of Colonel in the Royal Guard.


Hundred Days

Again in common with many officers and men of the army he defected back to Napoleon upon his return from Elba. The Emperor raised him to Count of the Empire, and appointed him initially as commander of the 1st ''Chasseurs à Pied'' of the Old Guard. As part of the ''Armée du Nord'' he was placed as second in command of the Chasseur Division of the Guard. At the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, Michel was part of the final assault on La Haye Sainte personally leading the 1st/3rd Chasseurs. They mounted the ridge and were met by intense fire from the British Foot Guards. This attack, which caused heavy losses in the ranks, was also fatal to General Michel. His body was not recovered and is buried with his comrades on the battle field. His name is engraved on column 10 of the northern pillar of the
Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...
.


Notes and Links

*http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/frenchguard/c_guardinf1.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20110813112947/http://chasseurs.ru/regiment.html * {{DEFAULTSORT:Michel, Claude-Etienne 1772 births 1815 deaths People from Jura (department) French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel killed in the Napoleonic Wars People of the Battle of Waterloo Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe