Pascal Antoine Fiorella or Pasquale Antonio, comte Fiorella (7 February 1752 – 3 March 1818) became a French

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

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 led a brigade during

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 ...

's famous campaign in Italy in 1796. A Corsican by birth, he joined the

French Royal Army The French Royal Army (french: Armée Royale Française) was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon Dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude ...

as a volunteer in 1770 and was quickly appointed an officer. When 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

broke out, he was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. Elected

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

of a volunteer battalion, he fought with 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� ...

. Transferred to the Army of Italy, he assumed command of the 46th Line Infantry Demi-Brigade in February 1794. He fought under

André Masséna André Masséna, Prince of Essling, Duke of Rivoli (born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817) was a French military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.Donald D. Horward, ed., trans, annotated, The Fre ...

at Saorgio where he was wounded. In September 1794 he earned promotion to

general of brigade Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

and led the army reserve. When Bonaparte took command of the Army of Italy in the spring of 1796 Fiorella led a brigade in

Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier, 1st Count Sérurier (, 8 December 1742 – 21 December 1819) led a division in the War of the First Coalition and became a Marshal of the Empire under Emperor Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone ...

's division. He fought at

Mondovì Mondovì (; pms, Ël Mondvì , la, Mons Regalis) is a town and ''comune'' (township) in Piedmont, northern Italy, about from Turin. The area around it is known as the Monregalese. The town, located on the Monte Regale hill, is divided into ...

in April 1796. During the

Battle of Castiglione The Battle of Castiglione saw the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte attack an army of the Habsburg monarchy led by ''Feldmarschall'' Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser on 5 August 1796. The outnumbered Austrians were defeated ...

on 5 August 1796, he took command of Sérurier's division and led it to attack the Austrian left rear. This maneuver resulted in an important French victory. During the Arcola campaign in November 1796, he led his troops at Calliano and was captured at Rivoli. Beginning in 1797, he saw service as a division commander in the armies of the French-allied Italian states. In 1799 he was forced to surrender

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

to the Austrians. He blockaded

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

in 1805 and was involved in suppressing the

Tyrolean Rebellion The Tyrolean Rebellion (german: Tiroler Volksaufstand) is a name given to the resistance of militiamen, peasants, craftsmen and other civilians of the County of Tyrol led by Andreas Hofer supported by his wife Anna and a strategic council cons ...

in 1809. Despite joining Napoleon for 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 ...

, he managed to secure retirement with the rank of division commander in 1817. He died the next year in Ajaccio. His surname is one of the

names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe The following is a list of the 660 names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris. Most of them represent generals who served during the French First Republic (1792–1804) and the First French Empire (1804–1815). Underlined names signify tho ...

, on Column 21.

References

* * French generals French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Military personnel from Ajaccio People from Corse-du-Sud 1736 births 1805 deaths Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe {{mil-hist-stub