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 Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

. 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 considere ...

broke out. On 15 September 1793 he joined the 5th volunteer battalion of Hérault, amalgamated into the 7th provisional battle

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

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Revolutionary wars

He joined the

armée des Pyrénées orientales The Army of the Eastern Pyrenees (''Armée des Pyrénées Orientales'') was one of the French Revolutionary armies. It fought against the Kingdom of Spain in Roussillon, the Cerdanya and Catalonia during the War of the Pyrenees. This army and th ...

, but a few days after the affair at Peyrestortes, the brigade went to reinforce the corps besieging Toulon. At the capture of the British redoubt which was decisive in the French revolutionaries' capture of the city, the young Berthezène captured a British NCO's rifle, which he kept himself. This act of bravery gained him promotion to lieutenant on 1 Messidor, year II. His demi-brigade then moved to

Garnier Garnier () is a mass market cosmetics brand of French cosmetics company L'Oréal. It produces hair care and skin care products. Launch ''Laboratoires Garnier'' was founded in France in 1904 by Alfred Amour Garnier. The company's first produc ...

's division in the

armée d'Italie The Army of Italy (french: Armée d'Italie) was a field army of the French Army stationed on the Italian border and used for operations in Italy itself. Though it existed in some form in the 16th century through to the present, it is best know ...

. In 1796 Berthezène, having been elected lieutenant, distinguished himself at Castiglione. In 1798 he was attached to the staff of General

Grenier Grenier is a surname. It is a French word for ''attic, loft,'' or ''granary''. Notable people with the surname include: * Adrian Grenier * Angèle Grenier, Canadian maple syrup producer * Auguste Jean François Grenier (1814–1890), French docto ...

under whom he distinguished himself and was promoted to captain. In 1799 he was made aide-de-camp to General Compans. In 1799 he was given command of a battalion in the 72nd demi-brigade, which he commanded in the Marengo campaign, during which he was wounded.

Napoleonic wars

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, where ...

. 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 II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis ...

started, Berthezène and his regiment joined the division of Saint-Hilaire near

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

. 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 th ...

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 two ...

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 The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

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 is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Lützen is situated in the Leipzig Bay, approximately southwest of the Leipzig city limits and northeast of Weißenfels. The town has access to the Bundesstraße 8 ...

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 ''Budis ...

. On 4 August 1813 Berthezène was promoted to general de division and given command of the 44th division under Marshal Gouvion Saint-Cyr 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 larg ...

. 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

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 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 ...

awarded him the croix de Saint-Louis 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 restoration ...

. On 29 March, Napoléon put him in charge of the commission charged with placing half-pay officers and on 7 June he was given command of the 11th infantry division, 3rd army corps, armée du Nord. He fought at

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 Habert is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Germain Habert (1615–1654), French churchman and brother of Philippe Habert * Henri Louis Habert de Montmor (1600–1679), French scholar and cousin of Germain and Philippe Habert ...

was badly wounded at

Wavre Wavre (; nl, Waver, ; wa, Wåve) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, capital of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium. Wavre is in the Dijle, Dyle valley. Most ...

took over command of his division. He drove eight Prussian battalions from the heights at Bierges. On 20 June,

Dominique Vandamme General Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme, Count of Unseburg (5 November 1770, Cassel, Nord15 July 1830) was a French military officer, who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He was a dedicated career soldier with a reputation as an excellent divisio ...

put him in command of two more infantry divisions and commanded him to hold up the enemy to buy time for Marshal Grouchy to take up position at

Dinant Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...

- 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. Namu ...

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.

Second Bourbon Restoration

After the licensing of the ''armée de la Loire'', the general came to Paris, where he stayed. General Despinois, commander of Paris, summoned him to see his chief of staff and told him that he could authorise his stay in Paris and that he had to see the minister for war ( the Duc de Feltre). The general went to find the minister, who told him to go to his estate. Authorised on 16 September to retire to his estates, on 9 December he was granted permission to retire to Belgium. After a couple of months his exile was retracted and he was allowed to return to France. Pierre Berthezène was placed on the non-active list on 18 April 1816. In 1818 he was named an inspector-general of the infantry by Marshal Gouvion Saint-Cyr. In 1820 he was again placed on active duty. Having been named a member of the advisory committee on the infantry in January 1830, Berthezène was given command of the 1st infantry division for the

French invasion of Algeria The French invasion of Algeria (; ) took place between 1830 and 1903. In 1827, an argument between Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Deylik of Algiers, and the French consul escalated into a blockade, following which the July Monarchy of France invad ...

. On 14 June 1830 Berthezène landed his troops on the coast near

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

and attacked and took an artillery battery of 16 pieces. Berthezène then took part in the fighting for the city of Algiers.

July Monarchy

After the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

Berthezène returned to France in November. In February 1831 Berthezène replaced

Bertrand Clausel Bertrand, comte Clauzel (12 December 177221 April 1842) was a Marshal of France. When asked on Saint Helena which of his Generals was the most skillful Napoleon named Clauzel along with Louis-Gabriel Suchet and Étienne Maurice GérardOjala, Jean ...

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

Gérard Gérard ( French: ) is a French masculine given name and surname of Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constitu ...

and Marshal Grouchy about the latter’s actions during the Waterloo campaign. Pierre Berthezène died at Vendargues on 9 October 1847.

Works

* ''Dix huit mois en Algérie'' * ''Souvenirs militaires'', publié par son fils,

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. S ...

, 1855.

Coat of arms

Notes and references

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berthezene, Pierre 1775 births 1847 deaths People from Hérault French generals Peers of France French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars French prisoners of war in the Napoleonic Wars Governors general of Algeria Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe