Jean Baptiste Eblé (21 December 1758 – 31 December 1812) was a French

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and

Artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during si ...

man during the

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. He is credited with saving

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 wh ...

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from complete destruction in 1812.

Biography

Eblé was born in Saint-Jean-Rohrbach,

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A ...

. He, like his father, started out in the artillery when he joined the army in 1793. He was commissioned as an officer two years later. Rising rapidly through the ranks, he served in northern Germany, and commanded an artillery

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at Austerlitz in 1805 before becoming governor of

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in 1806 and Minister of War for

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in 1808. The following year, he was assigned to Spain serving in the army of

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Masséna where he commanded the French artillery at

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and Almeida. In 1811, Eblé was put in command of the Dutch

Pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow- draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maximum load that they can carry ...

builders (''pontonniers'') for the

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which Napoleon was assembling for his invasion of Russia. Eblé discovered he had inherited a rag-tag collection of boatmen, yet in less than a year he had turned them into a disciplined, highly trained and skilled force who would soon prove indispensable. Besides training, Eblé also issued his pontonniers specialized tools and equipment, the most notable of which were the mobile wagon-mounted forges, that could quickly make any needed but unavailable metal parts or items. During the disastrous retreat from Moscow in 1812, Napoleon ordered Eblé to destroy the pontonniers' mobile forges, so that these valuable pieces of engineering technology would not fall into enemy hands. Eblé argued with his Emperor, that without the forges his men could not perform their duty and the greater danger to the Armée was to be caught between an uncrossable river and a vengeful, pursuing enemy. Napoleon insisted they be destroyed, but Eblé went against his orders and kept the vital equipment intact. When the Armée arrived at the

Berezina River The Berezina or Biarezina ( be, Бярэ́зіна; ) is a river in Belarus and a right tributary of the Dnieper. The river starts in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve. The length of the Berezina is 613 km. The width of the river is 15-20 m, the ...

it found itself trapped, with the Russians fast bearing down and no way to cross. Eblé's men worked feverishly in dangerously frigid water to complete the bridges in time for the Armée to escape. With the way across the Berezina opened, most of the surviving remnants successfully crossed. But the campaign had taken a heavy toll on General Eblé's men and his health. He died in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was ...

shortly after returning from Russia.

References and links

THE BRIDGES THAT ÉBLÉ BUILT: THE 1812 CROSSING OF THE BEREZINA
*Caulaincourt, Armand-Augustin-Louis de, Duc de Vicence, ''With Napoleon in Russia''. Grosset & Dunlap, 1959 * Chandler, David, ''Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars''. London 1979 *Haythornthwaite, Philip, ''Who Was Who in the Napoleonic Wars'', London, 1998. *''1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow'', Adam Zamoyski, {{DEFAULTSORT:Elbe, Jean Baptiste 1758 births 1812 deaths People from Moselle (department) French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur French military personnel killed in the Napoleonic Wars Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe