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 ...

Victor Gabriel Levasseur, 1st Baron Levasseur (7 March 1772 in Caen – 13 September 1811 in

Valognes Valognes () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. Geography Valognes is situated in the Cotentin Peninsula, southeast of Cherbourg. Valognes station has rail connections to Caen, Paris and Cherbourg. Histor ...

) commanded a French infantry brigade in the Grande Armée of

Emperor Napoleon I 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 ...

. Leaving civilian life, he enlisted in a volunteer battalion in 1792 and was wounded at the 1793 Siege of Mainz. In the Rhine Campaign of 1796 he fought at

Rastatt Rastatt () is a town with a Baroque core, District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50,000 (2011). Rastatt was a ...

and

Kehl Kehl (; gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Kaal) is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg, with which it shares some municipal servicesfor exa ...

. Promoted

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 ...

in 1800, he fought at

Hohenlinden Hohenlinden (meaning "high linden trees"; colloquially: ''Linden''; in the Bavarian dialect: ''Hea-lin'') is a community in the Upper Bavarian district of Ebersberg. The city of Lynden, Washington is named after it, as is Linden, Alabama. Ho ...

. Under Napoleon he commanded a brigade in the IV Corps at

Austerlitz Austerlitz may refer to: History * Battle of Austerlitz, an 1805 victory by the French Grand Army of Napoleon Bonaparte Places * Austerlitz, German name for Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic, which gave its name to the Battle of Austerlitz a ...

in 1805, Battle of Jena in 1806 and Eylau in 1807, where he was wounded. He became a

Baron 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 th ...

in 1808, commanded posts in the interior and served as a military instructor. He died in 1811 at

Career

On 16 May 1800, Levasseur was made General (

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

) of the 2nd brigade of the 4th Corps of the Grand Army (Commanded by

Marshal Soult Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia, (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804 and often called Marshal Soult. Soult was one of only six officers in Fren ...

). Levasseur distinguished himself in battle at Iéna and his brigade participated in the encirclement and the decisive breakthrough at Austerlitz which saw the battle turn in Napoleon's favour. Levasseur was wounded at the

Battle of Eylau The Battle of Eylau, or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, was a bloody and strategically inconclusive battle on 7 and 8 February 1807 between Napoléon's '' Grande Armée'' and the Imperial Russian Army under the command of Levin August von Benn ...

in 1807 and was made a

Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Levasseur, Victor Generals of the First French Empire 1772 births 1809 deaths Knights of the Legion of Honour French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Military personnel from Caen People of the War of the First Coalition