Achille Fontanelli
Encyclopedia
Achille Fontanelli Italian nationalist, Napoleonic general and Earl.
With the arrival in Italy of Bonaparte's French army in 1796 he enrolled in the city Guard of Modena, then the following year transferred to one of the Bologna Cohorts of the Lombardy Legion, which became part of Lannes
brigade. In February he served against Colli
's forces in Romagna, and was at the capture of Ancona
. In mid June Bonaparte ordered an expedition against the Ionian islands. The Lombardy Legion had been split in two parts with the Transpadane Cohorts gathered under the name of the 3rd Legion. Taking temporary command of this unit Fontanelli led it in the capture of Corfu. In 1798 his command returned to central Italy and joined Lechi
for a joint march against Rome, however the Pope resigned before the invasion so the Legion remained in garrison at Pesaro
.
, serving at the action at Finale and retreating to Bologna, then to Pesaro, where, together with Pino
, he refused to participate in General Lahoz's decision to capitulate. Fontanelli instead marched the Legion to Ancona
, which was under blockade from a joint Turkish-Russian fleet led by admirals Wejnowich and Pastokhin. The Fontanelli column was welcome in the Citadel, but Fontanelli was arrested on suspicion of insubordination. The Cisalpine officers were however totally discharged, and attached to the Ancona garrison.
Following the eventual surrender of Ancona at the end of 1799 Fontanelli was repatriated to France, where in 1800 he was reassigned to command a light infantry battalion of the Legione Italica. At the head of this he followed Bonaparte in the crossing of the Alps
and the Marengo campaign.
to Napoleon, and was made General de Brigade, Count of the Empire, and Commander of the Legion d’Honneur in 1804. On 1st August 1805 Fontanelli was appointed commander of the Corps of Gardes Velites in the Italian Royal Guard under Pino, holding this post until 1811. In 1805-1806 he commanded the Italian division in Italy.
Promoted General de Division in 1809, he took command of the 2nd, later 1st Italian Division in the Army of Italy under Eugene
. Initially serving in the Tyrol campaign in April, his corps returned to Italy to fight at the Battle of Piave
8th May, Tarvis
17th, and at the Battle of Raab
14th June. After the Battle of Wagram
he was honoured as Count of the Empire, Grand Officer of the Legion d'Honneur
and Major general
in 1810. Appointed Aide de Camp to the King and Commander of the 1st Military Division at Milan, he was appointed Minister of the War and Navy of the Kingdom of Italy
from 1811 to 1814.
From 1813 he was charged of the reorganization of the Italian troops into 5 divisions. In Autumn 1813 he was given command of the 15th Division composed of four regiments and a divisional battery (Sant'Andrea and Moroni brigades) of Italians in IV Corps under Bertrand, replacing Peyri, and saw action at Gross Beeren 23rd August, Dennewitz
6th September, Wartenburg 3rd October and Leipzig
16-19 October. After Leipzig Fontanelli's division successfully held Lindenau
, allowing the remains of Napoleon's La Grande Armée
to reach France. After the Restoration he was given the rank of Austrian Feldmarschalleutnant, with which he retired to private life and died of bone cancer in autumn 1838 in Milan. The head of his funeral procession was led by the Austrian Field marshal Radetzky
.
Biography
Fontanelli was born in Modena on the 8th November 1775 to a minor Italian aristocratic family, son of Marquis Alfonso and Paolina Cervi. His parents died while he was young.With the arrival in Italy of Bonaparte's French army in 1796 he enrolled in the city Guard of Modena, then the following year transferred to one of the Bologna Cohorts of the Lombardy Legion, which became part of Lannes
Jean Lannes
Jean Lannes, 1st Duc de Montebello, was a Marshal of France. He was one of Napoleon's most daring and talented generals. Napoleon once commented on Lannes: "I found him a pygmy and left him a giant"...
brigade. In February he served against Colli
Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi
Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi, or Michele Angelo Alessandro Colli-Marchei or Michael Colli, joined the Austrian army, became a general officer, and led the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont for three years, including its unsuccessful campaign against Napoleon Bonaparte in...
's forces in Romagna, and was at the capture of Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
. In mid June Bonaparte ordered an expedition against the Ionian islands. The Lombardy Legion had been split in two parts with the Transpadane Cohorts gathered under the name of the 3rd Legion. Taking temporary command of this unit Fontanelli led it in the capture of Corfu. In 1798 his command returned to central Italy and joined Lechi
Giuseppe Lechi
Giuseppe Lechi , Italian general, jacobin and patriot.-Biography:Being the first son of Faustino Lechi and his wife Doralice Bielli, the general Giuseppe Lechi was already considered a man of great light and shadows , reckless and unscrupulous similar to his uncle the Count Galliano Lechi, who was...
for a joint march against Rome, however the Pope resigned before the invasion so the Legion remained in garrison at Pesaro
Pesaro
Pesaro is a town and comune in the Italian region of the Marche, capital of the Pesaro e Urbino province, on the Adriatic. According to the 2007 census, its population was 92,206....
.
War of the Second Coalition 1799-1800
In 1799, the Lombardy Legion evolved into the 3rd Cisalpine demi-brigade. After the renewed outbreak of hostilities Fontanelli marched towards Ferrara and Verona under MontrichardJoseph Hélie Désiré Perruquet de Montrichard
Joseph Hélie Désiré Perruquet de Montrichard was a French general of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. His name is inscribed on the north side of the Arc de Triomphe....
, serving at the action at Finale and retreating to Bologna, then to Pesaro, where, together with Pino
Domenico Pino
Domenico Pino was an Italian soldier. He served as General of Division in Napoleon's Grande Armée.-Biography:...
, he refused to participate in General Lahoz's decision to capitulate. Fontanelli instead marched the Legion to Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
, which was under blockade from a joint Turkish-Russian fleet led by admirals Wejnowich and Pastokhin. The Fontanelli column was welcome in the Citadel, but Fontanelli was arrested on suspicion of insubordination. The Cisalpine officers were however totally discharged, and attached to the Ancona garrison.
Following the eventual surrender of Ancona at the end of 1799 Fontanelli was repatriated to France, where in 1800 he was reassigned to command a light infantry battalion of the Legione Italica. At the head of this he followed Bonaparte in the crossing of the Alps
Napoleon Crossing the Alps
Napoleon Crossing the Alps is the title given to the five versions of an oil on canvas equestrian portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte painted by the French artist Jacques-Louis David between 1801 and 1805...
and the Marengo campaign.
Napoleonic Wars
In 1802 he served as an Aide-de-campAide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to Napoleon, and was made General de Brigade, Count of the Empire, and Commander of the Legion d’Honneur in 1804. On 1st August 1805 Fontanelli was appointed commander of the Corps of Gardes Velites in the Italian Royal Guard under Pino, holding this post until 1811. In 1805-1806 he commanded the Italian division in Italy.
Promoted General de Division in 1809, he took command of the 2nd, later 1st Italian Division in the Army of Italy under Eugene
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Prince Français, Prince of Venice, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy, Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfurt, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg and 1st Prince of Eichstätt ad personam was the first child and only son of Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la...
. Initially serving in the Tyrol campaign in April, his corps returned to Italy to fight at the Battle of Piave
Battle of Piave River (1809)
The Battle of Piave River was fought on 8 May 1809 between the Franco-Italian army under the command of Eugène de Beauharnais and an Austrian army led by Archduke John of Austria. The Austrian commander made a stand behind the Piave River but he suffered a defeat at the hands of his numerically...
8th May, Tarvis
Battle of Tarvis (1809)
The Battle of Tarvis from 16 to 17 May 1809, the Storming of the Malborghetto Blockhouse from 15 to 17 May 1809, and the Storming of the Predil Blockhouse from 15 to 18 May saw the Franco-Italian army of Eugène de Beauharnais attacking Austrian Empire forces under Albert Gyulai...
17th, and at the Battle of Raab
Battle of Raab
The Battle of Raab was fought on 14 June 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars, between Franco-Italian forces and Austrian-Hungarian forces. The battle was fought near Győr in Hungary and ended in a Franco-Italian victory...
14th June. After the Battle of Wagram
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram was the decisive military engagement of the War of the Fifth Coalition. It took place on the Marchfeld plain, on the north bank of the Danube. An important site of the battle was the village of Deutsch-Wagram, 10 kilometres northeast of Vienna, which would give its name to the...
he was honoured as Count of the Empire, Grand Officer of the Legion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
and Major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
in 1810. Appointed Aide de Camp to the King and Commander of the 1st Military Division at Milan, he was appointed Minister of the War and Navy of the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state founded in Northern Italy by Napoleon, fully influenced by revolutionary France, that ended with his defeat and fall.-Constitutional statutes:...
from 1811 to 1814.
From 1813 he was charged of the reorganization of the Italian troops into 5 divisions. In Autumn 1813 he was given command of the 15th Division composed of four regiments and a divisional battery (Sant'Andrea and Moroni brigades) of Italians in IV Corps under Bertrand, replacing Peyri, and saw action at Gross Beeren 23rd August, Dennewitz
Battle of Dennewitz
The Battle of Dennewitz took place on 6 September 1813 between the forces of the First French Empire and an army of Prussians and Russians of the Sixth Coalition. It occurred in Dennewitz, a village of Germany, in the Prussian province of Brandenburg, near Jüterbog, 40 km. S.W...
6th September, Wartenburg 3rd October and Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
16-19 October. After Leipzig Fontanelli's division successfully held Lindenau
Lindenau
Lindenau is a municipality in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in southern Brandenburg, Germany. Since 1992, it is part of the Amt of Ortrand....
, allowing the remains of Napoleon's La Grande Armée
La Grande Armée
The Grande Armée first entered the annals of history when, in 1805, Napoleon I renamed the army that he had assembled on the French coast of the English Channel for the proposed invasion of Britain...
to reach France. After the Restoration he was given the rank of Austrian Feldmarschalleutnant, with which he retired to private life and died of bone cancer in autumn 1838 in Milan. The head of his funeral procession was led by the Austrian Field marshal Radetzky
Joseph Radetzky von Radetz
Johann Josef Wenzel Graf Radetzky von Radetz was a Czech nobleman and Austrian general, immortalised by Johann Strauss I's Radetzky March...
.