Nicolas Charles Oudinot, 1st Count Oudinot, 1st Duke of
Reggio (25 April 1767 in
Bar-le-Duc – 13 September 1847 in
Paris), was a
Marshal of the Empire. He is known to have been wounded 34 times in battle, being hit by artillery shells, sabers, and at least twelve bullets over the course of his military career. Oudinot is one of the
Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe,
Eastern pillar Columns 13, 14.
Early life
Nicolas Charles Oudinot was the son of Nicolas Oudinot and Marie Anne Adam, the only one of their nine children to live to adulthood. His father was a
brewer,
farmer and
distiller of
brandy
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...
in
Bar-le-Duc,
Lorraine. He decided upon a
military career, and served in the
regiment of
Medoc from 1784 to 1787, when, having no hope of promotion on account of his non-noble birth, he retired with the rank of
sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
.
French Revolutionary Wars
The
French Revolution changed his fortunes, and in 1792, on the outbreak of war, he was elected
lieutenant-colonel of the 3rd battalion of the volunteers of the
Meuse. His gallant defense of the little fort of
Bitsch in the
Vosges in 1792 drew attention to him; he was transferred to the regular army in November 1793, and after serving in numerous actions on the Belgian frontier he was promoted
general of brigade, in June 1794 for his conduct at the
Battle of Kaiserslautern.
He continued to serve with distinction on the German frontier under
Louis Lazare Hoche,
Charles Pichegru
Jean-Charles Pichegru (, 16 February 1761 – 5 April 1804) was a French general of the Revolutionary Wars. Under his command, French troops overran Belgium and the Netherlands before fighting on the Rhine front. His royalist positions led to h ...
and
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau (, 14 February 1763 – 2 September 1813) was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.
Biography
Rise to fame
Moreau was born at Morla ...
, was repeatedly wounded and once (in 1795) taken prisoner after having been wounded again. He was
André Masséna's right hand all through the Swiss campaign of 1799, first as a general of division, then as chief of staff, and won extraordinary distinction at the
Second Battle of Zurich. He was present under Massena at the
Siege of Genoa, and so distinguished himself at the
Battle of Monzambano
The Battle of Pozzolo also known as the Battle of the Mincio River and Monzambano (25–26 December 1800) was fought during the War of the Second Coalition. A French army under General Guillaume Brune crossed the Mincio River and defeated a ...
that
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 ...
presented him with a sword of honour (an especially uncommon award replaced later by the Légion d'Honneur). He was made inspector-general of infantry, and, on the establishment of the empire, given the
Grand Cross of the
Legion of Honour, but was not included in the first creation of marshals.
Napoleonic Wars
Oudinot was elected a member of the chamber of deputies, but had little time to devote to politics. He took a leading role in the war of 1805, commanding the famous division of "grenadiers Oudinot," made up of hand-picked troops and organized by him, with which he seized the Vienna bridges, received a wound at the
Battle of Schöngrabern in Lower Austria against the Russians. In 1807, he participated in
Joachim Murat's victory in the
Battle of Ostrolenka in Poland and fought with resolution and success at the
Battle of Friedland.
In 1808 he was made governor of
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits in ...
and
Count of the French 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 ...
, and in 1809, after the
Battle of Wagram, he was promoted to the rank of
Marshal of France. He was made a titular duke in chief of the
duché-grand fief of
Reggio in the satellite
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 received a large money grant in April 1810.
From 1810 to 1812 Oudinot administered the government of the former
Kingdom of Holland, and commanded the II Corps of
La Grande Armée in the
Russian campaign. His corps was instrumental in building the bridge over the
Berezina that allowed the evacuation of troops after the defeat at the
Battle of Berezina. During this period he suffered another wounding in battle.
He was present at the
Battle of Lützen and the
Battle of Bautzen, and when holding the independent command of the corps directed to take
Berlin was defeated at the
Battle of Grossbeeren
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. He was then superseded by
Marshal Ney, but the latter was defeated at the
Battle of Dennewitz.
Oudinot was not disgraced. He held important commands 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 ...
and in the campaign of 1814. On Napoleon's abdication, he rallied to the new government, and was made a
Peer of France
The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages.
The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...
by the Bourbon Restoration King
Louis XVIII. Unlike many of his old comrades, he did not desert to his former master during Bonaparte's 1815 return.
Later life
His last active service was in the
French invasion of Spain
"The Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis" was the popular name for a French army mobilized in 1823 by the Bourbon King of France, Louis XVIII, to help the Spanish Royalists restore King Ferdinand VII of Spain to the absolute power of which he ha ...
in 1823, in which he commanded a corps and was for a time governor of
Madrid. He died as
Governor of the Parisian veterans institution
Les Invalides
The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...
.
Honours
* 1849 : Knight Grand Cross in the
Order of Pope Pius IX.
[Handelsblad (Het) 14-08-1849]
Personal life
He married first, in September 1789, Charlotte Derlin (1768–1810) and had 7 children:
*Marie-Louise (1790–1832): wife (1808) of general
Pierre Claude Pajol (1772–1844)
*
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
(1791–1863)
*Nicolette (1795–1865): wife (1811) of general (1772–1855)
*Emilie (1796–1805)
*Auguste (1799–1835)
*Elise (1801–1882)
*Stephanie (1808–1893)
He married secondly, in January 1812, Eugenie de Coucy (1791–1868) and had 4 children:
*Louise-Marie (1816–1909)
*Caroline (1817–1896)
*Charles-Joseph (1819–1858)
*Henri (1822–1891)
See also
*
Charles Oudinot, the marshal's eldest son
References
;Attribution
*
*Chandler, David (editor). ''Napoleon's Marshals.'' London: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oudinot, Nicolas
1767 births
1847 deaths
People from Bar-le-Duc
Nicolas
Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to:
People Given name
* Nicolas (given name)
Mononym
* Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer
* Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer
Surname Nicolas
* Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
Nicolas
Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to:
People Given name
* Nicolas (given name)
Mononym
* Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer
* Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer
Surname Nicolas
* Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
Politicians from Grand Est
Members of the Corps législatif
Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration
Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy
Marshals of France
French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
Marshals of the First French Empire
Knights Commander of the Military Order of William
Grand Chanceliers of the Légion d'honneur
Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Max Joseph
Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe