Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

Armand-Octave-Marie d'Allonville (21 January 1809 – 19 October 1867) was a French

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 corp ...

which distinguished himself during the

French conquest 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 inva ...

and 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 ...

. He was later appointed

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Biography

Origins

Armand d'Allonville was born 21 January 1809 in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, then under

French occupation French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

, from

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

Antoine Jean Baptiste d'Allonville (1765–1811) and Céleste Octavie de La Bourdonnaye (1787–1863).Larousse.fr
/ref> His family has a military heritage that dates back from the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

. A noble from

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, his father had

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

during 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 ...

and d'Allonville was re-

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

French in

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

in 1830.

Early military career

After his graduation from the École d'application du Corps royal d'état-major, he entered the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

. He witnessed the Siege of Antwerp in 1832, as aide-de-camp of General Rulhières. During the conquest of Algeria, he commanded an indigenous irregular cavalry squadron. After the

battle of the Smala The Battle of the Smala was fought in 1843 between France and Algerian resistance fighters during the French conquest of Algeria. The French, led by Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, raided the personal encampment ( ar, زمالة ''zmala'') ...

, he received the officer cross of the

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 ...

. At the Battle of Isly, he distinguished himself by taking the Moroccans' cannons with his Spahis. In 1839, he 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 colonel. ...

of the 1st Regiment of Spahis by Marshall de Saint Arnaud.

Napoleon III's coup

Colonel of the 5th Hussar Regiment in 1845, he was 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 to ...

in 1851 and participated to

Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

, 2 December 1851. He commanded a division of cavalry on the Champs-Élysées, but did not meet hostility from the Parisian crowd.

Crimean War

Général d'allonville + ernest de rambaud

D'Allonville was the commandant of the

Chasseurs d'Afrique The ''Chasseurs d'Afrique'' were a light cavalry corps of chasseurs in the French Armée d'Afrique (Army of Africa). First raised in 1831 from regular French cavalry posted to Algeria, they numbered five regiments by World War II. For most of ...

brigade during the

Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to se ...

. Under his command, the Chasseurs d'Afrique cleared the two half batteries of guns, two infantry battalions and

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

s on the Fedyukhin Heights to ensure the British Light Brigade would not be hit by fire from that flank and later provided cover for the remaining elements of the Light Brigade as they withdrew.History of war
/ref> For this brilliant feat of arms, d'Allonville was promoted

and commanded, from 20 May 1855, the 1st brigade, comprising the 1st and 4th hussar regiments, and the 2nd brigade, comprising the 6th and 7th

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...

regiments. At the battle of Eupatoria, d'Allonville led the 4th hussar and the 6th and 7th dragoon regiments and was made Grand-Croix of the

and received the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

from the British and the Order of the Medjidie from the Turks.

Later life

D'Allonville's declining health led him to leave active service in 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 ...

and he became conseiller-général of

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; br, Il-ha-Gwilen) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after the two rivers of the Ille and the Vilaine. It had a population of 1,079,498 in 2019.

. He was appointed senator in December 1865 and died 19 October 1867 in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. He was interred in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

References

Bibliography

D'allonville's genealogy
(FR)
Le livre d'or de l'Algérie
Narcisse Faucon, Challamel et Cie Éditeurs Librairie Algérienne et Coloniale, 1889 (FR) * British Military Intelligence in the Crimean War, 1854–1856, par Stephen M. Harris. * La contestation chez les cadres de l'Armée franc̜aisede 1650 à 1986, par Pierre Denis (FR) {{DEFAULTSORT:Allonville, Armand Octave Marie d' 1809 births 1867 deaths École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni French generals French military personnel of the Crimean War Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Officers of the French Foreign Legion Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery