28:
158:, in 1802, to attempt to reassert French control over the colony. He returned to France in 1803, one of the few survivors, joining the new 40th Regiment of the Line, there had been yet another reorganisation of the infantry and his old unit the 49th Demi-Brigade had been amalgamated with the 24th Demi-Brigade to form a new larger 24th Regiment in his absence. He was further promoted to
89:
on 1 October 1791. He was a
Sergeant Major by the 15th of the month and promoted to Sous-Lieutenant on March 4, 1792. then Lieutenant on the 22 August 1792, and was made a Captain on October 6, 1792 a rapid rise in a year. During this year he was deployed on the borders of Switzerland; The 6th Jura
358:
personally leading the 1st/3rd
Chasseurs. They mounted the ridge and were met by intense fire from the British Foot Guards. This attack, which caused heavy losses in the ranks, was also fatal to General Michel. His body was not recovered and is buried with his comrades on the battle field. His name
313:
although he saw out the day, leading a counter attack that pushed back the
Prussians. He was still bedridden as a result of this injury, when the Allied armies approached Paris. At the noise of war, the General forgot his wound and reappeared, his arm in a sling, on March 30 before the walls of the
102:
on
October 1, 1795. The Demi-Brigade was then merged with the 93rd Demi-Brigade to become a new 49th Demi-Brigade in 1796, in a second major shake up of the French infantry, and assigned to the new Army of Germany when it is formed from the armies of 'Sambre and Meuse' and 'Rhine and Moselle' in
141:
he had his right arm broken by a shot. The Gallo-Batavian army having succeeded in forcing the
British/Russian forces to withdraw was moved into Germany in support of the fighting against Austria and Michel had recovered enough distinguish himself at the head of his battalion in the fighting at
97:
Michel was held for over two years and finally exchanged in June 1795. Meanwhile the 6th Jura
Volunteers along with the old Royal Army's 2nd Battalion of the 96th Regiment and 1st Haute-Vienne volunteers was formed into the 174th Demi-Brigade in October 1793 during a major overhaul of the
309:, he surprised the allies at St. Theobald, and despite the greater numbers available to them, pushed them south to St. Parres les Vaudes, away from Troyes. The main events of the Six Day's ended for Michel when he was again shot in the arm on February 11 at
271:
on June 24, 1811, and fought in the campaign of 1812 in
Russian. Again surviving the disastrous destruction of an expedition he returned to France. In 1813 Imperial France was fighting invasions on several fronts, Michel fought in Saxony as part of the
42:
army, eventually rose to second in command of the
Chasseur Division of the Imperial Guard and commander of the Brigade of the Middle Guard. He may actually be the officer who uttered the words often attributed to
482:
338:
Again in common with many officers and men of the army he defected back to
Napoleon upon his return from Elba. The Emperor raised him to Count of the Empire, and appointed him initially as commander of the 1st
98:
revolutionary armies fusing older royal units with the volunteer battalions in mixed regiment sized units. Michel joined this new unit which was attached to the Army of Sambre and Meuse. Soon promoted again to
487:
440:
497:
318:
he was again wounded, by grapeshot in the kidneys. However the fighting was in vain as Paris surrendered the following day and
Napoleon was forced into abdication.
193:, on 1 May 1806. He took up the post of Major in the 1st Grenadiers as everyone serving in the Guard was considered to be a rank above those in the line infantry.
154:
During the Consulate, with the temporary peace in Europe, France took stock of its colonial holdings. Michel was selected to join the disastrous expedition to
446:
326:
Upon the restoration in common with many officers of the Empire he was accepted into the service of the King and Louis XVIII named him as a Knight of the
492:
360:
305:
as a prelude to the main campaign, was hunting for the Allied vanguard commanded by the Prince of Lichtenstein. Supported by the dragoons of General
477:
439:
146:
broke the Austrians and ended the war. The 49th Demi-Brigade is attached to the 'Army of England' and moved to quarters around Cherbourg.
241:
162:, and so second in command, of the 40th Regiment of the Line on 22 November 1803. Then on March 25, 1804 he was made a member of the
126:
143:
49:
189:
earned him, on December 27, 1805, the rank of Colonel and his admission, and transfer to, the 1st Regiment of Grenadiers of the
393:
in June 1932 record that they may have been said by General Michel rather than Cambronne who himself denied having done so.
387:" ("The Guard dies, it does not surrender!") or the response may have been the more earthy "Merde!". Letters published in
211:
He was promoted to Colonel of the 1st Grenadiers of the Guard, on February 16, 1807, in recognition of his conduct at the
413:
130:
54:
427:
182:
82:
90:
Volunteers were moved to the army of the Rhine and Michel was taken prisoner by the Prussians on March 5, 1793 at
115:
137:, holding his positions at the end of the day, being slightly wounded towards the close of the battle. When the
432:
258:
212:
159:
138:
445:
285:
273:
134:
111:
315:
302:
197:
394:
298:
142:
Burgeberach north of Nuremberg and was there shot in the other arm. This battle along with the larger
472:
467:
327:
310:
254:
205:
186:
220:
125:
The Gallo-Batavian army provided much opportunity of action due to a combined British and Russian
355:
351:
190:
107:
99:
70:
262:
236:
224:
163:
91:
44:
27:
106:
Michel and the 49th Demi-Brigade was then part of the Gallo-Batavian army assembled in the
417:
364:
216:
306:
249:
177:
155:
461:
86:
17:
290:
267:
201:
196:
In March 1806 he married Margaret Maret (1784–1875) who was the daughter of Count
448:
Biographie des célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850
428:
http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/frenchguard/c_guardinf1.html
330:
on August 20, 1814, and granted him a commission of Colonel in the Royal Guard.
244:'. Now well on his way to becoming part of the new Imperial French aristocracy.
172:
410:
433:
https://web.archive.org/web/20110813112947/http://chasseurs.ru/regiment.html
395:
The Guard dies, it does not surrender. Cambronne surrenders, he does not die
389:
347:
he was placed as second in command of the Chasseur Division of the Guard.
39:
297:
In 1814 Michel was in command of the 2nd Old Guard Division during the
227:
ended the war with Russia and Prussia, shattering the Third Coalition.
66:
231:
314:
capital. Placed in command of a division of conscripts during the
26:
483:
French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
488:
French military personnel killed in the Napoleonic Wars
219:
where they were played a vital role. He fought at the
87:'6th battalion of volunteers from the Jura department'
383:
This retort to a request to surrender may have been "
122:
and exchanged by the British at the end of the year.
354:
on June 18, Michel was part of the final assault on
223:
again held in reserve, and left for Spain after the
200:, a politician and soon to be appointed to the army
81:During the French Revolution and the surrounding
38:(3 October 1772 – 18 June 1815), an officer in
240:for displaying great valour and the title of '
301:and by early February in the fighting around
8:
453:(in French). Paris: Poignavant et Compagnie.
361:engraved on column 10 of the northern pillar
234:on November 10, 1808 and was elevated to an
208:one of the Emperor Napoleon's secretaries.
498:Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
253:in 1809, and was present at the battles
171:The 40th was part of the 3rd Division of
376:
441:"Michel (Claude-Étienne, comte)"
247:Michel was recalled from Spain to the
409:, Vol 1 Cassell and Company: London.
288:on August 16 and finally promoted to
7:
385:La Garde meurt, elle ne se rend pas!
230:In the Peninsular War He fought at
25:
343:of the Old Guard. As part of the
282:Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur
493:People of the Battle of Waterloo
407:Battle of the nineteenth century
284:on April 6, was admitted to the
50:La Garde meurt et ne se rend pas
237:Officier de la Légion d'Honneur
57:dies, and does not surrender".
276:and was elevated again in the
1:
478:People from Jura (department)
185:and Michel's services at the
36:General Claude-Étienne Michel
215:where unused the Guard and
110:and took part in the rushed
131:War of the Second Coalition
514:
183:War of the Third Coalition
112:1798 expedition to Ireland
83:War of the First Coalition
438:Mullié, Charles (1852).
259:Battle of Aspern-Essling
213:Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
73:, the son of a surgeon.
286:Order of the Iron Crown
274:German Campaign of 1813
129:of the republic in the
32:
405:D.H. Parry (c. 1900)
31:Claude-Étienne Michel
30:
18:Claude-Etienne Michel
328:Order of Saint Louis
311:Battle of Montmirail
206:Hugues-Bernard Maret
198:Jean Philibert Maret
187:battle of Austerlitz
150:Consulate and Empire
291:Général de division
265:. He was appointed
242:Baron of the Empire
221:Battle of Friedland
85:he enlisted in the
65:Michel was born in
416:2008-12-16 at the
352:Battle of Waterloo
299:Six Days' Campaign
77:Revolutionary Wars
33:
268:Général d'Brigade
255:Battle of Eckmühl
133:and he fought at
108:Batavian Republic
100:Chef-de-Bataillon
16:(Redirected from
505:
454:
452:
443:
420:
403:
397:
381:
341:Chasseurs à Pied
294:on November 20.
278:Légion d'Honneur
263:Battle of Wagram
225:Treaty of Tilsit
165:Légion d'Honneur
139:fighting renewed
45:Pierre Cambronne
21:
513:
512:
508:
507:
506:
504:
503:
502:
458:
457:
437:
424:
423:
418:Wayback Machine
404:
400:
382:
378:
373:
371:Notes and Links
365:Arc de Triomphe
336:
324:
217:Battle of Eylau
204:, and niece of
175:V Corps of the
152:
116:captured at sea
79:
63:
23:
22:
15:
12:
11:
5:
511:
509:
501:
500:
495:
490:
485:
480:
475:
470:
460:
459:
456:
455:
435:
430:
422:
421:
398:
375:
374:
372:
369:
356:La Haye Sainte
335:
332:
323:
320:
191:Imperial Guard
156:Saint-Domingue
151:
148:
78:
75:
62:
59:
24:
14:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
510:
499:
496:
494:
491:
489:
486:
484:
481:
479:
476:
474:
471:
469:
466:
465:
463:
451:
449:
442:
436:
434:
431:
429:
426:
425:
419:
415:
412:
408:
402:
399:
396:
392:
391:
386:
380:
377:
370:
368:
366:
362:
357:
353:
348:
346:
345:Armée du Nord
342:
333:
331:
329:
321:
319:
317:
312:
308:
304:
300:
295:
293:
292:
287:
283:
279:
275:
270:
269:
264:
260:
256:
252:
251:
245:
243:
239:
238:
233:
228:
226:
222:
218:
214:
209:
207:
203:
199:
194:
192:
188:
184:
180:
179:
174:
169:
167:
166:
161:
157:
149:
147:
145:
140:
136:
132:
128:
123:
121:
117:
113:
109:
104:
101:
95:
93:
92:Rheindürkheim
88:
84:
76:
74:
72:
68:
60:
58:
56:
52:
51:
46:
41:
37:
29:
19:
447:
406:
401:
388:
384:
379:
349:
344:
340:
337:
334:Hundred Days
325:
307:André Briche
296:
289:
281:
277:
266:
250:Grande Armée
248:
246:
235:
229:
210:
202:Commissariat
195:
178:Grande Armée
176:
170:
164:
153:
124:
119:
105:
96:
80:
64:
48:
35:
34:
473:1815 deaths
468:1772 births
322:Restoration
181:during the
144:Hohenlinden
462:Categories
135:Schoorldam
40:Napoleon's
390:The Times
414:Archived
411:Waterloo
127:invasion
120:La Furie
114:but was
363:of the
350:At the
173:Lannes'
118:aboard
69:in the
67:Pointre
53:" "The
450:
316:battle
303:Troyes
232:Burgos
103:1797.
160:Major
55:Guard
261:and
71:Jura
61:Life
359:is
280:to
464::
444:.
367:.
257:,
168:.
94:.
47:"
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
