Gaspard Amédée Gardanne (24 April 1758- 14 August 1807) was a French general who fought in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

Biography

Born at

Solliès-Pont Solliès-Pont (; oc, Soliers-Pònt) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It was the first location of the 1995 Éric Borel spree killings. Population In popular culture Soll ...

, he joined the French royal army in 1779. After the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

he joined a volunteer unit as an officer. He fought under

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 ...

during the 1796-1797 and 1800 Italian campaigns. He led a division during the

and died from illness in 1807. His surname is one of the

Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe The following is a list of the 660 names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris. Most of them represent generals who served during the French First Republic (1792–1804) and the First French Empire (1804–1815). Underlined names signify ...

. At the outbreak of the

War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition) * In French historiography, it is known as the Austrian campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Autriche de 1805) or the German campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Allemagne de 1805) was a European conflict spanni ...

, Gardanne commanded an infantry division in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

under

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

André Masséna André Masséna, Prince of Essling, Duke of Rivoli (born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817) was a French military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.Donald D. Horward, ed., trans, annotated, The Fre ...

. The 1st Brigade, led by

Louis Fursy Henri Compère Louis Fursy Henri Compère (16 January 1768 – 27 March 1833) was a French general of artillery in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Compère was born in Péronne, Somme. In 1794, he was promoted to ''chef de brigade'', ...

, included the 22nd Light Infantry and 52nd Line Infantry Regiments. The 2nd Brigade comprised the 29th and 101st Line Infantry Regiments under Louis François Lanchatin. Each regiment had three battalions. Attached to the division was the 15/2nd Foot Artillery company and the 23rd

Chasseurs à Cheval ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army origi ...

, four squadrons strong. This was the division's organization at the Battle of Verona on 18 October 1805 and the Battle of Caldiero from 29 to 31 October. In early 1806, Gardanne's division formed part of Masséna's I Corps of

Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic of ...

's Army of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. In the campaign that followed, the 1st Brigade included the 20th and 62nd Line Infantry Regiments, three battalions each. The 2nd Brigade was made up of three battalions of the 102nd Line Infantry Regiment, one battalion of the ''Corsican Legion'', and one battalion of the 32nd Light Infantry Regiment. Jean Le Camus led the 1st Brigade while François Valentin commanded the 2nd Brigade.Smith, 222 The invasion of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

began on 8 February 1806 and progressed rapidly. The only resistance encountered was the fortress of

Gaeta Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The town has played a consp ...

, where Masséna detached Gardanne to invest the place while Joseph continued on to occupy Naples.

Jean Reynier Jean Louis Ebénézer Reynier (14 January 1771 – 27 February 1814) was a Swiss- French military officer who served in the French Army under the First Republic and the First Empire. He rose in rank to become a general during the French Revolu ...

, at the head of 6,000 French troops, smashed Roger de Damas' 10,000-men Neapolitan corps at the

Battle of Campo Tenese The Battle of Campo Tenese (9 March 1806) saw two divisions of the First French Empire, Imperial French Army of Naples led by Jean Reynier attack the left wing of the Royal Neapolitan Army under Roger de Damas. Though the defenders were protect ...

on 9 March. The remnant of the Neapolitan field army dissolved or was evacuated to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

fleet.Schneid, 50 The Siege of Gaeta, however, lasted from 26 February to 18 July and absorbed the attention of up to 12,000 French soldiers. The garrison commander Louis of Hesse-Philippsthal proved to be a stubborn opponent. His initial garrison of 4,000 was reinforced by sea to 7,000 during the siege. Losses were about 1,000 killed and wounded on each side. The surviving members of the garrison were released on condition that they not fight against France or her allies for one year.

Notes

References

* Boycott-Brown, Martin. ''The Road to Rivoli.'' London: Cassell & Co., 2001. * Schneid, Frederick C. ''Napoleon's Italian Campaigns: 1805-1815''. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 2002. * Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill, 1998.

External links

* French Wikipedia, ''Gaspard Amédée Gardanne'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardanne, Gaspard Amedee 1758 births 1807 deaths People from Var (department) French generals French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe