Pierre, baron Berthezène (24 March 1775, Vendargues - 9 October 1847, Vendargues) was a French general.
Life
Early military career
Pierre's parents, Jacques Berthezène and Marguerite Causse, were from a modest background. They chose a career in the church for him and the village priest taught him in preparation for the seminary at Montpellier. Berthezène was still studying 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 conside ...
demi-brigade
A ''demi-brigade'' ( en, Half-brigade) is a military formation used by the French Army since the French Revolutionary Wars. The ''Demi-brigade'' amalgamated the various infantry organizations of the French Revolutionary infantry into a single ...
, which later became the 10th line infantry regiment in year 4. He rose to corporal, sergeant and sergeant-major on 17, 19 and 22 September. In this regiment he met other non-commissioned officers such as Lannes and Victor.
After having served in Holland and Hannover, Berthezène was promoted to colonel in 1807 and was given command of the 10th light infantry regiment. For his service at Heilsberg he was ennobled as a baron. After the Peace of Tilsitt Berthezène occupied the isle of
Rügen
Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, w ...
.
When the
War of the Fifth Coalition
The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis I and Napoleon's French Empir ...
started, Berthezène and his regiment joined the division of Saint-Hilaire near Regensburg. During the
Battle of Eckmühl
The Battle of Eckmühl, fought on 22 April 1809, was the turning point of the 1809 Campaign, also known as the War of the Fifth Coalition. Napoleon I had been unprepared for the start of hostilities on 10 April 1809, by the Austrians under t ...
Berthezène was again wounded when his regiment took the enemy positions. Under the command of Marshal Lannes, Berthezène served at Battle of
Essling
Essling Essling entry in the Viennese government's history wiki (German) () is part of .
Berthezène was promoted to general de brigade on 6 August 1811. In October he was given command of
Walcheren
Walcheren () is a region and former island in the Dutch province of Zeeland at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Eastern Scheldt in the north and the Western Scheldt in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus. The tw ...
and in December 1811 he was given a command in the grenadiers of the
Imperial Guard
An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, in ...
. In this latter capacity Berthezène served during the Russian Campaign where he commanded three regiments of the Young Guard. During the retreat he distinguished himself at the Battle of the Beresina.
In 1813 he was given command of a part of the Old Guard, with whom he served at Lützen and
Bautzen
Bautzen () or Budyšin () is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river. In 2018 the town's population was 39,087. Until 1868, its German name was ''Bu ...
. On 4 August 1813 Berthezène was promoted to general de division and given command of the 44th division under Marshal
Gouvion Saint-Cyr
Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, 1st Marquis of Gouvion-Saint-Cyr (; 13 April 1764 – 17 March 1830) was a French military commander in the French Revolutionary Wars, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars who rose to the rank of Marshal of ...
under whom he served at
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
. After 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 ...
he was part of the forced besieged at
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
and capitulated on 11 November 1813. He was held as a prisoner of war in Hungary for the duration of the war.
First Bourbon Restoration and Hundred Days
In June 1814 Berthezène was released from prison after the
Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to:
France under the House of Bourbon:
* Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815)
Spain under the Spanish Bourbons:
* Ab ...
and was available for military service again.
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 e ...
awarded him the
croix de Saint-Louis
The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis) is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a rew ...
on 19 July and attached him to the committee for war on 18 December. He was in this position at the time Napoleon landed in the
Golfe-Juan
Golfe-Juan (; oc, Lo Gorg Joan, Lo Golfe Joan) is a seaside resort on France's Côte d'Azur. The distinct local character of Golfe-Juan is indicated by the existence of a demonym, "Golfe-Juanais", which is applied to its inhabitants.
Overview
...
. Berthezène followed him during 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 restorati ...
Ligny
Ligny ( wa, Lignè) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Sombreffe, located in the province of Namur, Belgium.
Previously its own municipality, a 1977 fusion of the Belgian municipalities made it an '' ancienne commune ...
on 16 June, where his horse was shot from under him, and after Habert was badly wounded at
Wavre
Wavre (; nl, Waver, ; wa, WÃ¥ve) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, capital of the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium.
Wavre is in the Dyle valley. Most inhabitants speak French as their mother tongue and are called "Wavriens" and " ...
took over command of his division. He drove eight Prussian battalions from the heights at Bierges. On 20 June,
put him in command of two more infantry divisions and commanded him to hold up the enemy to buy time for Marshal
Grouchy
Grouchy (or de Grouchy) is a French surname.
* Johannes de Grocheio (Johannes de Grocheio) (c. 1255 – c. 1320), French musical theorist
* Jean de Grouchy (1354 - 1435), knight at the time of the Hundred Years' War
* Sophie de Condorcet (Sophi ...
to take up position at
Dinant
Dinant () is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south-east of Charleroi and south of the city of Namur. Dinant is situa ...
- this led to a fierce battle beneath the walls of
Namur
Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration.
Na ...
in which Berthezène's horse was again killed under him.
When the provisional government seemed to wish to withdraw behind Paris, Berthezène was sent to take command of 3rd corps, but the armistice was concluded and he returned to his division. After Napoleon's second abdication, he commanded the rearguard corps in the Loire until the licensing.
as military governor of Algeria. He took office on 21 March and served until the end of December 1831. He returned to France in January 1832 en was made
Pair de 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 ...
in October of that year. In the Chamber of Pairs, Berthezène acted as a moderate, mainly concentrating on issues regarding the colonization of Algeria.
In the early 1840s Berthezène became embroiled in a dispute between Marshal
Grouchy
Grouchy (or de Grouchy) is a French surname.
* Johannes de Grocheio (Johannes de Grocheio) (c. 1255 – c. 1320), French musical theorist
* Jean de Grouchy (1354 - 1435), knight at the time of the Hundred Years' War
* Sophie de Condorcet (Sophi ...
about the latter’s actions during the Waterloo campaign.
Pierre Berthezène died at Vendargues on 9 October 1847.
Paris
Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...