Nicolas Dahlmann
Encyclopedia
Nicolas Dahlmann was a French cavalry general of the Napoleonic wars
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as a son of a trumpeter and enlisted in the French Army
in 1777 at the age of 8, where his father and older brother were already serving in the Regiment Dauphin Cavalerie, which later in 1791 became the 12 Regiment de Cavalerie
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on 17 September 1793. From 1796 to 1798 he saw action with the Armee d'Italie and joined the Guides-a-Cheval de Bonaparte when they were formed in June 1796.
He went to Egypt
with the Armee d'Orient and served at Salahieh and Aboukir. He returned to France with Napoleon in 1798 and became Chef d'Escadron of the Chasseurs-a-Cheval in October 1802. He served at Austerlitz
and was promoted Colonel-Major of the Chasseurs-a-Cheval de la Garde Imperiale.
Dahlmann saw further action at the Battle of Jena and was promoted to General-de-Brigade in the age of 36.
Throughout the Battle of Eylau
in February 1807 he was attached to the Imperial staff but requested to lead his old unit, the Chasseurs à Cheval, in a cavalry charge on 8 February 1807. He was seriously wounded in his right hip from a heavy calibre artillery piece and died on 10 February 1807 in the manor house of Worienen
.
Napoleon granted Dahlmann's widow a pension of 6,000 francs and in 1811 accorded his only son the title of Baron de l'Empire at the age of 10. On the instructions of Napoleon, Dahlmann's heart was embalmed and taken to Paris where it was placed at rest in the Pantheon.
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...
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Early life
Dahlmann was born in ThionvilleThionville
Thionville , is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz.-Demographics:...
as a son of a trumpeter and enlisted in the 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...
in 1777 at the age of 8, where his father and older brother were already serving in the Regiment Dauphin Cavalerie, which later in 1791 became the 12 Regiment de Cavalerie
12th Cuirassier Regiment (France)
The 12th Cuirassier Regiment was a French cavalry regiment, first formed in 1688 under the Ancien Regime. It distinguished itself in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, notably at the battles of Austerlitz , Jena and Borodino...
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Napoleonic wars
Dahlmann served with the infantry and was deployed at the Armee de la Moselle and the Armee des Pyrenees Orientales. He was wounded at his right leg at PeyrestortesPeyrestortes
Peyrestortes is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.-Battle:On 17 September 1793, French forces of the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees defeated two divisions of the Spanish Army of Catalonia at the Battle of Peyrestortes...
on 17 September 1793. From 1796 to 1798 he saw action with the Armee d'Italie and joined the Guides-a-Cheval de Bonaparte when they were formed in June 1796.
He went 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...
with the Armee d'Orient and served at Salahieh and Aboukir. He returned to France with Napoleon in 1798 and became Chef d'Escadron of the Chasseurs-a-Cheval in October 1802. He served at 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 was promoted Colonel-Major of the Chasseurs-a-Cheval de la Garde Imperiale.
Dahlmann saw further action at the Battle of Jena and was promoted to General-de-Brigade in the age of 36.
Throughout the Battle of 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...
in February 1807 he was attached to the Imperial staff but requested to lead his old unit, the Chasseurs à Cheval, in a cavalry charge on 8 February 1807. He was seriously wounded in his right hip from a heavy calibre artillery piece and died on 10 February 1807 in the manor house of Worienen
Woryny
Woryny is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Górowo Iławeckie, within Bartoszyce County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia.- History :...
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Napoleon granted Dahlmann's widow a pension of 6,000 francs and in 1811 accorded his only son the title of Baron de l'Empire at the age of 10. On the instructions of Napoleon, Dahlmann's heart was embalmed and taken to Paris where it was placed at rest in the Pantheon.