Jean-Baptiste Kléber () (9 March 1753 – 14 June 1800) was a French general during 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 France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...
. After serving for one year in the
French Royal Army, he entered
Habsburg service seven years later. However, his plebeian ancestry hindered his opportunities. Eventually, he volunteered for the
French Revolutionary Army
The French Revolutionary Army (french: Armée révolutionnaire française) was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1804. These armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipme ...
in 1792 and quickly rose through the ranks.
Kléber served in the
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
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 constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...
, and also suppressed the
Vendée Revolt
Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442. . He retired to private life in the peaceful interim after the
Treaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...
, but returned to military service to accompany
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
Egyptian Campaign
The French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in the Ottoman territories of Egypt and Syria, proclaimed to defend French trade interests, to establish scientific enterprise in the region. It was the pr ...
in 1798–99. When Napoleon left
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
to return to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, he appointed Kléber as commander of the French forces. He was assassinated by a student in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
in 1800.
A trained
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
, Kléber, in times of peace, designed a number of buildings.
Biography
Early career
Kléber was born in
Strasbourg, where his father worked as a
master builder. He briefly engaged in 1769 in the
1st Hussar Regiment, but resigned to study, from 1770 to 1774,
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
, partly in Paris with
Jean Chalgrin
Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin (1739 – 21 January 1811) was a French architect, best known for his design for the Arc de Triomphe, Paris.
Biography
His neoclassic orientation was established from his early studies with the prophet of neocla ...
. His opportune assistance to two German
noble
A noble is a member of the nobility.
Noble may also refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Noble Glacier, King George Island
* Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Noble Peak, Wiencke Island
* Noble Rocks, Graham Land
Australia
* Noble Island, Gr ...
s in a tavern brawl obtained for him nomination to the military school of
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
. From this education, he obtained a commission in the Kaunitz regiment of the
Imperial army, he took part in the
War of the Bavarian Succession
The War of the Bavarian Succession (; 3 July 1778 – 13 May 1779) was a dispute between the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and an alliance of Saxony and Prussia over succession to the Electorate of Bavaria after the extinction of the Bavarian br ...
, but did not see major engagements, as he was stationed alternately in the garrisons of
Mons,
Mechelen, and
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
in the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The pe ...
. He resigned his commission in 1783 on finding his humble birth hindered his chances for promotion.
On returning to France he received the appointment of inspector of public buildings at
Belfort
Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Terri ...
, where he studied fortification and military science.
French Revolutionary Wars
In 1792 he enlisted in the
Haut-Rhin
Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is th ...
volunteers. Thanks to his military knowledge, he at once gained election as adjutant and soon afterward as lieutenant-colonel. At the defense of
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
(July 1793) he so distinguished himself that though disgraced along with the rest of the garrison and imprisoned, he promptly won reinstatement, and became in August 1793 a
''général de brigade''. He won considerable distinction in the suppression of the
Vendéans, and two months later gained promotion to
''général de division''. In these operations began his intimacy with
Marceau, with whom he defeated the
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...
s at
Le Mans and
Savenay
Savenay (; ''Savenneg'' in Breton) is a town (administratively a commune) in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France which is part of the Pays de la Loire region. It is located on the Sillon de Bretagne (a mountain range defining the ...
. When he openly expressed his opinion that the Vendéans merited lenient measures, the authorities recalled him; but re-instated him once more in April 1794 and sent him to the
''Armée de Sambre-et-Meuse''.
He displayed his skill and bravery in the numerous actions around
Charleroi, and especially in the crowning victory of
Fleurus
Fleurus (; wa, Fleuru) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It has been the site of four major battles.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Brye, Heppignies, Fleurus, Lambusart, ...
(26 June 1794), after which in the winter of 1794 – 1795 he besieged Mainz. In 1795, and again in 1796, he held the chief command of an army temporarily, but declined a permanent appointment as commander-in-chief. On 13 October 1795 he fought a brilliant rearguard action at the bridge of
Neuwied
Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...
, and in the offensive campaign of 1796, he served as
Jourdan Jourdan may refer to:
* Carolyn Jourdan, American author
*Claude Jourdan (1803–1873), French zoologist and paleontologist
* David W. Jourdan, businessman
*Jean-Baptiste Jourdan (1762–1833), French army commander
* Jourdan Bobbish (1994–2012), ...
's most active and successful lieutenant, with his victory at
Siegburg
Siegburg (i.e. '' fort on the Sieg river''; Ripuarian: ''Sieburch'') is a city in the district of Rhein-Sieg-Kreis in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the banks of the rivers Sieg and Agger, 10 kilometres from the former seat ...
on 1 June that year enabling Jourdan to get the bulk of the French force across the Rhine.
Egyptian campaign
After the retreat to the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
, he again declined a chief command and withdrew into private life early in 1798. He accepted a division in the expedition to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
under
Bonaparte, but suffered a wound in the head at
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, Alexandri ...
in the first engagement, which prevented his taking any further part in the campaign of the
Pyramids
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
, and caused his appointment as governor of Alexandria. In the
Syrian campaign of 1799, however, he commanded the vanguard, took
El-Arish
ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ar, العريش ' , ''Hrinokorura'') is the capital and largest city (with 164,830 inhabitants ) of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the entire Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Medite ...
,
Gaza, and
Jaffa, and won the great victory of
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 (Joshua, Judges), Mount Tabor is the site of the Battle of Mount Tabo ...
on 15–16 April 1799.
When Napoleon returned to France towards the end of 1799, he left Kléber in command of the French forces.
In this capacity, seeing no hope of bringing his army back to France or of consolidating his conquests, he negotiated the
Convention of El-Arish (24 January 1800) with
Commodore Sidney Smith, winning the right to an honorable evacuation of the French army.
When Admiral
Lord Keith refused to ratify the terms, Kléber attacked the Turks at the
Battle of Heliopolis
The Battle of Heliopolis or Ayn Shams was a decisive battle between Arab Muslim armies and Byzantine forces for the control of Egypt. Though there were several major skirmishes after this battle, it effectively decided the fate of the Byzanti ...
.
Although he had only 10,000 men against 60,000 Turks, Kléber's forces utterly defeated the Turks on 20 March 1800. He then re-took
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
, which had revolted against French rule.
Kléber, son of an operative mason and a prominent freemason himself, was attestedly instrumental in bringing freemasonry to Egypt.
While he was negotiating with Sidney Smith in January 1800, Kléber opened a masonic temple in Cairo and thus created the Isis lodge (''La Loge Isis''), serving as its first
master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
.
[ The motto of the lodge was the slogan of the French revolution: ]Liberté, égalité, fraternité
''Liberté, égalité, fraternité'' (), French for "liberty, equality, fraternity", is the national motto of France and the Republic of Haiti, and is an example of a tripartite motto. Although it finds its origins in the French Revolution, i ...
.[
]
Assassination
Shortly after these victories, while Kléber was walking in the garden of the palace of Alfi bika, he was knifed by Suleiman al-Halabi
Suleiman al-Halabi ( ar, سليمان الحلبي), also spelled Soleyman El-Halaby (1777–1800), was a Kurdish man who assassinated French general Jean-Baptiste Kléber, leader of the French occupation forces in Egypt. He was tortured by bur ...
, a Kurdish or Arab Syrian student living in Egypt. The assassin appeared to be begging from Kléber, but then took his hand and stabbed him in the heart, stomach, left arm, and right cheek, before running away to hide near the palace. He was soon caught, still in possession of the dagger which he had used to kill Kléber, and was later executed. The assassination happened in Cairo on 14 June 1800, coincidentally the same day on which Kléber's friend and comrade, Desaix, fell at Marengo. The assassin's right arm was burned off, and he was impaled in a public square in Cairo and left for several hours to die. Suleiman's skull was shipped to France and used to teach French medical students what the French phrenologists claimed were the cranial features indicating "crime" and "fanaticism"
Burial
After his assassination, Kléber's embalmed body was repatriated to France. Fearing that his tomb would become a symbol of Republicanism, 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 ...
ordered it held at the Château d'If
The Château d'If () is a fortress located on the Île d'If, the smallest island in the Frioul archipelago, situated about offshore from Marseille in southeastern France. Built in the 16th century, it later served as a prison until the end ...
, on an island near Marseilles. It stayed there for 18 years until 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 ...
granted Kléber a burial place in his home town of Strasbourg. He was buried on 15 December 1838 below his statue located in the center of Place Kléber
The Place Kléber (''Kleberplatz'' in German) is the central square of Strasbourg, France.
Place Kleber, the largest square at the center of the city of Strasbourg in the heart of the city's commercial area, was named after French revolutio ...
. His heart is in an urn in the ''caveau'' of the Governors beneath the altar of the Saint Louis Chapel in Les Invalides, Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. Kléber's name is inscribed in column 23 on the southern pillar of the Arc de Triomphe.
Assessment
Kléber emerged as undoubtedly one of the greatest generals of the French revolutionary epoch. Though he distrusted his powers and declined the responsibility of supreme command, there is nothing in his career to show that he would have been unequal to it. As a second-in-command no general of his time excelled him. His conduct of affairs in Egypt, at a time when the treasury was empty and the troops were discontented for want of pay, shows that his powers as an administrator were little, if at all, inferior to those he possessed as a general.
Kléber the architect
Between 1784 and 1792, Kléber designed a number of buildings both on public and private commission. Perhaps the most notable is the current town hall of Thann, Haut-Rhin
Thann (; Alsatian: ''Dànn'', , german: Thann) is a commune in the northeastern French department of Haut-Rhin, in Grand Est.[château
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
Now ...]
'' of Grandvillars
Grandvillars () is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in northeastern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Territoire de Belfort department
The following is a list of the 101 communes of t ...
(often erroneously spelled "Granvillars"), built around 1790 and the canoness
Canoness is a member of a religious community of women living a simple life. Many communities observe the monastic Rule of St. Augustine. The name corresponds to the male equivalent, a canon. The origin and Rule are common to both. As with the ...
houses of the Benedictine abbey
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
of Masevaux (1781–1790). Nine of these houses had been planned but due to 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
, only seven were built. The Musée historique de Strasbourg features a room dedicated to Jean-Baptiste Kléber that also displays a number of his sketches and architectural designs.
See also
*Lycée Kléber The Lycée Kléber is a French public secondary school located in the Alsatian capital Strasbourg. This lycée bears the name of the famous French Général Kléber who was murdered in Egypt in 1800.
Diploma
It offers both a secondary-level cu ...
*Place Kléber
The Place Kléber (''Kleberplatz'' in German) is the central square of Strasbourg, France.
Place Kleber, the largest square at the center of the city of Strasbourg in the heart of the city's commercial area, was named after French revolutio ...
* Kléber (Paris Métro)
Kléber may refer to:
* French cruiser ''Kléber'', French armored cruiser active from 1904 to 1917
* Kléber (Paris Métro), Paris Métro station
* ''Kléber'' (train), former express train in France
* Lycée Kléber, secondary school in Stra ...
* ''Kléber'' (train)
*Manfred Stern
Manfred (Moses) Stern (also known as Emilio Kléber, Lazar Stern, Moishe Stern, Mark Zilbert) (1896–1954) was a member of the GRU, Soviet military intelligence. He served as a spy in the United States, as a military advisor in China, and gained ...
, Austrian-born Soviet officer who gained fame in the Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
under the pseudonym "General Kléber"
References
;Attribution
*
Further reading
*Philippe Jéhin, ''Jean-Baptiste Kléber : le lion indomptable : 1753-1800'', Éditions Vent d'Est 2012,
*Auguste Echard: ''J.-B. Kléber : un fils de l'Alsace'', Charavay Frères Éditeurs, Paris, 1883 (sic
online version
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleber, Jean-Baptiste
1753 births
1800 deaths
French governors of Egypt
18th-century Egyptian people
Alsatian-German people
Assassinated French people
Deaths by stabbing in Egypt
French generals
French people murdered abroad
French Republican military leaders killed in the French Revolutionary Wars
French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars
French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
Republican military leaders of the War in the Vendée
Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars
Military personnel from Strasbourg
People murdered in Egypt
People of the French Revolution
Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
French Freemasons
18th-century French architects
1800 murders in Africa