Géraud Christophe Michel Duroc (; born du Roc; 25 October 1772 – 23 May 1813), Duke of Frioul, was a French general and diplomat who fought 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

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. He was noted for his friendship with

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, who appointed him as the first Grand marshal of the palace, the head of the Emperor's military household. He is sometimes referred to as ‘Napoleon's shadow’ (''l'ombre de Napoléon'' in French).

Early life and education

Duroc was born in

Pont-à-Mousson Pont-à-Mousson () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Its inhabitants are known as ''Mussipontains'' in French. It is an industrial town (mainly steel industry), situated on the river Moselle. Pont-à-Mou ...

on 25 October 1772, to a family of the '' noblesse de robe'' from Gévaudan. His father, Claude du Roc, was a former captain of the

dragoons 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 ...

who had retired to Pont-à-Mousson due to

hearing loss Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spo ...

. Duroc entered the local military school in 1781, where he studied for eight years. He then entered the School of Artillery of Châlons as a second lieutenant, in March 1792. Around this time, he removed the

nobiliary particle A nobiliary particle is a type of onomastic particle used in a surname or family name in many Western cultures to signal the nobility of a family. The particle used varies depending on the country, language and period of time. In some languages, it ...

''de'' from his surname (changing it to ''Duroc''), in the context of the French Revolution. As a member of the nobility, Duroc opposed the new revolutionary government of France. In July 1792, he left the artillery school to become an '' emigré'' soldier in the counter-revolutionary

Army of Condé The Army of Condé () was a French field army during the French Revolutionary Wars. One of several Émigré armies of the French Revolutionary Wars, émigré field armies, it was the only one to survive the War of the First Coalition; others had b ...

, at the start of the Revolutionary Wars. He soon changed his mind, however, and after the

Battle of Valmy The Battle of Valmy, also known as the Cannonade of Valmy, was the first major victory by the army of Kingdom of France (1791–92), France during the French Revolutionary Wars, Revolutionary Wars that followed the French Revolution. The battl ...

Duroc deserted the royalist army. Along with two other deserters, he was arrested by the French in Fresnes-en-Woëvre following the battle, and in March 1793 he was allowed to return to Châlons and finish his education.

Revolutionary Wars

Duroc joined the

French Revolutionary Army The French Revolutionary Army () was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1802. In the beginning, the French armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipment and their great nu ...

on 1 June 1793, being assigned lieutenant '' en seconde'' of the 4th Foot Artillery Regiment, and advanced steadily in the service. Captain Duroc became '' aide-de-camp'' to

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

in 1796, and distinguished himself at Isonzo, Brenta and Gradisca in the Italian campaigns of 1796-1797. He served in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and was seriously wounded at the Battle of Abukir. His devotion to Napoleon was rewarded by complete confidence. He became first ''aide-de-camp'' (1798), general of brigade (1800) then governor of the

Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace (, ) was a palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine, directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace. It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henri IV to Napoleon III, until it was b ...

. After the

Battle of Marengo The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy. Near the end of the day, the French overcame General ...

, Duroc was sent on missions to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Napoleonic Wars

As Grand Marshal of the Palace, Duroc was responsible for the measures taken to secure Napoleon's personal safety, whether in France or on his campaigns, and he directed the minutest details of the imperial household. After the

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV French Republican calendar, FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near t ...

, where he commanded the

grenadiers A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when ...

in the absence of General Oudinot, he was employed in a series of important negotiations with

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

, with the elector of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

(December 1806), in the incorporation of certain states in the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austrian Empire, Austria ...

, and in the conclusion of the armistice of

Znaim Znojmo (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian Region. The hi ...

(July 1809). In 1808, he was created Duke of Frioul (''Duc de Frioul''): his duchy was made '' duché grand-fief'' for his widow in 1813, a rare - but nominal - hereditary honour (extinguished in 1829), created in Napoleon's own

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

. In 1813, after the Russian campaign he was appointed to the ''

Sénat conservateur The (, "Conservative Senate") was an advisory body established in France during the French Consulate, Consulate following the French Revolution. It was established in 1799 under the Constitution of the Year VIII following the Napoleon Bonapa ...

'' as a senator. Death of Duroc

After the Battle of Bautzen (20–21 May 1813), 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 ...

made a slow pursuit of Allied forces. At the Battle of Reichenbach on 22 May 1813, a cannonball ricocheted off a tree-trunk, hit Duroc in the stomach, tore open his belly and spilled out his intestines in a gory mess over uniform, saddle and horse,Frank McLynn, ''Napoleon: A Biography.'', p. 555. which Napoleon witnessed. Whilst Duroc lay dying inside a farmhouse, he requested Napoleon's presence where he apologised to the Emperor for not being able to serve him further, asked him to be a father to his daughter, and then requested him to withdraw so that he was not present at the moment of death.Frank McLynn, p. 555. Alternatively, Napoleon claimed in later life that "when his bowels were falling out before my eyes, he repeatedly cried to me to have him put out of his misery. I told him: 'I feel pity for you, my friend, but there is no remedy but to suffer till the end.'" Napoleon bought the farm and erected a monument to his memory.

Legacy

Duroc's remains were moved in 1847 to be buried in the

Hôtel des Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides (; ), commonly called (; ), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and an old soldi ...

, in Paris. His name is inscribed on the Eastern pillar 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 ...

, on column 15. The metro station Duroc of the

Paris Métro The Paris Métro (, , or , ), short for Métropolitain (), is a rapid transit system serving the Paris metropolitan area in France. A symbol of the city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform architectur ...

is named after him.

References

* - which names as chief source for Durocs biography the '' Moniteur Universel'' (French official state periodical - 31 May 1797, 24 October 1798, 30 May 1813, &c.).
Heraldica.org - Napoleonic heraldry
* An Historical Inquiry into the Principal Circumstances and Events relative to the late Emperor Napoleon in which are investigated The Charges Brought against the Government and conduct of that Eminent Individual, by Barclay Mounteney, Effingham Wilson, London, 1824, pg 168 {{DEFAULTSORT:Duroc, Geraud 1772 births 1813 deaths People from Pont-à-Mousson Grand Marshals of the Palace Dukes of the First French Empire French military personnel killed in the Napoleonic Wars 19th-century French diplomats French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Members of the Sénat conservateur Ambassadors of France to Prussia Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe 18th-century French nobility Deaths by cannonball