Joseph Marie, Count Dessaix (24 September 1764, Thonon-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie – 26 October 1834) was a French general of the Napoleonic Wars.

Career

He was born at Thonon in

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

. He studied medicine, took his degree at Turin, and then went to Paris, where in 1789 he joined the National Guard. In 1791 he tried without success to begin an uprising in

, in 1792 he organized the

Légion des Allobroges The Légion des Allobroges was a unit of the French Revolutionary Army that consisted mainly of volunteers from Switzerland, Piedmont and Savoy. The Legion's name refers to the Allobroges, a Gallic tribe in Roman times. Reviving Roman names and co ...

, and in the following years he served at the siege of Toulon, in the

Army of the Eastern Pyrenees The Army of the Eastern Pyrenees (''Armée des Pyrénées Orientales'') was one of the French Revolutionary armies. It fought against the Kingdom of Spain in Roussillon, the Cerdanya and Catalonia during the War of the Pyrenees. This army and th ...

, and in the Army of Italy. He was captured at Rivoli, but was soon exchanged. In the spring of 1798 Dessaix was elected a member of the Council of Five Hundred. He was one of the few in that body who opposed the '' coup d'etat'' of the 18th Brumaire (November 9, 1799). In 1803 he was promoted general of brigade, and soon afterwards Commander of the Légion d'honneur. He distinguished himself greatly at the battle of Wagram (1809), and was about this time promoted general of division and named Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur, and in 1810 was made a count. He took part in Napoleon's invasion of Russia, leading the 4th division of the

I Corps (Grande Armée) The I Corps of the ''Grande Armée'' was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. Though disbanded in 1814, following the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814), Treaty of Fontainebleau, it was reformed in April 1815 following th ...

under Davout, and was twice wounded. For several months he was commandant of Berlin, and afterwards delivered the department of Mont Blanc from the Austrians. After the first restoration Dessaix held a command under the Bourbons. He joined

Napoleon 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 ...

in 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 ...

and was appointed to command the 23rd Division in Marshal Louis Gabriel Suchet's corps on the Savoy frontier. His division included two battalions each of the 42nd and 53rd Line Infantry Regiments under General of Brigade Jean Revest and three battalions of the 67th Line under General of Brigade Jean Montfalcon. In 1816 he was imprisoned for five months. The rest of his life was spent in retirement.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dessaix, Joseph Marie 1764 births 1834 deaths People from Thonon-les-Bains French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe