Claude-Étienne Guyot
Encyclopedia
Claude-Étienne Guyot, count of the Empire
, (1768 – 1837) was a French general of the French Revolutionary Wars
and Napoleonic Wars
, noted for commanding cavalry.
, he subsequently served in the Army of the Rhine and of the Moselle
, then in the Vendée
, in Italy and in Germany, during the French Revolutionary Wars
. In 1802 he became a captain of the first Regiment of chasseurs-à-cheval of the Consular Guard.
with the Grande Armée, holding the rank of squadron commander in the Guard chasseurs-à-cheval regiment and being noted for bravery at the Austerlitz
and Eylau
. He fought at the minor Battle of Waren-Nossentin
on 1 November 1806. A colonel in the Imperial Guard in 1807, he was created a baron of the Empire the next year and given a position in Lefebvre-Desnouettes
's Guard light cavalry, commanding the Emperor
's escort during the latter's brief campaign in Spain
. In 1809, after the bloody battle of Aspern-Essling
, Guyot was given the function of colonel commander of the Guard chasseurs-à-cheval and six weeks later he led a famous charge at the battle of Wagram
. This action would bring him the rank of brigadier general
. A Chamberlain
of Emperor Napoleon I
from March 1810, he was subsequently sent to Spain, where he won a promotion to general of division in 1811. During the Russian campaign
and subsequent War of the Sixth Coalition
, Guyot would serve as commander of the Guard chasseurs-à-cheval. In the 1813 campaign in Saxony
, he was wounded at the battle of Lützen
and led a brilliant charge at the battle of Bautzen
, before being made prisoner at the battle of Kulm
, in August. Released after an exchange of prisoners, Guyot took part to the epic battle of Leipzig
, before being created a count of the Empire in November of that year. The 1814 campaign in France saw general Guyot at the heart of the action, commanding cavalry at La Rothière
, Champaubert
and Craonne
.
. After the battle of Vauchamps
, Guyot left the Guard horse artillery company that was attached to his division in an advanced position, with orders to join him in a precise location at nightfall. Guyot did not leave behind a cavalry escort and a guide, which resulted in the artillery company being ambushed that night, with the loss of some cannon and an entire platoon, killed or prisoner. These facts were immediately reported to the colonel commander of the Guard horse artillery, but nobody dared to inform Emperor
Napoleon
. Eventually, Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre
was also informed and he went to the Emperor with the bad news. The Emperor immediately demanded a complete briefing and, upon hearing that the artillery company in question was under Guyot's command, he sent for him at once. Seeing Guyot, Napoleon aggressively criticized him for the incident and, after Guyot attempted to put the blame on the artillery company captain, Napoleon began a furious rant, blaming Guyot for the defeat at Brienne
and for his failure to protect the artillery during this battle. He went on to criticize him for the fact that the Guard cavalry was always absent when needed, that it was not present to defend its Emperor on several occasions, including at Champaubert
. Napoleon then axed Guyot on the spot and turned to his commander, General Etienne de Nansouty
, telling him to notify General Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans
that he had been appointed at the head of the Guard heavy cavalry, in replacement of Guyot.
After Napoleon's abdication
, Guyot was named commander of the 'Royal Corps of Cuirassiers', formerly Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale
. Nevertheless, during the Hundred Days
, Guyot rallied to Napoleon's cause and he was again given the command of the Guard heavy cavalry
division, at the head of which he charged at Waterloo
, where he was wounded twice. After the fall of the Empire, he was placed on the retired list at his own request, returning to active service briefly between 1830 and 1833 to command the 10th military division.
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
, (1768 – 1837) was a French general of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, noted for commanding cavalry.
Early career during the Revolutionary Wars
Joining the army in November 1790 as a mere trooper of the chasseurs-à-cheval of BrittanyBrittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, he subsequently served in the Army of the Rhine and of the Moselle
Army of the Moselle
The Army of the Moselle was a French Revolutionary Army. Originally known as the Armée du Centre, it was renamed by decree of the National Convention on 1 October 1792 and kept under that name in the decrees of 1 March and 30 April 1793...
, then in the Vendée
Vendée
The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...
, in Italy and in Germany, during the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
. In 1802 he became a captain of the first Regiment of chasseurs-à-cheval of the Consular Guard.
Napoleonic Wars
Guyot took part to the Wars of the Third and Fourth CoalitionWar of the Fourth Coalition
The Fourth Coalition against Napoleon's French Empire was defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. Coalition partners included Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and the United Kingdom....
with the Grande Armée, holding the rank of squadron commander in the Guard chasseurs-à-cheval regiment and being noted for bravery at the Austerlitz
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
and Eylau
Battle of Eylau
The Battle of Eylau or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, 7 and 8 February 1807, was a bloody and inconclusive battle between Napoléon's Grande Armée and a Russian Empire army under Levin August, Count von Bennigsen near the town of Preußisch Eylau in East Prussia. Late in the battle, the Russians...
. He fought at the minor Battle of Waren-Nossentin
Battle of Waren-Nossentin
The Battle of Waren-Nossentin on 1 November 1806 saw soldiers of the Kingdom of Prussia led by August Wilhelm von Pletz and Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg fight a rear guard action against troops of the First French Empire commanded by Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte...
on 1 November 1806. A colonel in the Imperial Guard in 1807, he was created a baron of the Empire the next year and given a position in Lefebvre-Desnouettes
Charles, comte Lefebvre-Desnouettes
Charles, comte Lefebvre-Desnouettes or Lefèbvre-Desnoëttes became a French officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and a general during the Napoleonic Wars...
's Guard light cavalry, commanding the Emperor
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
's escort during the latter's brief campaign in Spain
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
. In 1809, after the bloody battle of Aspern-Essling
Battle of Aspern-Essling
In the Battle of Aspern-Essling , Napoleon attempted a forced crossing of the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were driven back by the Austrians under Archduke Charles...
, Guyot was given the function of colonel commander of the Guard chasseurs-à-cheval and six weeks later he led a famous charge at 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...
. This action would bring him the rank of brigadier general
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
. A Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
of Emperor Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
from March 1810, he was subsequently sent to Spain, where he won a promotion to general of division in 1811. During the Russian campaign
Russian Campaign
The Russian campaign may refer to:* the Russian Campaign of Napoleon in 1812 * the World War II on the Eastern Front * The Russian Campaign, a strategic board wargame of the World War II on the Eastern Front 1941-1945....
and subsequent War of the Sixth Coalition
War of the Sixth Coalition
In the War of the Sixth Coalition , a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and a number of German States finally defeated France and drove Napoleon Bonaparte into exile on Elba. After Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, the continental powers...
, Guyot would serve as commander of the Guard chasseurs-à-cheval. In the 1813 campaign in Saxony
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
, he was wounded at the battle of Lützen
Battle of Lützen (1813)
In the Battle of Lützen , Napoleon I of France lured a combined Prussian and Russian force into a trap, halting the advances of the Sixth Coalition after his devastating losses in Russia. The Russian commander, Prince Peter Wittgenstein, attempting to undo Napoleon's capture of Leipzig, attacked...
and led a brilliant charge at the battle of Bautzen
Battle of Bautzen
In the Battle of Bautzen a combined Russian/Prussian army was pushed back by Napoleon, but escaped destruction, some sources claim, because Michel Ney failed to block their retreat...
, before being made prisoner at the battle of Kulm
Battle of Kulm
The Battle of Kulm was a battle near the town Kulm and the village Přestanov in northern Bohemia. It was fought on 29–30 August 1813, during the War of the Sixth Coalition...
, in August. Released after an exchange of prisoners, Guyot took part to the epic battle of 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...
, before being created a count of the Empire in November of that year. The 1814 campaign in France saw general Guyot at the heart of the action, commanding cavalry at La Rothière
Battle of La Rothiere
The Battle of La Rothière was fought on 1 February 1814 between the French Empire and allied army of Austria, Prussia, Russia, and German States previously allies with France. The French were led by Emperor Napoleon and the coalition army was under the command of Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher...
, Champaubert
Battle of Champaubert
The Battle of Champaubert was the opening engagement of the Six Days Campaign. It was fought on February 10, 1814 by a French force under Napoleon I against Russians and Prussians under General Olssufiev...
and Craonne
Battle of Craonne
The Battle of Craonne was fought on March 7, 1814, and resulted in a French victory under Napoleon I against Russians and Prussians under General Blücher.Craonne is a village on the Chemin des Dames, in the département of Aisne....
.
1814 incident and beyond
In February 1814, General Guyot suffered a career-threatening incident, while he was commanding the Imperial Guard heavy cavalryHeavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry is a class of cavalry whose primary role was to engage in direct combat with enemy forces . Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the region and historical period, they were generally mounted on large powerful horses, and were often equipped with some form of scale,...
. After the battle of Vauchamps
Battle of Vauchamps
The Battle of Vauchamps, the final major engagement of the Six Days Campaign of the War of the Sixth Coalition, was fought on 14 February 1814...
, Guyot left the Guard horse artillery company that was attached to his division in an advanced position, with orders to join him in a precise location at nightfall. Guyot did not leave behind a cavalry escort and a guide, which resulted in the artillery company being ambushed that night, with the loss of some cannon and an entire platoon, killed or prisoner. These facts were immediately reported to the colonel commander of the Guard horse artillery, but nobody dared to inform Emperor
Emperor of the French
The Emperor of the French was the title used by the Bonaparte Dynasty starting when Napoleon Bonaparte was given the title Emperor on 18 May 1804 by the French Senate and was crowned emperor of the French on 02 December 1804 at the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, in Paris with the Crown of...
Napoleon
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
. Eventually, Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre
François Joseph Lefebvre
François Joseph Lefebvre, First Duc de Dantzig was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and one of the original eighteen Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon....
was also informed and he went to the Emperor with the bad news. The Emperor immediately demanded a complete briefing and, upon hearing that the artillery company in question was under Guyot's command, he sent for him at once. Seeing Guyot, Napoleon aggressively criticized him for the incident and, after Guyot attempted to put the blame on the artillery company captain, Napoleon began a furious rant, blaming Guyot for the defeat at Brienne
Battle of Brienne
The Battle of Brienne was fought on January 29, 1814, and resulted in the victory of Emperor Napoleon I's French forces over the Russian and Prussian forces commanded by the Prussian Generalfeldmarschall Prince von Blücher....
and for his failure to protect the artillery during this battle. He went on to criticize him for the fact that the Guard cavalry was always absent when needed, that it was not present to defend its Emperor on several occasions, including at Champaubert
Battle of Champaubert
The Battle of Champaubert was the opening engagement of the Six Days Campaign. It was fought on February 10, 1814 by a French force under Napoleon I against Russians and Prussians under General Olssufiev...
. Napoleon then axed Guyot on the spot and turned to his commander, General Etienne de Nansouty
Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty
Count Étienne-Marie-Antoine-Champion de Nansouty was a French cavalry commander during the French Revolutionary Wars who rose to the rank of General of Division in 1803 and subsequently held important military commands during the Napoleonic Wars. Of noble Burgundian descent, he was a student at...
, telling him to notify General Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans
Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans
Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans, 1st Comte Exelmans was a distinguished French soldier of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as well as a political figure of the following period.-Early career:...
that he had been appointed at the head of the Guard heavy cavalry, in replacement of Guyot.
After Napoleon's abdication
Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814)
The Treaty of Fontainebleau was an agreement established in Fontainebleau on 11 April 1814 between Napoleon Bonaparte and representatives from Austria, Hungary and Bohemia , as well as Russia and Prussia. The treaty was signed at Paris on 11 April by the plenipotentiaries of both sides, and...
, Guyot was named commander of the 'Royal Corps of Cuirassiers', formerly Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale
Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale
The Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale constituted a heavy cavalry regiment in the Consular, then Imperial Guard during the French Consulate and First French Empire respectively...
. Nevertheless, during the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
, Guyot rallied to Napoleon's cause and he was again given the command of the Guard heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry is a class of cavalry whose primary role was to engage in direct combat with enemy forces . Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the region and historical period, they were generally mounted on large powerful horses, and were often equipped with some form of scale,...
division, at the head of which he charged at Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, where he was wounded twice. After the fall of the Empire, he was placed on the retired list at his own request, returning to active service briefly between 1830 and 1833 to command the 10th military division.
Sources
Fierro, Alfredo; Palluel-Guillard, André; Tulard, Jean - "Histoire et Dictionnaire du Consulat et de l'Empire”, Éditions Robert Laffont, ISBN 2-221-05858-5- Smith, DigbyDigby SmithDigby Smith is a British military historian. The son of a British career soldier, he was born in Hampshire, England, but spent several years in India and Pakistan as a child and youth. As a "boy soldier," he entered training in the British Army at the age of 16...
. The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill Books, 1998. ISBN 1-85367-276-9 Thoumas, Charles A. -"Les grands cavaliers du Premier Empire", Série II, Ellibron Classics http://books.google.com/books?id=awjgNbikpnsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Les+grands+cavaliers+du+Premier+Empire+-+nansouty&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false Tulard, Jean - "Dictionnaire Napoléon”; volume 1, Librairie Artème Fayard, 1999, ISBN 2-213-60485-1