Raphaël Vienot (31 August 1804 – 2 May 1855) was colonel of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

who particularly illustrated himself during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

and was killed in action while leading the assault of his regiment. He is the patron of a promotion at the ().

Military career

Born in Fontainebleau in 1804, Raphaël Vienot was admitted to the

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, literally the "Special Military School of Saint-Cyr") is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ...

in 1823, after nine years of studies at the

Prytanée National Militaire The Prytanée national militaire is a French military school managed by the French military, offering regular secondary education as well as special preparatory classes, equivalent in level to the first years of university, for students who wish ...

(french: Prytanée Militaire) of

La Flèche La Flèche () is a town and commune in the French department of Sarthe, in the Pays de la Loire region in the Loire Valley. It is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton, and the second most po ...

. He graduated as a

sous-lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 19 ...

and was assigned to the 4th Line Infantry Regiment (french: 4^e Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne) where he served for more than twenty years. In 1846, Vienot was designated as

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 ...

at the 20th Light Infantry Regiment (french: 20^eRégiment d'Infanterie Légère). In 1852 he joined the 1st Foreign Regiment 1^er RE of the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

, with the rank of

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 colonel. ...

. On 5 September 1854, during the

(french: Guerre de Crimée), Vienot was appointed regimental commander. During April 1855, he led a vigorous attack by French and allied troops on the fortified works outside

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

(french:

Sebastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

). During the night of 1-2 May 1855 Vienot launched an assault with his regiment on Fort (french: Redoute) Schwartz. The Russian defenders were overcome by the legionnaires, but Colonel Viénot was shot in the forehead while leading his men. During this assault fourteen of the eighteen legion officers involved were also killed in action. Vienot was the second regimental commander of the

to be killed in action while at the head of his men; after Colonel Conrad.

Posterity

His name was given a couple of years after his death to the main garrison quarter of the Legion (french: Maison mère de la Légion) at Sidi bel-Abbès in

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

then in 1962, to the modern base of the 1st Foreign Regiment 1^er RE, at

Aubagne Aubagne (, ''Aubanha'' in Occitan language, Occitan according to the classic norm or ''Aubagno'' according to the Mistralian norm) is a Commune in France, commune in the southern French Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône. In ...

in France. He was chosen as the patron for the 2006-2008 promotion (graduation class) of St Cyr: Corniche Brutionne.

References

Sources

* Répertoire des chefs de corps * Centre de documentation de la Légion étrangère * Répertoire des citations (BCAAM) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vienot, Raphaël 1804 births 1855 deaths People from Fontainebleau Officers of the French Foreign Legion French military personnel of the Crimean War French military personnel killed in action

Military career

Posterity

See also

References

Sources