Count of the 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 t ...

Pierre-Louis Dupas (13 February 1761 – 6 March 1823) was a French soldier who rose to prominence 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 ...

, was noted for his association with

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 wh ...

, and rose to the top military rank of General of Division during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. A fiery commander, often noted for bravery, Dupas was often wounded in action, triggering physical infirmities, which eventually forced him to retire from active service, at first temporarily, in 1809 and then permanently, in late 1813.

Early career

A native of

Évian Evian ( , ; , stylized as evian) is a French company that bottles and commercialises mineral water from several sources near Évian-les-Bains, on the south shore of Lake Geneva. It produces over 2 billion plastic bottles per year. Today, Evia ...

in Savoy, then a part of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

, the 14-year-old Dupas joined the Sardinian army as a soldier and subsequently joined the

Genovese Genovese is an Italian surname meaning, properly, someone from Genoa. Its Italian plural form '' Genovesi'' has also developed into a surname. People * Alfred Genovese (1931–2011), American oboist * Alfredo Genovese (born 1964), Argentine ar ...

army as a Non-commissioned officer. He joined the Swiss regiment of Château-vieux and at the outbreak of the outbreak of 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 ...

, he was a part of the mob which stormed the Bastille, subsequently joining the

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 ...

National Guards. Quitting his position in the National Guards in April 1791, Dupas was appointed

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 colo ...

in the Gendarmerie legion baptised "The victors of the Bastille".

The French Revolutionary Wars

At the outbreak of the

, Dupas held the rank of Adjutant-Major of the Allobroges legion, and took part to the annexation of his native Savoy to France and then became aide-de-camp to General Carteaux. He served as aide-de-camp to Carteaux during the

Siege of Toulon The siege of Toulon (29 August – 19 December 1793) was a military engagement that took place during the Federalist revolts of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was undertaken by Republican forces against Royalist rebels supported by Anglo-S ...

and during the operations that the French Army of the Eastern Pyrenees conducted against the

Kingdom of Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, until the two countries made peace in 1795. In 1795, Dupas was commissioned to the French Army of Italy and was noted for bravery at the

Battle of Lodi The Battle of Lodi was fought on 10 May 1796 between French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte and an Austrian rear guard led by Karl Philipp Sebottendorf at Lodi, Lombardy. The rear guard was defeated, but the main body of Johann Peter Beaulie ...

, following which he received an honorary sabre and received several wounds during the subsequent battles. He was then a part of General Bonaparte's

French Campaign in Egypt and Syria 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 ...

, with the rank of

Chef de bataillon Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the ''Guides'', Bonaparte's own personal guard. Dupas was soon promoted to

Chef de brigade Chef de brigade was a military rank in the French Royal Artillery and in the revolutionary French armies. Before the revolution ''Chef de brigade'' was equivalent to major in the French Royal Corps of Artillery. Each regiment of artillery was divi ...

and was heroic during the defense of the

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 ...

citadel in 1800, when he held out with only 200 men under his command. It is during this campaign that Dupas acquired the nickname ''Le général Z'en avant'' (General Forward), for his impetuous style of command. Following his return from Egypt, Dupas was appointed ''Adjutant Supérieur'' of the Government palace, Colonel of the Mamelukes of the Consular Guar and in 1803 was promoted to

Brigadier General 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 ...

.Fierro, Palluel-Guillard, Tulard 740.

The Napoleonic Wars

With the outbreak of the

War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition) * In French historiography, it is known as the Austrian campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Autriche de 1805) or the German campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Allemagne de 1805) was a European conflict spanni ...

, Dupas was given a command in the Grande Armée, leading an epic attack at the

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz i ...

, where his men were instrumental in forcing 5,000 Russians to surrender. For this action, he was promoted to

General of Division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army co ...

, before taking part to the

War of the Fourth Coalition The Fourth Coalition fought against Napoleon's French Empire and were defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. The main coalition partners were Prussia and Russia with Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain also contributing. Excluding Prussia, ...

of 1806-1807, where he was noted above all for his spirited actions at the Battle of Straslund and

Battle of Friedland The Battle of Friedland (14 June 1807) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the armies of the French Empire commanded by Napoleon I and the armies of the Russian Empire led by Count von Bennigsen. Napoleon and the French obtai ...

. He was created a

at the beginning of 1809 and fought at the great

Battle of Wagram The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles ...

in July of that year. Dupas was then placed on the retired list, due to the various infirmities that he was suffering from, following his many battle wounds. He was recalled in 1813 for the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition (March 1813 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States defeated F ...

, but was permanently placed on the retired list in November of that year. He retired in Chateau de Ripaille in thonon-les-Bains where he died on 6 Mar 1823. http://charlesnealselections.com/wine/savoie/ripaille-vin-savoie/ The name DUPAS 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 ...

and a statue of the General has been erected in his native Évian. It is shown under column number 26

References

Sources

* Fierro, Alfredo; Palluel-Guillard, André; Tulard, Jean - "Histoire et Dictionnaire du Consulat et de l'Empire”, Éditions Robert Laffont, {{DEFAULTSORT:Dupas, Pierre-Louis 1761 births 1823 deaths People from Évian-les-Bains French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe