André François Bron de Bailly (20 November 1757 – 18 May 1847) was a French military officer who served in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

and the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

Career

French Revolutionary Wars

André-François Bron first enlisted as a

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 wi ...

in the Duke of Artois' Regiment in 1777. In September 1791, he was promoted to '' sous-lieutenant'' in the 18th Dragoons, and the following year he was again promoted, to lieutenant. After serving with the Army of the Var, he was sent to the Army of the Western Pyrenees and promoted to captain in April 1793. That July he was wounded by a pistol shot and two sabre blows to the head. In March 1794 he was promoted to ''chef d'escadrons'' in the newly formed 24th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment. He next served in the Army of Italy throughout 1796 and 1797, and in April of 1797 he served at Storo and Brück. He was promoted to ''

chef de brigade ''Chef de brigade'' ( English: Brigade chief) was a French military rank. It was used as the equivalent of the rank of major in the French Royal Army's artillery units and colonel in the French Revolutionary Army. Before the revolution ''Chef ...

'' of the 3rd Dragoons the following September. Bron served briefly with the Army of Switzerland before being attached to the Army of the Orient. Taking part in the expedition to Egypt, in July, under the orders of General Dupuy, he commanded the citadel of Cairo and in August he fought at the combat of Salahieh. Bron next took part in General

Murat Murat may refer to: Places Australia * Murat Bay, a bay in South Australia * Murat Marine Park, a marine protected area France * Murat, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier * Murat, Cantal, a commune in the department of Cantal Elsew ...

's expedition to Syria, remaining there after General Bonaparte's return to France. In September 1800, General Menou promoted Bron to '' général de brigade''. After the surrender of the French in Egypt, he returned to France and was then sent to serve under

in the

Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic (; ) was a sister republic or a client state of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organized two ...

. In 1804 Bron was named a

Commander of the Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

and assigned to the Army of Naples. Two years later he was serving in the reserve of dragoons under General Mermet. In January 1807 he joined the

Grande Armée The (; ) was the primary field army of the French Imperial Army (1804–1815), French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Commanded by Napoleon, from 1804 to 1808 it won a series of military victories that allowed the First French Empi ...

to command a brigade of Grouchy's 2nd Dragoon Division. The following May, he was given the command of the cavalry depot at Danzig.

Peninsular War

In 1808, Bron was appointed commander of a cavalry brigade at Poitiers and sent to join the Army of Spain, serving at Soria in December. However, in early 1809, he was recalled to France and sent to the Army of Italy. Bron was back in Spain in 1810, this time as part of Junot's

VIII Corps 8th Corps, Eighth Corps, or VIII Corps may refer to: * VIII Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VIII Army Corps (German Confederation) * VIII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Arm ...

. There, at the orders of La Tour-Maubourg, he fought at the Battle of Usagre (May 1811). Fortescue, John (1917)
''A History of the British Army'', Vol. VIII, p. 219. London: Macmillan.
''

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

''. Retrieved 14 January 2023. Later that same year (September), he commanded a brigade of dragoons in La Tour-Maubourg's division in the Army of Andalusia. He was wounded and taken prisoner following the defeat of the French force under

General Girard A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Ma ...

at the

Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos The Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos took place on 28 October 1811 during the Peninsular War. An allied force under General Rowland Hill trapped and defeated a French force under General Jean-Baptiste Girard, forcing the latter's dismissal by ...

(October 1811), (In French.
"Fonds général Bron de Bailly (1729-1847)", pp. 3, 6.

Archives Nationales (France) The Archives nationales (; abbreviated AN; English: National Archives) are the national archives of France. They preserve the archives of the French state, apart from the archives of the Ministry of Armed Forces and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ...

. Retrieved 13 January 2023. and sent to England. While still a prisoner, he was named a Baron of the Empire in January 1813. He returned to France in June 1814.Jensen, Nathan D. (2016)
"General André-François Bron de Bailly".
''FrenchEmpire.net: 1789 - 1815 military history''. Retrieved 15 January 2023. Bron is one of the 166 names inscribed on the Southern pillar (Avenue des Champs-Élysées/Avenue Kléber), in Column 30, of the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...

in Paris.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bron de Bailly, André François 1757 births 1847 deaths French generals French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars People from Vienne, Isère Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe