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 (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

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 ...

Early life and Revolutionary Wars

He was born in

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 ...

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 B ...

as a lieutenant in the infantry and later served as an aide-de-camp to Jean Pierre Maurice de Rochon. 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 Delmas ...

in the

Army of the North (France) The Army of the North or Armée du Nord 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 existe ...

, distinguishing himself during the

Flanders Campaign The Flanders Campaign (or Campaign in the Low Countries) was conducted from 20 April 1792 to 7 June 1795 during the first years of the War of the First Coalition. A coalition of states representing the Ancien Régime in Western Europe – Aus ...

during the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the Kingdom of France (1791-92), constitutional Kingdom of France and then t ...

. 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 was a military rank in the French Royal Artillery and in the revolutionary French armies. Before the revolution ''Chef de brigade'' was equivalent to major in the French Royal Corps of Artillery. Each regiment of artillery was div ...

, the equivalent of a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge of ...

, 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 (1792–1802) 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 ; 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 ...

. 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 15–17 November 1796, the Battle of Arcole ...

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, later Abdallah de Menou, (3 September 1750 – 13 August 1810) was a French statesman and general of Napoleon during the French Revolutionary Wars, most noted for his role in the French campaign in Eg ...

. After Menou was wounded taking

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, 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 Embabeh, across the Nile River from Cairo, but was ...

. He acted as provincial administrator of

Damietta Damietta ( arz, دمياط ' ; cop, ⲧⲁⲙⲓⲁϯ, Tamiati) is a port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt, a former bishopric and present multiple Catholic titular see. It is located at the Damietta branch, an easter ...

and

Mansoura Mansoura (' , rural: ) is a city in Egypt, with a population of 960,423. It is the capital of the Dakahlia Governorate. Etymology ''Mansoura'' in Arabic means "victorious". The city is named after the El Mansoura Battle against Louis IX of Fr ...

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 th ...

and seeing action at

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bible (Book of Joshua, Joshua, Book of Judges, Judges), Mount Tabor is the sit ...

. 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 ( 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 ...

and later as ambassador to

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 ...

. 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 ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

. 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 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 ...

in 1810. After Napoleon suffered a decisive defeat in his

1812 invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

, Vial once again held military command during the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition (March 1813 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States defeated F ...

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 Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

Claude Victor-Perrin Claude-Victor Perrin, 1st Duke of Belluno (7 December 1764 – 1 March 1841) was a French soldier and military commander who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was made a Marshal of the Empire i ...

. 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 (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vial, Honoré 1766 births 1813 deaths People from Antibes Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur 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