Claude Jacques Lecourbe (22 February 1759 – 22 October 1815), born in Besançon

Besançon

Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...

, was a French general during the French Revolutionary

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

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...

 wars.

After having studied at a college in Poligny

Poligny

Poligny is the name of several communes in France:* Poligny, Hautes-Alpes, in the Hautes-Alpes département* Poligny, Aube, in the Aube département* Poligny, Jura, in the Jura département...

 and in Lons-le-Saunier

Lons-le-Saunier

Lons-le-Saunier is a commune and capital of the Jura department in eastern France.-Geography:The town is in the heart of the Revermont region, at the foot of the "premier plateau" of the Jura massif...

, he enlisted in the Regiment of Aquitaine where he served for eight years as an enlisted man. Having been promoted to corporal when the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

 started he became commandant of the National Guard of Ruffey-sur-Seille in 1789. He was then given command of the 7th volunteer battalion of the Jura, with which he served in the armies of the Rhine and the Nord. Having been promoted to colonel in 1791 Lecourbe distinguished himself in the battle of Fleurus

Battle of Fleurus (1794)

In the Battle of Fleurus on 26 June 1794, the army of the First French Republic under General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan faced the Coalition Army commanded by Prince Josias of Coburg in the most decisive battle of the Flanders Campaign in the Low Countries during the French Revolutionary Wars...

. Having been promoted to brigade general in 1794 and to divisional general in 1798, he fought against Alexander Suvorov

Alexander Suvorov

Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov , Count Suvorov of Rymnik, Prince in Italy, Count of the Holy Roman Empire , was the fourth and last generalissimo of the Russian Empire.One of the few great generals in history who never lost a battle along with the likes of Alexander...

 in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 and distinguished himself in the Second Battle of Zurich

Second Battle of Zürich

The Second Battle of Zurich was a French victory over an Austrian and Russian force near Zurich. It broke the stalemate that had resulted from the First Battle of Zurich three months earlier and led to the withdrawal of Russia from the Second Coalition.After he had been forced out of the city in...

 under André Masséna

André Masséna

André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....

.

Lecourbe's friendship with Jean-Victor Moreau

Jean Victor Marie Moreau

Jean Victor Marie Moreau was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.- Early life :Moreau was born at Morlaix in Brittany...

 and his vocal defense of Moreau in the process Georges Cadoudal

Georges Cadoudal

Georges Cadoudal , sometimes called simply Georges, was a French/Breton politician, and leader of the Chouannerie during the French Revolution....

 brought on the enmity of Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon I of France

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...

 which forced his retirement in 1805. After Napoleon's abdication he was made a count by Louis XVIII of France

Louis XVIII of France

Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...

. The count of Artois

Charles X of France

Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...

 recalled Lecourbe to active duty in February 1815 and made him inspector-general of the 6th military Division with headquarters in Besançon.

Upon Napoleon's return from exile on Elba

Elba

Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...

, Lecourbe offered him his services and 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...

 he commanded the Army of the Jura (I Corps of Observation), operating in the Jura against Archduke Ferdinand

Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este

Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este was the third son of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and of his wife Princess Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este, last member and heiress of the house of Este. For much of the Napoleonic Wars he was in command of the Austrian army.Ferdinand was born...

. With an army of only 8,000 he held the city of Belfort

Belfort

Belfort is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Franche-Comté in northeastern France and is the prefecture of the department. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate .-...

 for 15 days against the 40,000 Austrian troops of General Colloredo-Mansfeld

Hieronymus Karl Graf von Colloredo-Mansfeld

Hieronymus Karl Graf von Colloredo-Mansfeld was an Austrian corps commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-References and notes:...

, only agreeing a ceasefire on 11 July 1815, a feat which earned him a place of honour in French schoolbooks. After Louis's second return to the throne, Lecourbe retired and on 22 October 1815 he died in Belfort

Belfort

Belfort is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Franche-Comté in northeastern France and is the prefecture of the department. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate .-...

after a long illness.

A statue commemorating him stands in the Place de la Liberté in Lons-le-Saunier, where a street is also named after him. Streets named in his honour can also be found in Paris and in Besançon. In Belfort a statue commemorates him as "The glorious defender of the city".