Louis Marie Joseph Le Beschu de Champsavin (24 November 1867 – 20 December 1916) was a French

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

and

horse rider Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

Personal life

Champsavin was born in

Assérac Assérac (; br, Azereg) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Population See also *La Baule - Guérande Peninsula *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department The following is a list of the 207 communes of th ...

on 24 November 1867. In 1894, he married Amelie Clemence. Champsavin was appointed a Chevalier 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 ...

and Chevalier of the Order of Agricultural Merit.

Military career

Champsavin began his military education at

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 1887. From there he went to

École de cavalerie, Saumur The is a French military training establishment at Saumur in Western France. Originally set up to train the cavalry of the French Army, it now trains the troops of France's ''Arme blindée et cavalerie'' (Armoured Cavalry Arm) in reconnaissance and ...

. On graduating he joined the 24th Dragoon Regiment in 1891 as

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

. He was promoted to

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 1892. Between 1899 and 1903, he was a riding instructor at Saint-Cyr. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1903, and chef d'escadron in 1913. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Champsavin led the 20th Cavalry Regiment and came to command Fort Tavannes during the Battle of Verdun. The many gas shells that fell on the fort during this time caused his health to deteriorate, and he died in hospital in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

on 20 December 1916. He was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

Equestrian

Champsavin competed in the

1900 Olympic Games The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 1 ...

, held in Paris. Aboard his horse, Terpsichore, he won the bronze medal in the jumping event, and was not placed in the hacks and hunter event.

References

External links

* 1867 births 1916 deaths Sportspeople from Loire-Atlantique French male equestrians Olympic bronze medalists for France Olympic equestrians for France Equestrians at the 1900 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in equestrian French military personnel killed in World War I Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni French Army officers Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Knights of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Order of Agricultural Merit {{France-Olympic-medalist-stub