Prince Louis Napoléon Achille Charles Murat (25 August 1872 – 14 June 1943), also known as Napoléon Akhilovich Murat (in Russian: Наполеон Ахилович Мюрат), was a French-Georgian

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

. A member of the

House of Murat A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

and direct descendant of

Caroline Bonaparte Carolina Maria Annunziata Bonaparte ( French: ''Caroline Marie Annunciata Bonaparte''; 25 March 1782 – 18 May 1839), better known as Caroline Bonaparte, was an Imperial French princess; the seventh child and third daughter of Carlo Buonaparte ...

, sister of

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 ...

, he was first commissioned 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 ...

but spent most of his military career in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

, rising to the rank of major general.

Personal life

Murat was born on 25 August 1872 in

Brunoy Brunoy () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The tenor Louis Nourrit (1780–1831) died in Brunoy. The city has a church Saint-Medard, richly decorated in the Lo ...

, France, the second child of Charles Louis Napoléon Achille Murat of the

, and

Salome Dadiani Princess Salomé Dadiani ( ka, სალომე დადიანი; 13 October 1848 – 23 July 1913) was a Georgians, Georgian princess, the only sister of Niko I Dadiani, Prince of Megrelia, Niko Dadiani, the last Mtavari, Prince of Samegre ...

, Georgian princess of

Mingrelia Mingrelia or Samegrelo ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr ; ) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelians, a subgroup of Georgians. Geography and climate Mingr ...

and member of the

House of Dadiani The House of Dadiani ( ka, დადიანი ), later known as the House of Dadiani-Chikovani, was a Georgia (country), Georgian family of nobles, dukes and princes, and a ruling dynasty of the western Georgian province of Principality of Ming ...

. He was a great-grandson of

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also ; ; ; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French Army officer and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the ...

King of Naples The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first Sicilian Vespers, separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501) House of Anjou ...

and 1st

Prince Murat Prince Murat is a Nobility of the First French Empire, French princely title that traces its origin back to 1804, when Emperor Napoleon granted the rank of Nobility of the First French Empire#Princes, ''prince français'' to his brother-in-law Jo ...

, and great-grandnephew of

. He moved to his mother's native Georgia around 1904. Having returned to France in the early 1920s following Georgia's annexation by the Soviet Union and installation of a

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

regime in the country, he lived in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

. He died on 14 June 1943. He never married.

Military career

Murat began his military career in the

in 1891, and attended the

Saumur Cavalry School Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur sta ...

. He served with the 25th Dragoon Regiment during the French conquest of Madagascar, where it was mistakenly reported that he had died from

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

. He became a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1899 when he was with the 14th Hussars Regiment, and later joined the 9th Cuirassier Regiment. Laws passed in France in the early 1900s meant that, as a member of a former ruling house, his opportunities for progression within the French Army became limited and he resigned his commission. Murat left France and joined the

, where he was commissioned as

with the 2nd Dagestan Cavalry Regiment. He saw action in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

, during which time he was shot in the head and neck; he was decorated for his bravery. Following the war, he served as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and later lieutenant colonel in the

Life Guard Horse Regiment The Life Guard Horse Regiment () was a cavalry regiment of the Imperial guard of Russian Empire. The regiment was founded in the reign of Peter the Great and was disbanded after the October Revolution in 1917. Its annual feast day was 25 March. ...

before becoming a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

instructor at the in

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 ...

. During this time he gained a reputation as a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

ist. In 1912, Murat resigned from the Russian Army to command a force of volunteers and

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

under the flag of Bulgaria during the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

. After spending time in Argentina, where he bred horses for an oil tycoon, he rejoined the Imperial Russian Army at the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, commanding the Ingush Regiment of the Caucasian Native Cavalry Division, also known as the Savage or Wild Division. Fighting in the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains ...

, he suffered severe

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when someone is exposed to extremely low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occ ...

to his legs, that ultimately resulted in double amputation some years later. He also commanded the 12th Dragoon Regiment Starodubovskogo and served in the

Ministry of War Ministry of War may refer to: * Ministry of War (imperial China) ( 600–1912) * Chinese Republic Ministry of War (1912–1946) * Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria) (1808–1919) * Ministry of War (Brazil) (1815–1999) * Ministry of War (Esto ...

. He rose to the rank of major general. During the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

he fought with the

White Armies The White movement,. The old spelling was retained by the Whites to differentiate from the Reds. also known as the Whites, was one of the main factions of the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922. It was led mainly by the right-leaning and conserva ...

. Among his many honours, he was awarded the Cross of St. George and was appointed to the

Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus'. Grades The order had four ...

, 3rd class with swords, the Order of St. Anna, and the Order of St. Stanislaus. In 1928, he was appointed a chevalier of

Legion d'Honneur 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. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

Equestrian

In May and June 1900, Murat competed in four equestrian events during the International Horse Show in Paris. The events were part of the Exposition Universelle, and later classified as part of the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

. He won first prize in the hacks and hunter combined event with his horse, ''The General''. He also competed in the obstacle jumping,

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

events. He finished fourth in the long jump on ''Bayard'', and was part of a jump off for third place in the high jump on ''Arcadius''.

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murat, Louis Napoleon Achille Charles 1872 births 1943 deaths Murat family French Army officers Imperial Russian major generals Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna Recipients of the Cross of St. George French duellists French people of Georgian descent French male equestrians Olympic equestrians for France Equestrians at the 1900 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Essonne Olympic gold medalists for France Olympic medalists in equestrian Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I 20th-century French sportsmen