Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
Encyclopedia
Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers (13 August 1764 – 6 January 1813) was a French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
general who fought in 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 the 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...
. He was the father of Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers
Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers
Louis-Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers, 1st Comte Baraguey d'Hilliers was a Marshal of France and politician.Baraguey d'Hilliers was born in Paris, the son of the French revolutionary general Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers...
, a Marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
.
French Revolution
Louis Baraguay d'Hilliers was born in Paris. He was a minor noble and entered the French Army as a lieutenant in 1784. At the start of the French Revolutionary Wars, he decided to remain in France. By 1793, he had been promoted during the siege of Mainz to général de brigade and served as chief of staffChief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
to Adam Custine
Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine
Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine was a French general. Born in Metz, he began his military career as a captain in the Seven Years' War, where he learned to admire the modern military organisation of Prussia....
. When Custine was arrested, Baraguey d'Hilliers was arrested as well. Luckier than his chief who died under the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
, he was released after the overthrow and execution of Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his...
.
In 1796, Baraguey d'Hilliers commanded part of Paris against insurgents. After another spell in prison on suspicion of royalist tendencies, he was posted to Louis Hoche's army. Transferred to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, he served under Napoléon Bonaparte as governor of Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
. He was involved in the capture of Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
. He led a brigade in Gabriel Rey's
Gabriel Venance Rey
Gabriel Venance Rey or Antoine Gabriel Rey, born 24 July 1763 – died 20 April 1836, became a general officer in the army of France during the French Revolutionary Wars and led a division under Napoleon Bonaparte in the Italian campaign of 1796-1797. He ran afoul of Napoleon and was not...
division at the Battle of Rivoli
Battle of Rivoli
The Battle of Rivoli was a key victory in the French campaign in Italy against Austria. Napoleon Bonaparte's 23,000 Frenchmen defeated an attack of 28,000 Austrians under Feldzeugmeister Jozsef Alvinczi, ending Austria's fourth and final attempt to relieve the Siege of Mantua...
. Promoted to général de division in 1797 he was appointed governor of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
.
In 1798, he accompanied Bonaparte to 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...
but after the French captured Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
he was sent back to France with the trophies. However, on his way back his ship was intercepted by the Royal Navy and he became a prisoner. After his release he faced a court martial but was acquitted. Then he joined Jacques MacDonald
Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald
Étienne Jacques Joseph Alexandre MacDonald, 1st duke of Taranto was a Marshal of France and military leader during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.-Family background:...
as his chief of staff. In 1800, he fought under Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr at the Battle of Stockach on 3 May and six days later at Biberach
Biberach
Biberach is the name of several locations in Germany.* Biberach an der Riss, a town in Upper Swabia* Biberach , which has Biberach an der Riss as its capital* Biberach, Baden, a municipality in the Ortenaukreis...
. Later he was assigned to guard the Valtellina
Valtellina
Valtellina or the Valtelline valley ; is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its skiing, its hot spring spas, its cheeses and its wines...
.
Napoleonic Wars
In 1801, Baraguey d'Hilliers was appointed Inspector General of infantry and in 1804 he became colonel general of the dragoons. He commanded a dragoon division of the cavalry reserve during the campaign of 1805. He fought under MarshalMarshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
Michel 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...
at the Battle of Elchingen
Battle of Elchingen
The Battle of Elchingen, fought on October 14, 1805, saw French forces under Michel Ney rout an Austrian corps led by Johann Sigismund Riesch. This defeat led to a large part of the Austrian army being invested in the fortress of Ulm by the army of Emperor Napoleon I of France while other...
. In 1808 he again became governor of Venice.
During the campaign of 1809 Baraguey d'Hilliers served under Viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais
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...
. At the Battle of Piave River
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...
he commanded a two-division corps. He also distinguished himself 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...
where he led one division of his corps. He then served for some time as governor of the County of Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
with orders to pacify the region. In 1810 he 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...
where he served in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
. Recalled from Spain, he served in the Russian campaign of 1812 where his troops were assigned to guard Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
after that city was captured by the French. During the retreat from Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Emperor Napoleon ordered Baraguey d'Hilliers to march east to meet him. However, instead of joining Napoleon, his division marched into the jaws of the advancing Russian army. The Russians surrounded one of his brigades and forced it to surrender on November 9. For this incident, Baraguey d'Hilliers fell into disgrace with the emperor. He died in January 1813 in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.