Camille Alphonse Trézel (5 January 1780, in

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 ...

– 11 April 1860, in

) was a French

général de 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 corps ...

, Minister for War and

peer of 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 ...

during the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 F ...

. He was the assistant chief of the general staff on the

Morea expedition The Morea expedition (french: link=no, Expédition de Morée) is the name given to the land intervention of the French Army in the PeloponneseMorea is the name of the Peloponnese region in Greece, which was mainly used from the medieval peri ...

, and served in the 1830s in 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 ...

, where he suffered a disastrous defeat at the

Battle of Macta The Battle of Macta was fought on 28 June 1835 between French forces under General Camille Alphonse Trézel and a coalition of Algerian tribes of western Algeria under Emir Abd al-Qadir, who, at the age of 26, waged one of his most epic and famous ...

Life

In 1801, Camille Alphonse Trezel entered as a draftsman into the office of the war and in 1803 attained the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the body of topographical engineers. Posted in 1804 to Army of Holland, he was promoted the following year to assistant engineer geographer. After the

Polish campaign The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

, he was appointed acting aide to

General Gardane Claude-Matthieu, Comte de Gardane (11 July 1766 in Marseille – 30 January 1818) was a French general and diplomat. He entered the army and rose rapidly during the revolutionary wars, becoming captain in 1793. Biography In May 1799 he distingui ...

at French embassy to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in 1807–1808, then aide to General

Armand Charles Guilleminot Major General Armand Charles Guilleminot (2 March 1774–14 March 1840) was a French general during the Napoleonic wars. He is described as having been very intelligent, merciful, generous, resourceful, and experienced. He achieved the Legion ...

on his return in 1809. He was secretary of the Committee on Delimitation of

Illyria In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...

, was promoted to captain (1810), and transferred to the

Spanish army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

. Recalled to Germany in late 1811, he worked at the Hanseatic

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

department, on the campaign to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, became lieutenant-commander (1813), Chief of Staff of the 13th Division, and worked on the defense of

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

. For 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 ...

campaign, he was called to the

Grand Army Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

, and showed such bravery in the

Battle of Ligny The Battle of Ligny, in which French troops of the Armée du Nord under the command of Napoleon I defeated part of a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher, was fought on 16 June 1815 near Ligny in what is now Belgium. The result was a ta ...

, where he took a shot to the left eye, that he was promoted to

brigadier general 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 ...

by decree on 5 July 1815. This appointment was canceled the following month by the Bourbons, so he resumed his place in the headquarters in 1818 as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, and was attached to the commission of delimitation of the East (1816–1818), then the filing of war (1822). He distinguished himself again in the Spanish Civil War of 1820–1823, and was a member of the advisory committee of staff and secretary of the committee reorganization. He joined the

as Deputy Chief of Staff (1828), and was promoted to

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

in 1829.

Algerian campaign

In 1831, he went to Africa. He commanded the expedition of Bougie and was wounded in the leg while taking possession of the city on 29 September 1833. Called to replace

Louis Alexis Desmichels Louis Alexis Desmichels, born in Digne March 15, 1779, died in Paris in 1845, was a French soldier, an ordinary soldier of the French Revolution became general under the July Monarchy, known for his role in the conquest of Algeria and relations w ...

in the province of

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

, he won several victories against the Zmalas and Douairs, commanded by Agha Mustapha Ben Ismail, Chief of the Douairs, Agha Kadour Ben El Morsly, chief of the

Beni Amer The Beni-Amer, also known as Beni-Amir (, ) (sometimes simply as Amer or Nabtab), are a population inhabiting northeast Africa. They are considered by some to comprise a subgroup of the Beja people. They live in eastern Sudan and Eritrea. They are ...

(

Mounted infantry Mounted infantry were infantry who rode horses instead of marching. The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry. According to the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', "Mounted rifles are half cavalry, mounted infantry merely specially m ...

, and Agha Benaouda Mazari, chief of the Zmal. At the 16 June 1835 camp of ''Valmy Figuiers'' (El Karma), a treaty was concluded between the Chief and General Trezel, whereby Zmal Douairs and recognized each subject, tributaries and soldiers of France. These tribes refused to pay the zakat (Ashura) was the Emir Abd el-Kader. The general saw himself obliged to act against Abd-el-Kader to protect these tribes that wanted to punish the emir. This led to the disaster of the

on 28 June, following another defeat the day before in the forest of Muley Ismail. In both attacks, Trezel was attacked by ten thousand men, when he had only 1,700 men and 600 horses. In his report to the governor, Trezel nonetheless called himself solely responsible for the disaster: "I submit without complaint and blame any severity that the royal government deems necessary to exercise to me... hoping he will not refuse to reward the brave who have distinguished themselves in these two fights. Count Erlon, who was governor, withdrew his command. Recalled to France, he returned to

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

the following year to take part in the Constantine Expedition of 1836, during which he was seriously wounded and recalled to France. In 1837, during the Constantine Expedition of 1837 on the same city, he was given command of the 2nd Brigade. He was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

on 11 November 1837 and became the staff director of the Department of War (15 May 1839) and committee member of staff. He was given the title

Peer of 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 ...

on 21 July 1846. He became war minister under

Jean-de-Dieu 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 ...

on 9 May 1847, instead of Alexandre Pierre Chevalier Moline de Saint-Yon. He held these positions in the government of

François Guizot François Pierre Guillaume Guizot (; 4 October 1787 – 12 September 1874) was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848. A conservative liberal who opposed the a ...

until the fall of the

on 24 February 1848. Automatically set to retire on 8 June 1848, in 1853, he was called by Philippe d'Orleans and Robert d'Orléans to become military governor and retained this office until the majority of the Comte de Paris in 1856.

Decorations

* 13 January 1837 : Grand-officer 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 ...

Works

* ''Notice sur le Ghilan et le Mazenderan'', in : ''Voyage en Arménie et en Perse, fait dans les années 1805 et 1806, par P.-Amédée Jaubert'', Paris, Pélicier et Neveu, 1821, in-8

Sources

* Narcisse Faucon, ''Le livre d'Or de l'Algérie'', Challamel et Cie Éditeurs Librairie Algérienne et Coloniale, 1889 *

Bibliography

* Jean-Baptiste Dumas, ''Un fourrier de Napoléon vers l'Inde : les papiers du lieutenant-général Trézel, ... : première partie : 1780-1812'', Paris, H. Charles-Lavauzelle, 1915

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trezel, Camille Alphonse 1780 births 1860 deaths Politicians from Paris French Ministers of War Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy French generals French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur French expatriates in Iran