Antoine de Malet (in Spanish, Antonio Malet), Marquis of Coupigny (1761–1825) was a French-born Spanish military officer.

Early career

Having obtained Spanish nationality, Coupigny joined the

Spanish Royal Guard The Royal Guard () is an independent regiment of the Spanish Armed Forces that is dedicated to the protection of the King of Spain and members of the Spanish royal family. It is currently composed of 1,500 troops. While the Guard participates in ...

as a cadet in 1776 and was promoted to ''alférez'' that same year. In 1780 he was promoted to ''

alférez In medieval Iberia, an ''alférez'' (, ) or ''alferes'' (, ) was a high-ranking official in the household of a king or magnate. The term is derived from the Arabic ('' al-fāris''), meaning "knight" or "cavalier", and it was commonly Latinised ...

'' of Grenadiers. He saw action at the

Great Siege of Gibraltar The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Enlightenment in Spain, Spain and Kingdom of France, France to capture Gibraltar from the Kingdom of Great Britain, British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the largest ba ...

in 1781 and in the

War of the Pyrenees The War of the Pyrenees, also known as War of Roussillon or War of the Convention, was the Pyrenees, Pyrenean front of the First Coalition's war against the First French Republic. It pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of History ...

, where he was wounded. In 1781 he was promoted to second lieutenant, to lieutenant in 1786 and in 1796 to captain of the Royal Guards. In 1801, Coupigny participated in the

War of the Oranges The War of the Oranges (; ; ) was a brief conflict in 1801 in which Spanish forces, instigated by the government of France, and ultimately supported by the French military, invaded Portugal. The war resulted in the Treaty of Badajoz, the los ...

, seeing service at the sieges of

Olivenza Olivenza () or Olivença () is a town in southwestern Spain, close to the Portugal–Spain border. It is a municipality belonging to the province of Badajoz, and to the wider autonomous community of Extremadura. The town of Olivença was und ...

and Jurumenha. At the outbreak of the

War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition () was a European conflict lasting from 1805 to 1806 and was the first conflict of the Napoleonic Wars. During the war, First French Empire, France and French client republic, its client states under Napoleon I an ...

, in 1805, he was appointed commanding officer of

Campo de Gibraltar Campo de Gibraltar () is one of the six ''comarcas'' (county) in the province of Cádiz, Spain, in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, the southernmost part of mainland Europe. It comprises the municipalities of Algec ...

Peninsular War

In 1807, Coupigny led the vanguard of the Spanish division that invaded Portugal. Isabel Sánchez, José Luis
"Antoine de Malet".
''Diccionario Biográfico electrónico''.

Real Academia de la Historia The Royal Academy of History (, RAH) is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of c ...

. Retrieved 8 February 2023. In 1808 the Junta Suprema promoted Coupigny to field marshal and lieutenant general. Given the command of the 2nd Division of the Army of Andalusia, under General

Castaños Castaños is a city in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is ...

, Coupigny's troops, some 7,300 foot soldiers and 500 horse, Oman, Charles (1902)
''A History of the Peninsula War'', Vol. I.
''Project Gutenberg''. Retrieved 8 February 2023. made up the vanguard of the Spanish forces at the decisive

Battle of Bailén The Battle of Bailén was fought in 1808 between the Spanish Army's Army of Andalusia, under General Francisco Javier Castaños and the French Imperial Army's 2nd Gironde Observational Corps under Divisional-General Pierre Dupont de l'Étan ...

. He fought at Tudela (November 1808) and

Belchite Belchite is a municipality and town in the province of Zaragoza, Spain, about 40 km southeast of Zaragoza. It is the capital of Campo de Belchite ''comarca'' (administrative region) and is located in a plain surrounded by low hills, the high ...

(June 1809), being promoted to commander of the Royal Guard that same year. In January 1809, Coupigny commanded the 5,121 troops of the 1st Division of the Army of the Centre; battalions from his division participated at the defeat at

Uclés Uclés is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Cuenca, Castilla–La Mancha. The municipality spans across a total area of 64.61 km2 and, as of 1 January 2020, it has a registered population of 212. History The fortress and town w ...

(January 1809). Following the death of General Reding in April 1809, Coupigny took interim command of the Army of Catalonia, with only 6,000 men left from Reding's army. Oman, Charles (1908)
''A History of the Peninsular War, Sep. 1809-Dec. 1810'', Vol. 3.
''Project Gutenberg''. Retrieved 8 February 2023. In 1811 he commanded the 4th Army at La Albuera and, when Lapeña was relieved of command following the battle, Coupigny was given command of the Army of Andalusia. In 1812, Coupigny was appointed captain general of the Balearic Islands.

Post-war career

Following the 1817 ''

pronunciamento A is a form of military rebellion or coup d'état particularly associated with Spain, Portugal and Ibero-America, especially in the 19th century. Typology The is one category of praetorianism: the practice of military figures acting as poli ...

'' by generals Milans del Bosch and Luis de Lacy, Coupigny ordered Lacy's execution, which led to him having to abandon Mallorca and his post, in 1820, when the revolt led by

Rafael del Riego Rafael del Riego y Flórez (7 April 1784 – 7 November 1823) was a Spanish general and liberal politician who played a key role in the establishment of the Liberal Triennium (''Trienio liberal'' in Spanish). The failure of the Cádiz army to se ...

forced King Ferdinand VII to restore the 1812 Constitution, bringing about the

Trienio Liberal The , () or Three Liberal Years, was a period of three years in Spain between 1820 and 1823 when a liberal government ruled Spain after a military uprising in January 1820 by the lieutenant-colonel Rafael del Riego against the absolutist rule ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coupigny, Marquis of Spanish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars 1761 births 1825 deaths People from Arras French emigrants to Spain