Jacques Léonard Muller (11 December 1749 – 1 October 1824) commanded the '' Army of the Western Pyrenees'' and the '' Army of the Rhine'' during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

. He was a product of the

French Royal Army The French Royal Army (french: Armée Royale Française) was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon Dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude ...

which he joined in 1765. He became a

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 1791 and soon formed a unit from the disbanded Swiss regiments of the old army. He fought at

Jemappes Jemappes (; in older texts also: ''Jemmapes''; wa, Djumape) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Mons, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It was a municipality until the fusion of the Belgian municipalities in 1 ...

and then transferred to the War Office. Promoted to general officer in July 1793 he was appointed chief of staff to the ''Army of the Pyrenees''. In October 1793 he assumed command of that army despite being outranked by ten other generals. He immediately set about providing a good organization for his motley host. A major Spanish attack on the Sans Culottes Camp was repulsed in February 1794. Muller was finally promoted to

general of division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corp ...

in April 1794. In July and August his army captured the

Baztan Valley The Baztan ( eu, Baztan, es, Baztán) is a river in northern Spain. It is the main, right headwater of the river Bidasoa. Downstream from the confluence with the river Marin at Oronoz-Mugairi Oronoz-Mugairi (Spanish: ''Oronoz-Mugaire'') is a v ...

and San Sebastián. He soon resigned his command and was replaced by Bon-Adrien Jeannot de Moncey. He transferred to the '' Army of the Alps'' as a division commander. In 1799 while he led the ''Army of the Rhine'', he was beaten at

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

but he successfully lured the Austrians away from Switzerland. He served in various non-combat posts during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

and died in 1824. His surname is one of the

names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe The following is a list of the 660 names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris. Most of them represent generals who served during the French First Republic (1792–1804) and the First French Empire (1804–1815). Underlined names signify th ...

, on Column 33.

References

* * * * French generals Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars People from Thionville 1749 births 1824 deaths Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe {{mil-hist-stub