Guillaume Dode de la Brunerie
Encyclopedia
Guillaume Dode de la Brunerie (April 30, 1775 – February 28, 1851) was a Marshal of France. On February 12, 1812, he married the daughter of Marshal Pérignon, Agathe-Virginie.
in the department of the Isère
. As son of a notary, Dode was sent to the lyceum in Grenoble
. Soon after the ending of his studies in 1793, he was conscripted in the French revolutionary army as a private. In March 1794, Dode was promoted to lieutenant and sent to the Military School of Engineers in Metz
. By December, Dode left the school for a posting in the Army of the Rhine. By August 1795, Dode was promoted to captain. In 1796, Dode was employed at Landau
, Kaiserslautern
and Zweibrücken
for the fortification of these towns. The same year he assisted in preparing the Rhine crossing at Kehl
for Moreau
's army. By January 1797, one of the bridgeheads created by Dode was under Austrian siege that lasted 200 days and Dode participated in the defense of the bridgehead until the Austrian's were forced to retire.
In January 1798, Dode joined the Army of England. However, this army was ultimately not used to invade the British isles but was sent to the Orient were under Napoléon Bonaparte
it invaded Egypt
. In Egypt he was employed in fortifying Gizeh, Cairo
and Alexandria
. Promoted to major in 1801, Dode stayed in Egypt until the French forces there capitulated, only returning to France in November 1801. In 1802 and 1803, Dode was employed in fortifying the Channel coast near Cape Gris-Nez.
's V Corps. Dode was with Lannes and Joachim Murat
when they famously captured a bridge over the Danube
by bluffing the Austrian commander Auersperg into believing a cease fire had been signed. The French then rushed the bridge and captured it before the Austrians could blow it up. Dode didn't participate directly in the Battle of Austerlitz
as he was posted in the rear of the army as a support.
In December, Dode was promoted to colonel and attached as head of the engineers to Marshal Lefebvre
's Corps. However, for the campaign of 1806, Dode was again made head of the engineers on Lannes' staff, a function which saw his participation in the battles of Saalfeld
and Jena. After Jena, Dode was sent to repair a bridge over the Elbe and prepare the crossing of the Oder
. Dode then took part in the battles of Pultusk
and Ostrolenka
. In 1807 he was attached to the staff of Marshal Mortier
and in 1808 he was made a baron. When his uncle died and willed him his estate "Brunerie", Dode adopted this and attached it to his own name, from then on being named "Dode de la Brunerie".
In late 1808, Dode de la Brunerie was sent to Spain
. He participated in the sieges of Zaragoza
and of Badajoz
. He was then promoted to général de brigade and made head of the engineers staff of the Army of Spain. Dode de la Brunerie served in battles near Almonacid and Ocana until he was recalled to France. In 1812, Dode de la Brunerie was made head of the engineers in the III Corps under Marshal Ney
. He successively fought under Marshals Oudinot
, Gouvion Saint-Cyr
and Victor
in Russia, where he fought at Polotsk and the crossing of the Beresina
.
In 1813 he commanded the engineers in Lauriston
's Corps and later the engineers of Augereau
's Corps and of Gouvion Saint-Cyr's Corps. When the latter was besieged in Dresden
, Dode de la Brunerie was unable of rejoining his corps and he was the attached to Victor's Corps. After the defeated army returned to France, he was sent to the Army of Italy
under Prince Eugène
until the war's end.
to the throne of France, he was made a member of the commission responsible for making decisions on request concerning the service records of émigrés. In August, he was promoted to lieutenant-general. When Napoléon returned from Elba
, Dode de la Brunerie served as commandant of engineers under the Bourbon army opposing the emperor. Napoleon wanted to confirm him in his positions but Dode de la Brunerie refused to be employed during the Hundred Days
as he had given his oath of loyalty to Louis XVIII
.
In 1816, Dode de la Brunerie was made one of four Inspector-Generals of the engineers. He served on various committees during the next five years. In 1823 Bourbon France decided to intervene in Spain and Dode de la Brunerie was made commandant of engineers of the French army in Spain. In Spain he served in the siege of Cadiz
and at the Battle of Trocadero
. In 1825 Dode de la Brunerie was made Viscount of Martignac by letters patent. In 1828 he became a member of the Superior War Council and in 1830 he again was made inspector-general of engineers.
broke out and Charles X
abdicated, the new king Louis-Philippe
retained Dode de la Brunerie in all his functions. In 1837, he was made inspector of the Ecole Polytechnique
and in 1840 he became president of the Committee of Fortifications. In 1841 he was put in charge of the building of the fortifications of Paris by the minister of war Soult
. The construction of the Parisian fortification took seven years to complete and cost approximately 140 million francs and gave Dode de la Brunerie the nickname of being the Vauban of Modern Times. On September 17, 1847 both Reille
and Dode de la Brunerie were made Marshals of France, with Dode being the first engineer so honored since the great Vauban
.
When the Revolution of 1848 erupted, Dode de la Brunerie decided to retire to private life.
Dode de la Brunerie died February 28, 1851 in Paris. He is buried at Père Lachaise. His name is mentioned on the Arc de Triomphe
.
Early life and French revolutionary wars
Guillaume Dode was born in Saint-Geoire-en-ValdaineSaint-Geoire-en-Valdaine
Saint-Geoire-en-Valdaine is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.-References:*...
in the department of the Isère
Isère
Isère is a department in the Rhône-Alpes region in the east of France named after the river Isère.- History :Isère is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Dauphiné...
. As son of a notary, Dode was sent to the lyceum in Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
. Soon after the ending of his studies in 1793, he was conscripted in the French revolutionary army as a private. In March 1794, Dode was promoted to lieutenant and sent to the Military School of Engineers in Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
. By December, Dode left the school for a posting in the Army of the Rhine. By August 1795, Dode was promoted to captain. In 1796, Dode was employed at Landau
Landau
Landau or Landau in der Pfalz is an autonomous city surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town , a long-standing cultural centre, and a market and shopping town, surrounded by vineyards and wine-growing villages of the...
, Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
and Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.- Name :Zweibrücken appears in Latin texts as Geminus Pons and Bipontum, in French texts as Deux-Ponts. The name derives from Middle High German Zweinbrücken...
for the fortification of these towns. The same year he assisted in preparing the Rhine crossing at Kehl
Kehl
Kehl is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg.-History:...
for 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...
's army. By January 1797, one of the bridgeheads created by Dode was under Austrian siege that lasted 200 days and Dode participated in the defense of the bridgehead until the Austrian's were forced to retire.
In January 1798, Dode joined the Army of England. However, this army was ultimately not used to invade the British isles but was sent to the Orient were under Napoléon 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...
it invaded Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. In Egypt he was employed in fortifying Gizeh, Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
and Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. Promoted to major in 1801, Dode stayed in Egypt until the French forces there capitulated, only returning to France in November 1801. In 1802 and 1803, Dode was employed in fortifying the Channel coast near Cape Gris-Nez.
Napoleonic wars
During the campaign of 1805, Dode joined the Grande Armée and was employed in Marshal LannesJean 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"...
's V Corps. Dode was with Lannes and Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
when they famously captured a bridge over the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
by bluffing the Austrian commander Auersperg into believing a cease fire had been signed. The French then rushed the bridge and captured it before the Austrians could blow it up. Dode didn't participate directly in the Battle of 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...
as he was posted in the rear of the army as a support.
In December, Dode was promoted to colonel and attached as head of the engineers to Marshal 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....
's Corps. However, for the campaign of 1806, Dode was again made head of the engineers on Lannes' staff, a function which saw his participation in the battles of Saalfeld
Battle of Saalfeld
The Battle of Saalfeld saw Marshal Lannes and a division of his V Corps defeat 8,300 Prussians under Prince Louis Ferdinand.-Battle:Prince Louis Ferdinand was one of the principal advocates of resuming war against the French....
and Jena. After Jena, Dode was sent to repair a bridge over the Elbe and prepare the crossing of the Oder
Oder
The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...
. Dode then took part in the battles of Pultusk
Battle of Pultusk
The Battle of Pułtusk took place on 26 December 1806 during the War of the Fourth Coalition near Pułtusk, Poland. Approximately 35,000 Russian soldiers with 128 guns under General Levin August, Count von Bennigsen resisted the attacks of 25,000 First French Empire soldiers under Marshal Jean...
and Ostrolenka
Battle of Ostrołęka (1807)
The Battle of Ostrołęka was fought on 16 February 1807 between First French Empire troops under General of Division Anne Jean Marie René Savary and Russian soldiers under Lieutenant General Ivan Essen. The French defeated the Russians and forced them to retreat to the east...
. In 1807 he was attached to the staff of Marshal Mortier
Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier
Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, 1st Duc de Trévise was a French general and Marshal of France under Napoleon I.-Biography:...
and in 1808 he was made a baron. When his uncle died and willed him his estate "Brunerie", Dode adopted this and attached it to his own name, from then on being named "Dode de la Brunerie".
In late 1808, Dode de la Brunerie was sent to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. He participated in the sieges of Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
and of Badajoz
Badajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257....
. He was then promoted to général de brigade and made head of the engineers staff of the Army of Spain. Dode de la Brunerie served in battles near Almonacid and Ocana until he was recalled to France. In 1812, Dode de la Brunerie was made head of the engineers in the III Corps under Marshal Ney
Michel Ney
Michel Ney , 1st Duc d'Elchingen, 1st Prince de la Moskowa was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original 18 Marshals of France created by Napoleon I...
. He successively fought under Marshals Oudinot
Nicolas Oudinot
Nicolas Charles Oudinot, 1st Comte Oudinot, 1st Duc de Reggio , was a Marshal of France.-Early life:...
, Gouvion Saint-Cyr
Laurent, marquis de Gouvion Saint-Cyr
Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, 1st Marquis of Gouvion-Saint-Cyr was a French commander in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars who rose to Marshal of France and Marquis...
and Victor
Claude Victor-Perrin, duc de Belluno
Claude Victor-Perrin, First Duc de Belluno was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...
in Russia, where he fought at Polotsk and the crossing of the Beresina
Battle of Berezina
The Battle of Berezina took place November 26–29, 1812 between the French army of Napoleon, retreating after his invasion of Russia and crossing the Berezina , and the Russian armies under Mikhail Kutuzov, Peter Wittgenstein and Admiral Pavel Chichagov. The battle ended with a mixed outcome...
.
In 1813 he commanded the engineers in Lauriston
Jacques Lauriston
Jacques Alexandre Bernard Law, marquis de Lauriston was a French soldier and diplomat of Scottish descent, the son of Jacques François Law de Lauriston , and a general officer in the French army during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in Pondicherry in India...
's Corps and later the engineers of Augereau
Pierre François Charles Augereau, duc de Castiglione
Charles Pierre François Augereau, 1st Duc de Castiglione was a soldier and general and Marshal of France. After serving in the French Revolutionary Wars he earned rapid promotion while fighting against Spain and soon found himself a division commander under Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy...
's Corps and of Gouvion Saint-Cyr's Corps. When the latter was besieged in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Dode de la Brunerie was unable of rejoining his corps and he was the attached to Victor's Corps. After the defeated army returned to France, he was sent to the Army of Italy
Army of Italy (France)
The Army of Italy was a Field army of the French Army stationed on the Italian border and used for operations in Italy itself. Though it existed in some form in the 16th century through to the present, it is best known for its role during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic...
under Prince Eugène
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...
until the war's end.
The Restoration
Recalled to France upon the accession of the House of BourbonHouse of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
to the throne of France, he was made a member of the commission responsible for making decisions on request concerning the service records of émigrés. In August, he was promoted to lieutenant-general. When Napoléon returned from 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...
, Dode de la Brunerie served as commandant of engineers under the Bourbon army opposing the emperor. Napoleon wanted to confirm him in his positions but Dode de la Brunerie refused to be employed 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...
as he had given his oath of loyalty to Louis XVIII
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...
.
In 1816, Dode de la Brunerie was made one of four Inspector-Generals of the engineers. He served on various committees during the next five years. In 1823 Bourbon France decided to intervene in Spain and Dode de la Brunerie was made commandant of engineers of the French army in Spain. In Spain he served in the siege of Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
and at the Battle of Trocadero
Battle of Trocadero
The Battle of Trocadero, fought on 31 August 1823, was the only significant battle in the French invasion of Spain when French forces defeated the Spanish liberal forces and restored the absolute rule of King Ferdinand VII.-Prelude:...
. In 1825 Dode de la Brunerie was made Viscount of Martignac by letters patent. In 1828 he became a member of the Superior War Council and in 1830 he again was made inspector-general of engineers.
July monarchy and latter years
When the July RevolutionJuly Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution or in French, saw the overthrow of King Charles X of France, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would in turn be overthrown...
broke out and Charles X
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...
abdicated, the new king Louis-Philippe
Louis-Philippe of France
Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...
retained Dode de la Brunerie in all his functions. In 1837, he was made inspector of the Ecole Polytechnique
École Polytechnique
The École Polytechnique is a state-run institution of higher education and research in Palaiseau, Essonne, France, near Paris. Polytechnique is renowned for its four year undergraduate/graduate Master's program...
and in 1840 he became president of the Committee of Fortifications. In 1841 he was put in charge of the building of the fortifications of Paris by the minister of war Soult
Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult
Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia , the Hand of Iron, was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804. He was one of only six officers in French history to receive the distinction of Marshal General of France...
. The construction of the Parisian fortification took seven years to complete and cost approximately 140 million francs and gave Dode de la Brunerie the nickname of being the Vauban of Modern Times. On September 17, 1847 both Reille
Honoré Charles Reille
Honoré Charles Michel Joseph Reille was a Marshal of France, born in Antibes.Reille served in the early campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars under Dumouriez and Masséna, whose daughter Victoire he married. In 1800, Reille was appointed commander of the Italian city of Florence...
and Dode de la Brunerie were made Marshals of France, with Dode being the first engineer so honored since the great Vauban
Vauban
Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and breaking through them...
.
When the Revolution of 1848 erupted, Dode de la Brunerie decided to retire to private life.
Dode de la Brunerie died February 28, 1851 in Paris. He is buried at Père Lachaise. His name is mentioned on the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
.