Baron Emmanuel Felix de Wimpffen (13 September 181126 February 1884) was a French soldier and general.

Biography

A member of the Wimpffen family, de Wimpffen was born in

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The Ancient Diocese of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held s ...

, the

illegitimate son Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

of Baron Félix Victor Charles Emmanuel de Wimpffen by Cornélie Bréda. His father was a general in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

who had been created a

Baron of the Empire As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles in a newly established ' (imperial nobility) to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution. Like many others, both befo ...

in 1810. In 1836 he was recognized by his father. Entering the army from the military school of Saint-Cyr, he saw considerable active service in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, and in 1840 became captain; in 1847 ''chef de bataillon''. He first earned marked distinction in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

as colonel of a

Turco-Persian The composite Turko-Persian, Turco-Persian,
''Turko-Persia in historical perspective'', Cambridge University Press, ...

regiment, and his conduct at the storm of the Mamelon won him the grade of general of brigade. In the campaign of 1859 he was with General MacMahon at the

battle of Magenta The Battle of Magenta was fought on 4 June 1859 near the town of Magenta in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, a crown land of the Austrian Empire, during the Second Italian War of Independence. It resulted in a French-Sardinian victory under ...

at the head of a brigade of Guard Infantry, and again won promotion on the battlefield. Between this campaign and the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, he was mainly employed in Algeria, and was not at first given a command in the ill-fated

Army of the Rhine An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. But when the earlier battles revealed incapacity in the commander of the 5th corps, De Wimpffen was ordered to take it over, and was given a dormant commission appointing him to command the

Army of Châlons The Army of Châlons () was a French military formation that fought during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Formed in the camp of Châlons on August 17, 1870, from elements of the Army of the Rhine which the formation was issued from, the Army of ...

in case of Marshal MacMahon's disablement. He only arrived at the front in time to rally the fugitives of the 5th Corps, beaten at Beaumont, and to march them to Sedan. In the disastrous

Battle of Sedan The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Napoleon III, Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and ...

on the first of September, MacMahon was soon wounded, and the senior officer, General Ducrot, assumed the command. Ducrot was beginning to withdraw the troops when Wimpffen produced his commission and countermanded the orders. In consequence it fell to him to negotiate the surrender of the whole French army. After his release from captivity, he lived in retirement at

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, and died at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1884. His later years were occupied with polemical discussions on the surrender of Sedan, the responsibility for which was laid upon him. He wrote, amongst other works, ''Sedan'' (1871), ''La Situation de la France, et les reformes necessaires'' (1873) and ''La Nation armée'' (1875).

References

External links

* http://www.wimpffen.hu/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20110719132951/http://www.wimpffen.dk/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Wimpffen, Emmanuel Felix de 1811 births 1884 deaths People from Laon French generals Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Emmanuel Felix French barons