Honoré Vial (; 22 February 1766 – 18 October 1813) was a French military leader, diplomat, and administrator who served in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

and

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

Early life and Revolutionary Wars

He was born in

Antibes Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...

and joined the navy in 1788 at the age of 22. In 1794 he was present at the

Siege of Bastia The siege of Bastia was a combined British and Corsican military operation during the early stages of the French Revolutionary Wars. The Corsican people had risen up against the French garrison of the island in 1793, and sought support from the ...

as a lieutenant in the infantry and later served as an aide-de-camp to

Jean Pierre Maurice de Rochon 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 * Jean ...

. In the summer of 1792 he also served as aide to

Antoine Guillaume Delmas Antoine-Guillaume Maurailhac Delmas de La Coste Delmas (; 3 January 1766 – 30 October 1813) was a French military officer who served in the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Delmas was killed at the Battle of Leipzig. cites Delm ...

in the

Army of the North (France) The Army of the North or is a name given to several historical units of the French Army. The first was one of the French Revolutionary Armies that fought with distinction against the First Coalition from 1792 to 1795. Others existed during th ...

, distinguishing himself during the Flanders Campaign during the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI, constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, Frenc ...

. He briefly served as a captain in the cavalry.'Liévyns, A., Jean-Maurice Verdot, and Pierre Bégat.
Fastes de la Légion-d'Honneur: Biographie de Tous les Décorés Accompagnée de l'Histoire Législative et Réglementaire de l'Ordre, Vol. IV
'. Paris: Bureau de l'Administration, 1844-1847, p. 27 In 1794 he was promoted to

chef de brigade ''Chef de brigade'' ( English: Brigade chief) was a French military rank. It was used as the equivalent of the rank of major in the French Royal Army's artillery units and colonel in the French Revolutionary Army. Before the revolution ''Chef ...

, the equivalent of a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, and transferred to the

Army of the Alps The Army of the Alps (''Armée des Alpes'') was one of the French Revolutionary armies. It existed from 1792–1797 and from July to August 1799, and the name was also used on and off until 1939 for France's army on its border with Italy. 1792� ...

before later joining the general staff of the Army of Italy. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1796 and would command brigades of

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

throughout most of the

Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars The Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1801) were a series of conflicts fought principally in Northern Italy between the French Revolutionary Army and a Coalition of Austria, Russia, Piedmont-Sardinia, and a number o ...

under

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. He commanded units during key battles at

Arcole Arcole (pronounced ), historically also known as Arcola, is a ''comune'' with 5,274 inhabitants in the province of Verona. It is known as the site of the Battle of the Bridge of Arcole. History Between 15 and 17 November 1796, the Battle of Ar ...

and Rivoli. In 1798 Vial was part of the Armée d'Orient sent on expedition to Egypt and Syria, commanding a brigade in the division of

Jacques-François Menou Jacques-François de Menou, Baron of Boussay (3 September 1750 – 13 August 1810) was a French Army officer and politician who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is best known for his role in the unsuccessful French invas ...

. After Menou was wounded taking

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, Vial replaced him as division commander, leading it at the

Battle of the Pyramids The Battle of the Pyramids (), also known as the Battle of Embabeh (), was a major engagement fought on 21 July 1798, during the French invasion of Egypt. The battle took place near the village of Imbaba, across the Nile River from Cairo, but ...

. He acted as provincial administrator of

Damietta Damietta ( ' ) is a harbor, port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the Damietta branch, an eastern distributary of the Nile Delta, from the Mediterranean Sea, and about north of Cairo. It was a Cath ...

and

Mansoura Mansoura (; ', , rural: ) is a city in Egypt located on the eastern bank of the Damietta branch of the Nile river. The city is the capital of the Dakahlia Governorate and has a population of 621,953 as of 2021. Etymology ''Mansoura'' in Arabic ...

before joining the ultimately unsuccessful

Siege of Acre (1799) The siege of Acre of 1799 was an unsuccessful French siege of the Ottoman city of Acre (now Akko in modern Israel) and was the turning point of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and Syria, along with the Battle of the Nile. It was Napoleon's t ...

and seeing action at

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor ( ; ; ), sometimes spelled Mount Thabor, is a large hill of biblical significance in Lower Galilee, Northern District (Israel), northern Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bi ...

. He returned to France in December 1800.

Napoleonic Wars

From 1802 to 1809 Vial served in a diplomatic capacity, first as an envoy to the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially 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 established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

and later as ambassador to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He would return to civil administrative duties in 1809, acting as Governor of Venice after that city's absorption into Napoleon's

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

. In the meantime, he was inducted into the Legion of Honour in 1803, holding the degree of commander, and named a

Baron of the Empire As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles in a newly established ' (imperial nobility) to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution. Like many others, both befo ...

in 1810. After Napoleon suffered a decisive defeat in his 1812 invasion of Russia, Vial once again held military command during the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition () (December 1812 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation (), a coalition of Austrian Empire, Austria, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia, Russian Empire, Russia, History of Spain (1808– ...

the following year. He led the 6th Division as part of the II Corps 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 Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Claude Victor-Perrin. He was present at the

Battle of Dresden The Battle of Dresden (26–27 August 1813) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle took place around the city of Dresden in modern-day Germany. With the recent addition of Austria, the Sixth Coalition felt emboldened in t ...

in August, where Napoleon won a victory against Coalition forces despite being heavily outnumbered.

Death

Vial was killed in action in October 1813 at the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vial, Honoré 1766 births 1813 deaths People from Antibes Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars People of the First French Empire French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe French military personnel killed in the Napoleonic Wars