Honoré Théodore Maxime Gazan de la Peyrière (; October 29, 1765 – April 9, 1845) was a French general who fought in the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
and 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 ...
.
Gazan started his military career as a cannonier in the French Coast Guard. He was later appointed to the Royal Life Guards and, upon the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789, he joined the
French National Guard
The National Guard (french: link=no, Garde nationale) is a French military, gendarmerie, and police reserve force, active in its current form since 2016 but originally founded in 1789 during the French Revolution.
For most of its history the ...
. After service in the Upper Rhine valley and the Netherlands, he joined André Masséna in Switzerland in 1799, and fought at the battles of
Winterthur
, neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell
, twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...
and
First Zurich. In August 1805, Gazan commanded of a division of the Army that encircled the Austrians in
Ulm
Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
. On November 11, under
Joseph Mortier, his division provided the advance guard in the advance on Vienna. Mortier over-extended his line of march and Gazan's division was surrounded by
Kutuzov
Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov ( rus, Князь Михаи́л Илларио́нович Голени́щев-Куту́зов, Knyaz' Mikhaíl Illariónovich Goleníshchev-Kutúzov; german: Mikhail Illarion Golenishchev-Kut ...
's Coalition army; Gazan lost 40 percent of his force in the
Battle of Dürenstein
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. Following the Prussian defeat at the
Battle of Jena-Auerstadt
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
, he transferred with
Jean Lannes
Jean Lannes, 1st Duke of Montebello, Prince of Siewierz (10 April 1769 – 31 May 1809), was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was one of Napoleon's ...
to the
Iberian peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
. There he participated in the French capture of
Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
and in several important actions of the long
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
, including the
Battle of Albuera
The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi (Army of the South) at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about south ...
and the
Battle of Vitoria
At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leading to ...
.
During the
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...
, Gazan eventually joined Napoleon's cause, although he did not have a field command. In 1815, he judged
Michel Ney
Michel Ney, 1st Duke of Elchingen, 1st Prince of the Moskva (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one o ...
's trial for treason but refused to reach a verdict. He dabbled briefly, and unsuccessfully, in politics in the 1820s. In 1830, he was raised to the French peerage and held a divisional command in
Marseilles
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, but by then was an old man, and he retired in 1832. He died in 1845.
Family and early military career
Gazan was born in the small town of
Grasse
Grasse (; Provençal dialect, Provençal oc, Grassa in classical norm or in Mistralian norm ; traditional it, Grassa) is the only Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence- ...
, in the
Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it ...
. His father, a lawyer, sent him to the college of
Sorèze
Sorèze (; oc, Sorese ca, Sorese) is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France.
See also
* Communes of the Tarn department
The following is a list of the 314 communes of the Tarn department of France.
The communes cooperate i ...
, where he received military training. Gazan was a second lieutenant in the Coast Guard cannoniers of
Antibes
Antibes (, also , ; oc, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department of southeastern France, on the French Riviera, Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice.
The town of ...
at the age of fifteen. In 1786, he was appointed to the Royal Life Guards, Company ''Écossaise''.
Afterward he also joined the
Freemasons
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
.
French Revolutionary Wars
At the outbreak of 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 ...
in 1789, Gazan returned to Grasse and joined the
National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
. In 1790, he became a captain and, in 1791, a lieutenant colonel of the local volunteer battalion of the
Var
Var or VAR may refer to:
Places
* Var (department), a department of France
* Var (river), France
* Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran
* Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...
. In 1792, with the declaration of
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
with
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, he was sent to the 27th Regiment. His regiment first served
garrison
A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
duty in
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
, but in December 1793, participated in the
Battle of Wissembourg. In May 1794, Gazan became a battalion commander of the new 54th Demi-Brigade. On 4 July, he routed the Prussians in
Kuppenheim
Kuppenheim is a town in the district of Rastatt, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the river Murg, 5 km southeast of Rastatt, and 8 km north of Baden-Baden. Geography Location
Kuppenheim is located at the mouth of the ...
by ordering his drummers to beat a charge, convincing the Prussians that they were outnumbered. He was promoted to brigade colonel on 11 July and led his troops to victory against the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
ns at
Trippstadt
Trippstadt is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country i ...
.
In 1796, he joined the
Army of the Rhine
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, under the command of
Jean Victor Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau (, 14 February 1763 – 2 September 1813) was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.
Biography
Rise to fame
Moreau was born at Morl ...
. This was his first campaign and he was promoted to brigadier general in recognition of his outstanding achievements at the
Battle of Ettlingen. Gazan was wounded on 22 November 1796 and taken to
hospital in Strasbourg for his recovery, where he met Marie Madeleine Reiss; after their marriage, she frequently accompanied him on his campaigns and they had several children.
Swiss campaign
On 4 April 1799, his superior and friend
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 ...
transferred him to the
Army of the Danube, at that time located in the northeastern
Swiss plateau
The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau (german: Schweizer Mittelland; french: plateau suisse; it, altopiano svizzero) is one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland, lying between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of ...
. There, he took command of a weak (under-manned) brigade at the small town of
Winterthur
, neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell
, twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...
, in northern Switzerland. On 26 May,
Michel Ney
Michel Ney, 1st Duke of Elchingen, 1st Prince of the Moskva (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one o ...
, the newly appointed general of division, took command of the forward line protecting the main French force at Zürich. The following day,
Friedrich, Baron von Hotze, arrived with close to 8,000 battle-hardened and experienced Austrian border troops, including the 12th Infantry ''Manfredini'', a battalion of Hungarian grenadiers, and six squadrons of the ''Waldeck'' Dragoons. In the ensuing
clash, Ney ordered Gazan's under-manned brigade to the center, where it was soon overwhelmed. In retreat, they safely crossed a bridge spanning a small river, the Töss, but the cavalry guarding the bridge was itself forced back. After stationing his batteries on a slight incline, to protect the retreat from the Austrians, the injured Ney handed command to Gazan, who organized and conducted the successful retreat.
A few days later, at the
First Battle of Zürich
The First Battle of Zurich, from 4 to 7 June 1799, forced French General André Masséna to yield the city of Zurich to the Austrians, under Archduke Charles, and to retreat beyond the Limmat, where he managed to fortify his positions, whic ...
(4 June 1799), the Austrian force overpowered the French lines. As part of the V. Division of the Army of the Danube, Gazan again commanded the rear guard after Massena's force disengaged from Archduke Charles' army and withdrew across the
Limmat
The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the southern part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, after 35 km reaching the river Aare. The confluenc ...
river. Later that year, he faced a combined Austrian and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n force at the
Second Battle of Zürich
The Second Battle of Zurich (25–26 September 1799) was a key victory by the Republican French army in Switzerland led by André Masséna over an Austrian and Russian force commanded by Alexander Korsakov near Zürich. It broke the stal ...
(27 September). His division repulsed Russian outposts at the Limmat river. He subsequently participated in the wild pursuit of the Austrians, resulting in a decisive French victory. He was promoted to division commander and continued in the campaign against Coalition troops in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
In 1800, Gazan accompanied the Masséna's Army of Italy, as a general of division in the Corps of
Jean-de-Dieu Soult
Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia, (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804 and often called Marshal Soult. Soult was one of only six officers in Fren ...
. The 1st Division included the Grenadiers ''Piedmontais'', the 30th ''Legne'' (light infantry), and portions of the 2nd, 3rd, and 78th ''Regiments Ligne'' (line infantry), totaling approximately 4,500 men. While Soult's Corps campaigned in central northern Italy, Masséna was besieged in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
by an Austrian army of 24,000 and a British naval squadron. Soult moved his Corps to the east to relieve Genoa. As part of Soult's Corps, Gazan participated in the battle at
Bocchetta Pass (9 April), where he commanded the right wing, and again at the
battle of Sassello (10 April). In both clashes, his division was outnumbered nearly three to one took heavy casualties French had heavy casualties. Later in the month, he participated in the clash at
Voltri
Voltri is a quartiere of the Italian city of Genoa, located west of the city centre.
It was formerly an independent comune.
In 2015, Voltri and the nearby hamlets included in Genoa's VII Municipio (Crevari, Acquasanta, Vesima, Fabbriche) had a ...
(18 April 1800). To relieve Masséna at Genoa, Soult organized several assaults on strong Austrian positions around the city. At
Montecreto
Montecreto ( Frignanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southwest of Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is ...
(13 May 1800), Gazan's division and the first column of Soult's main force (approximately 5,000 men), attacked a stronger Austrian position of 7,000, under command of Prince Hohenzollern. Soult was taken prisoner, General of Brigade
Joseph Perrin was killed, and the cavalry commander,
Jean-Joseph Gauthier, was badly wounded. The defeat could be seen from the ramparts at Genoa and caused the French garrison's morale to plummet; many units were already near mutiny and food was scarce. Gazan, who had been wounded, took his troops to
Lozano and joined
Louis Gabriel Suchet
Louis-Gabriel Suchet (2 March 1770 – 3 January 1826), Duke of Albufera (french: Duc d'Albuféra), was a French Marshal of the Empire and one of the most successful commanders of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is regarded ...
. There he commanded a division of the
Army of Italy and fought in a French victory at the
battle in Pozzolo (25 December) against the Austrians. He was appointed commander of the First Subdivision of the 27th Military Division in
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
. After the peace in 1801, Gazan returned home, but shortly after his return, received a new assignment as commander of a brigade in northern Italy, where he stayed until the declaration of the
First French Empire
The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...
in 1804.
Service during the Napoleonic Wars
Dürrenstein and Jena
![Charles Nègre-Gazan de la Peyrière](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Charles_N%C3%A8gre-Gazan_de_la_Peyri%C3%A8re.jpg)
In 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 ...
, Gazan initially was assigned as a division commander of Napoleon's
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
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
, in preparation for the planned invasion of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
; he remained there until the idea was abandoned.
In August 1805, Gazan commanded of a division of the army that encircled Austrians in
Ulm
Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
. On November 11, under
Marshal Mortier, his division provided the advance guard in the march against
Kutuzov
Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov ( rus, Князь Михаи́л Илларио́нович Голени́щев-Куту́зов, Knyaz' Mikhaíl Illariónovich Goleníshchev-Kutúzov; german: Mikhail Illarion Golenishchev-Kut ...
's army. As they advanced through a narrow Danube canyon, the division was isolated from the main force, near
Dürenstein. By the small village on the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
, famous as the prison of
Richard the Lionhearted
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...
at the end of the twelfth century, he and his division were trapped in a narrow canyon, attacked by a Russian force at his rear and more Russians at his front. Gazan's division fought desperately for a harrowing day and suffered 40 percent casualties. He and Mortier were finally rescued by the arrival of the VIII. Corps' 1st Division, commanded by
Pierre Dupont de l'Étang
Pierre-Antoine, comte Dupont de l'Étang (4 July 1765 – 9 March 1840) was a French general of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as well as a political figure of the Bourbon Restoration.
Life Revolutionary Wars
Born in Chabanais, ...
, but only after the loss of nearly 4,000 men. In addition, 47 officers and 895 men were captured, and he lost five guns, as well as the
eagles
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
of the 4th Infantry Regiment, and the eagle and
guidon of the 4th Dragoons. As recognition of his conduct in "the immortal Battle of Dürenstein",
he received the
Officers Grand Cross 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 ...
and the survivors of his division was sent to
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
to recuperate. When Austria sued for peace, Gazan's division was sent to
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg is ...
in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, where it remained until Prussia declared war in October 1806.
Gazan's division fought in the French victory over Prussia at the
Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
(14 October 1806). At
Ostrolenka (16 February 1807), Gazan's troops took three guns and two Russian colors. Otherwise, his troops stayed in their winter quarters. After the new peace treaty, Gazan's troops were sent to
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
to restore order. In 1808, he was named ''Comte de la Peyriére''.
Early Peninsular War
In October 1808, now attached to the VI. Corps, Gazan went to
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
with
Jean Lannes
Jean Lannes, 1st Duke of Montebello, Prince of Siewierz (10 April 1769 – 31 May 1809), was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was one of Napoleon's ...
and arrived at
Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
in December.
The city was under siege and defended by Spanish under
José de Palafox
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...
. Lannes ordered an attack on 22 January 1809 to capture the city in street by street fighting; when the French took a block, sappers tunneled under the houses and blew them up, which prevented Spanish street fighters from slipping into houses behind them. The method was effective but painstaking. Gazan's assignment, to take the well-fortified Jesus Convent. Palafox surrendered on 20 February. The VI. Corps occupied northern
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
afterward.
In July 1810, Gazan's force guarded the valleys of
Extremadura
Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...
, near Alcantara. In September he fought against Spanish general
La Romana. In January 1811 he crossed the
Sierra Morena
The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. It stretches for 450 kilometres from east to west across the south of the Iberian Peninsula, forming the southern border of the ''Meseta Central'' plateau and providi ...
to guard the supply On 15–21 March, his 2nd Division of the V. Corps besieged and captured the small fortified town of
Campo Maior, in eastern Portugal. There they captured 50 guns and the 100-man Portuguese garrison. As General
Latour-Maubourg, four squadrons of
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 ...
s and
hussar
A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...
s and three battalions of the 100th Light Infantry moved the cannons to
Badajoz
Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The population ...
the following week, a combined force of the 1st and 7th Portuguese Cavalry and the British
13th Light Dragoons
The 13th Hussars (previously the 13th Light Dragoons) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War and the First World War but then amalgamated w ...
, commanded by Brigadier General
Robert Ballard Long
Lieutenant-General Robert Ballard Long (4 April 1771 – 2 March 1825) was an officer of the British and Hanoverian Armies who despite extensive service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars never managed to achieve high comm ...
, charged and scattered the French 26th Dragoons. In the melee, the drivers of the convoy were cut down, but instead of securing the convoy of guns, the British and Portuguese enthusiastically pursued the fleeing infantry for more than ; meanwhile, the French sallied out of Badajoz, carefully avoiding the fleeing infantry and its pursuers, and recovered all but one of the guns.
At the
Battle of Albuera
The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi (Army of the South) at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about south ...
(16 May 1811), the "bloodiest battle of the Peninsular Campaign," Gazan's division was hammered by the British. The force, composed of two brigades of infantry, one of cavalry and 40 guns, were enveloped by the British on three sides. General of Division
Girard's 1st Division was also trapped. The fire-fight wrought massive casualties, and the bodies were reportedly stacked three and four men high; the distinction was in 360 French muskets in deep and narrow columns versus 2000 British flintlocks in a double line of infantry. Only a costly mistake by the British commander, Major General
Colborne, prevented a worse disaster for the French. Colborne had deployed his infantry in the standard line, two men deep, and had prepared to fire close range volleys into the French flank. Recognizing the opportunity, Latour-Marbourg's 2nd Hussars and First Vistula Lancers (a Polish unit) to attack the British line before the infantry could form its defensive squares. The French cavalry wrought massive casualties on
Colborne's brigade. The
3rd (East Kent) Regiment of Foot ("The Buffs") lost 643 of its 754 men at Albuera, most of them in the initial onslaught of French cavalry. The next two regiments in line lost over 500 men combined and Colborne's brigade lost 1,413 out of its 2,166 men. Despite the mounted assault, however, the French 2nd Division suffered high casualties and lost five colors, a significant blow to its morale and pride.) Gazan was wounded in the battle, and returned to
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
, where he was assigned to a staff position during his recovery.
Gazan and the 1813 Peninsular War
In June 1813, Gazan was appointed commander of the Joseph Bonaparte's Army of the South.
Joseph had established a long defensive line on the heights of
Puebla
Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
, with the Army of Portugal at the left flank, the Army of the center, commanded by
Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon
Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon (29 July 176525 January 1844) was a Marshal of France and a soldier in the Grande Armée during the Napoleonic Wars. He notably commanded the I Corps of the '' Army of the North'' at the Battle of Waterloo.
Ear ...
and the Army of the South, at the southern flank. On 21 June, Generals
Rowland Hill
Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his soluti ...
and
Pablo Morillo
Pablo Morillo y Morillo, Count of Cartagena and Marquess of La Puerta, a.k.a. ''El Pacificador'' (The Peace Maker) (5 May 1775 – 27 July 1837) was a Spanish general.
Biography
Morillo was born in Fuentesecas, Zamora, Spain. In 1791 ...
moved toward the south end of the valley; Gazan and d'Erlon asked
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Count Jourdan (29 April 1762 – 23 November 1833), was a French military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was made a Marshal of the Empire by Emperor Napoleon I in ...
for reinforcements, but the Corps' commander was preoccupied with the possibility of an attack at the opposite flank, and sent none. In their own turn, D'Erlon and Gazan could not agree on how to deal with the approaching threat. In the initial stages of battle, the Army of Portugal started to pull back. Realizing that his southern flank would not hold up in the face of Hill and Morillo, Joseph ordered Gazan to withdraw in ordered masses. Hill and Morillo attacked Gazan's forces with such force that Gazan withdrew.
This was Gazan's last field command. Gazan's pre-emptive withdrawal created a gap in French line, exposing D'Erlon's army in the center. D'Erlon held his position as long as he could, but the line collapsed around him. Joseph's planned orderly withdrawal turned into a rout. Gazan abandoned all his artillery.
The Allies captured the entire supply convoy, all the baggage and took many prisoners, including Gazan's wife and children, although they later managed to rejoin him. After losing their supply train, the plight of the French army was terrible. Gazan mentioned that general officers and subordinates alike "were reduced to the clothes on their backs and most of them were barefoot," but the rank and file of the army also suffered enormously from hunger, exposure, and disease.
When Soult took command of the new
Army of the Pyrenees
One of the French Revolutionary armies, the Army of the Pyrenees (''Armée des Pyrénées'') was created by a decree of the National Convention dated 1 October 1792 and formed out of the right wing of the Armée du Midi. At the outbreak of the Wa ...
, Gazan became his chief of staff until Napoleon's abdication.
Napoleon's return and later life
During the
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...
, Gazan hesitated but eventually joined Napoleon, with little enthusiasm
and he did not receive a field command. After the war, Jean-Baptiste Jourdan persuaded Gazan to be part of the ''
Conseil'' convened on 9 November 1815 to try
Michel Ney
Michel Ney, 1st Duke of Elchingen, 1st Prince of the Moskva (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one o ...
for treason. Despite his oath of allegiance to the restored monarchy, the loyal Ney had rallied to Napoleon's banner immediately upon his landing in southern France and had led a corps into battle at
Waterloo.
The King wished to make a point to Napoleon's former marshals and Ney became the focus of his wrath.
Gazan's relationship with Ney had begun in the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
shortly after Ney's promotion to general of division. At the
Battle of Winterthur (1799)
The Battle of Winterthur (27 May 1799) was an important action between elements of the Army of the Danube and elements of the Habsburg army, commanded by Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze, during the War of the Second Coalition, part of the Frenc ...
, he had been one of Ney's first brigade commanders. Although the King's government may have expected the ''Conseil'' to find Ney guilty, the members voted 5–2 to declare themselves incapable of reaching a verdict, and deferred the case to the
Chamber of Peers.
Some historians maintain that Ney's death penalty resulted from the military court's refusal to act in the case; only the military court could have returned a verdict of "guilty under exceptional circumstances". Such a verdict would have meant Ney's lifelong incarceration, but would not have required his execution. When the military court refused to reach a verdict, Ney's case went to the
Chamber of Peers, which was populated by a mix of old and new peers. The old peers might not have been receptive to Ney's predicament; he had been, after all, a highly visible party to Napoleon's success throughout Europe. If some of the new peers were sympathetic to Ney's situation, they may also have been anxious to prove their own loyalty to the new regime. Ney's penalty was a foregone conclusion.
Despite this, or perhaps because of it,
Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...
forced Gazan into retirement in Grasse, where the aging general dabbled unsuccessfully in politics.
After the
1830 revolution, the new ''King of the French''
Louis Philippe
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...
made Gazan a
peer of France
The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages.
The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...
, and he received a command of a military division in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
. By this time, he was an old man, and in poor health, and he retired in June 1832. Gazan de la Peyriére died in Grasse on 9 April 1845.
See also
Names inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe, column 16.
Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gazan De La Peyriere, Honore Theodore Maxime
1765 births
1845 deaths
People from Grasse
French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars
French generals
Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Peers of France
Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe