Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult
Encyclopedia
Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia
(ʒɑ̃dədjø sult; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851), 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
. He also served as Prime Minister of France
three times.
near Castres
in the Tarn département), the son of a country notary
Jean Soult (1726–1779) and wife Brigitte de Grenier, paternal grandson of Jean Soult (1698–1772) and wife Jeanne de Calvet and maternal grandson of Pierre François de Grenier de Lapierre and wife Marie de Robert.
He was well-educated, and intended to become a lawyer, but his father's death when he was still a boy made it necessary for him to seek his fortune, and he enlisted as a private in the French infantry in 1785.
. He served with his battalion in 1792. By 1794 he was adjutant-general (with the rank of chef de brigade). After the Battle of Fleurus (1794)
, in which he greatly distinguished himself for coolness, he was promoted to general of brigade by the representatives on mission. He married Jeanne Louise Elisabeth Berg on 26 April 1796.
For the next five years he was constantly employed in Germany under Jourdan
, Moreau
, Kléber and Lefebvre, and in 1799 he was promoted general of division and ordered to proceed to Switzerland. It was at this time that he laid the foundations of his military fame, and he particularly distinguished himself in Masséna
's great Swiss campaign, and especially at the Second Battle of Zurich
. He accompanied Masséna to Genoa
, and acted as his principal lieutenant throughout the protracted siege of that city, during which he operated with a detached force without the walls, and after many successful actions he was wounded and taken prisoner at Monte Cretto on 13 April 1800.
, and in 1802 he was appointed one of the four generals commanding the consular guard. Though he was one of those generals who had served under Moreau, and who therefore, as a rule, disliked and despised Napoleon Bonaparte
, Soult had the wisdom to show his devotion to the ruling power
; in consequence he was in August 1803 appointed to the command-in-chief of the camp of Boulogne
, and in May 1804 he was made one of the first marshals of the Empire. He commanded a corps in the advance on Ulm
, and at Austerlitz
he led the decisive attack on the allied centre.
Soult played a great part in many of the famous battles of the Grande Armée, including the Battle of Jena in 1806. However, he missed the Battle of Friedland
because on that day he forced his way into Königsberg
. After the conclusion of the Peace of Tilsit, he returned to France and was created (1808) duke of Dalmatia
. The award of this title greatly displeased him, for he felt that his proper title would be duke of Austerlitz, a title Napoleon had reserved for himself. In the following year he was appointed to the command of the II corps of the army with which Napoleon intended to conquer Spain, and after winning the Battle of Gamonal he was detailed by the emperor to pursue Sir John Moore's British army. At the Battle of Corunna
, in which the British general was killed, Soult was defeated and the British escaped by sea.
For the next four years Soult remained in Spain, and his military history is that of the Peninsular War
. In 1809, he invaded Portugal and took Oporto
, but was isolated by General Silveira's strategy of contention. Busying himself with the political settlement of his conquests in the French interests and, as he hoped, for his own ultimate benefit as a possible candidate for the Portuguese throne, he attracted the hatred of Republican officers in his Army. Unable to move, he was eventually driven from Portugal in the Second Battle of Porto by Wellesley
, making a painful and almost disastrous retreat over the mountains, pursued by Beresford
and Silveira. After the Battle of Talavera (1809) he was made chief-of-staff of the French troops in Spain with extended powers, and on 19 November 1809, won a great victory at the Battle of Ocana
.
In 1810 he invaded Andalusia
, which he speedily reduced. However, because he turned aside to seize Seville, the capture of Cádiz
eluded him. He said, "Give me Seville and I will answer for Cádiz." This led to the prolonged and futile Siege of Cadiz
, a strategic disaster for the French. In 1811 he marched north into Extremadura
and took Badajoz
. When the Anglo-Portuguese army laid siege to the city he marched to its rescue, and fought and nearly won the famous and very bloody Battle of Albuera
on 16 May.
In 1812, after the Duke of Wellington
's great victory of Salamanca
, he was obliged to evacuate Andalusia. In the subsequent Siege of Burgos
campaign, Soult was able to drive Wellington's Anglo-Allied army back to Salamanca. There, Soult failed to attack Wellington despite a 80,000 to 65,000 superiority of numbers, and the British army retired to the Portuguese frontier. Soon after, he was recalled from Spain at the request of Joseph Bonaparte
, with whom, as with the other marshals, he had always disagreed.
In March 1813 he assumed the command of IV Corps
of the Grande Armée and commanded the centre at Lützen
and Bautzen
, but he was soon sent, with unlimited powers, to the South of France to repair the damage done by the great defeat of Vitoria
. It is to Soult's credit that he was able to reorganise the demoralised French forces with a rapidity that even took Wellington by surprise.
Although often found wanting tactically – even some of his own aides queried his inability to amend a plan to take into account altered circumstances on the battlefield – his performance in the closing months of the Peninsular War is the finest proof of his talents as a general. Though repeatedly defeated in these campaigns by the Allies under Wellington, many of his soldiers were raw conscripts, while the Allies could count greater numbers of veterans among their ranks. His last offensives into Spain were turned back by Wellington in the Battle of the Pyrenees
(Sorauren
) and by Freire's Spaniards at San Marcial
. Pursued onto French soil, Soult was maneuvered out of several positions at Nivelle
, Nive, and Orthez
, before dealing Wellington a final bloody nose at the Battle of Toulouse
.
The political career of Marshal Soult was by no means as creditable, and it has been said of him that he had character only in the face of the enemy. After the first abdication of Napoleon (1814) he declared himself a Royalist, received the order of St. Louis, and acted as minister of war from 3 December 1814 to 11 March 1815. When Napoleon returned from Elba
, Soult at once declared himself a Bonapartist
, was made a peer of France and acted as major-general (chief of staff) to the emperor in the campaign of Waterloo
, in which role he distinguished himself far less than he had done as commander of an over-matched army.
At the Second Restoration (1815) he was exiled, but not for long, for in 1819 he was recalled and in 1820 again made a marshal of France. He once more tried to show himself a fervent Royalist and was made a peer in 1827. After the revolution of 1830
he made out that he was a partisan of Louis Philippe
, who welcomed his support and revived for him the title of marshal-general (previously only held by Turenne, Claude Louis Hector de Villars
and Maurice de Saxe). He served as minister of war from 1830 to 1834, as Prime Minister from 1832 to 1834, as ambassador extraordinary to London for the coronation of Queen Victoria
in 1838 – where the Duke of Wellington reputedly caught him by the arm and exclaimed 'I have you at last!', again as Prime Minister from 1839 to 1840 and 1840 to 1847, and again as minister of war from 1840 to 1844. In 1848, when Louis Philippe was overthrown, Soult again declared himself a republican. He died at his castle of Soultberg, near his birthplace.
, and his notes and journals were arranged by his son Napoleon Hector (1801–1857), who published the first part (Mémoires du maréchal-général Soult) in 1854. Le Noble's Mémoires sur les operations des Français en Galicie are supposed to have been written from Soult's papers.
Soult's armies were usually well maintained before going into battle. After Vitoria, he reorganized the demoralized French forces of Joseph Bonaparte into a formidable army in a remarkably short time. An exception to this good logistical record was launching the Battle of the Pyrenees offensive when his soldiers only had four days rations.
Tactically, Soult planned his battles well, but often left too much to his subordinates. Wellington said that Soult "never seems to me to know how to handle troops after the battle had begun". An example is at the Battle of Albuera
, where he brilliantly turned Beresford's flank to open the battle. But when he found himself facing unexpected opposition from Spanish and British troops, Soult allowed his generals to adopt a clumsy attack formation, failed to act decisively and was finally beaten. Another example of his strengths and weaknesses can be seen at the Battle of the Nive
. Soult recognized Wellington's strategic dilemma and took advantage by launching surprise attacks on both wings of the Anglo-Allied army. But French tactical execution was poor and the British general managed to fend off Soult's blows. Sloppy staff work marred his tenure as Napoleon's chief-of-staff in the Waterloo campaign.
Soult allowed his personal ambitions to distract him from his military duty. Greed and ambition caused him to pass up a golden opportunity to take Cádiz
. While occupying northern Portugal, his intrigues earned him the nickname, "King Nicolas." Later, he set himself up as a virtual viceroy
of Andalusia
, looting 1.5 million francs worth of art. One historian called him "a plunderer
in the world class."
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
(ʒɑ̃dədjø sult; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851), 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
Marshal General of France
The title Marshal General of France or more exactly "Marshal General of the King's camps and armies" was given to signify that the recipient had authority over all the French armies in the days when a Marshal governed only one army usually...
. He also served as Prime Minister of France
Prime Minister of France
The Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...
three times.
Early life
Soult was born at Saint-Arnans-la-Bastide (now Saint-Amans-SoultSaint-Amans-Soult
Saint-Amans-Soult is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France.The commune was formerly called Saint-Amans-la-Bastide. It was renamed in 1851, after Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult, who was born there in 1769. Marshal-General Soult, under the Emperor Napoleon, was later named as Duke of...
near Castres
Castres
Castres is a commune, and arrondissement capital in the Tarn department and Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It lies in the former French province of Languedoc....
in the Tarn département), the son of a country notary
Civil law notary
Civil-law notaries, or Latin notaries, are lawyers of noncontentious private civil law who draft, take, and record legal instruments for private parties, provide legal advice and give attendance in person, and are vested as public officers with the authentication power of the State...
Jean Soult (1726–1779) and wife Brigitte de Grenier, paternal grandson of Jean Soult (1698–1772) and wife Jeanne de Calvet and maternal grandson of Pierre François de Grenier de Lapierre and wife Marie de Robert.
He was well-educated, and intended to become a lawyer, but his father's death when he was still a boy made it necessary for him to seek his fortune, and he enlisted as a private in the French infantry in 1785.
Military career
His superior education ensured his promotion to the rank of sergeant after six years' service, and in July 1791 he became instructor to the first battalion of volunteers of the Bas-RhinBas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin is a department of France. The name means "Lower Rhine". It is the more populous and densely populated of the two departments of the Alsace region, with 1,079,013 inhabitants in 2006.- History :...
. He served with his battalion in 1792. By 1794 he was adjutant-general (with the rank of chef de brigade). After the Battle of Fleurus (1794)
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...
, in which he greatly distinguished himself for coolness, he was promoted to general of brigade by the representatives on mission. He married Jeanne Louise Elisabeth Berg on 26 April 1796.
For the next five years he was constantly employed in Germany under Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Comte Jourdan , enlisted as a private in the French royal army and rose to command armies during the French Revolutionary Wars. Emperor Napoleon I of France named him a Marshal of France in 1804 and he also fought in the Napoleonic Wars. After 1815, he became reconciled...
, 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...
, Kléber and Lefebvre, and in 1799 he was promoted general of division and ordered to proceed to Switzerland. It was at this time that he laid the foundations of his military fame, and he particularly distinguished himself in Masséna
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
's great Swiss campaign, and especially at 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...
. He accompanied Masséna to Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, and acted as his principal lieutenant throughout the protracted siege of that city, during which he operated with a detached force without the walls, and after many successful actions he was wounded and taken prisoner at Monte Cretto on 13 April 1800.
Marshal of the Empire
The victory of Marengo restored his freedom, and Soult received the command of the southern part of the kingdom of NaplesNaples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, and in 1802 he was appointed one of the four generals commanding the consular guard. Though he was one of those generals who had served under Moreau, and who therefore, as a rule, disliked and despised 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...
, Soult had the wisdom to show his devotion to the ruling power
Power (sociology)
Power is a measurement of an entity's ability to control its environment, including the behavior of other entities. The term authority is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to...
; in consequence he was in August 1803 appointed to the command-in-chief of the camp of Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
, and in May 1804 he was made one of the first marshals of the Empire. He commanded a corps in the advance on Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
, and 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...
he led the decisive attack on the allied centre.
Soult played a great part in many of the famous battles of the Grande Armée, including the Battle of Jena in 1806. However, he missed the Battle of Friedland
Battle of Friedland
The Battle of Friedland saw Napoleon I's French army decisively defeat Count von Bennigsen's Russian army about twenty-seven miles southeast of Königsberg...
because on that day he forced his way into Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
. After the conclusion of the Peace of Tilsit, he returned to France and was created (1808) duke of Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
. The award of this title greatly displeased him, for he felt that his proper title would be duke of Austerlitz, a title Napoleon had reserved for himself. In the following year he was appointed to the command of the II corps of the army with which Napoleon intended to conquer Spain, and after winning the Battle of Gamonal he was detailed by the emperor to pursue Sir John Moore's British army. At the Battle of Corunna
Battle of Corunna
The Battle of Corunna refers to a battle of the Peninsular War. On January 16, 1809, a French army under Marshal Soult attacked the British under Sir John Moore...
, in which the British general was killed, Soult was defeated and the British escaped by sea.
For the next four years Soult remained in Spain, and his military history is that of the Peninsular War
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, he invaded Portugal and took Oporto
First Battle of Porto
In the First Battle of Porto the French under Marshal Soult defeated the Portuguese, under General Parreiras, and the British Army, outside the city of Porto during the Peninsular War...
, but was isolated by General Silveira's strategy of contention. Busying himself with the political settlement of his conquests in the French interests and, as he hoped, for his own ultimate benefit as a possible candidate for the Portuguese throne, he attracted the hatred of Republican officers in his Army. Unable to move, he was eventually driven from Portugal in the Second Battle of Porto by Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
, making a painful and almost disastrous retreat over the mountains, pursued by Beresford
William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford
General William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Marquis of Campo Maior, GCB, GCH, GCTE, PC , was a British soldier and politician...
and Silveira. After the Battle of Talavera (1809) he was made chief-of-staff of the French troops in Spain with extended powers, and on 19 November 1809, won a great victory at the Battle of Ocana
Battle of Ocana
The Battle of Ocana or Battle of Ocaña was fought on 19 November 1809 between French forces under Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult and King Joseph Bonaparte and the Spanish army under Juan Carlos de Aréizaga, which suffered its greatest single defeat in the Peninsular War...
.
In 1810 he invaded Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, which he speedily reduced. However, because he turned aside to seize Seville, the capture of Cádiz
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....
eluded him. He said, "Give me Seville and I will answer for Cádiz." This led to the prolonged and futile Siege of Cadiz
Siege of Cádiz
The Siege of Cádiz was a siege of the large Spanish naval base of Cádiz by a French army from February 5, 1810 to August 24, 1812 during the Peninsular War. Following the occupation of Madrid on March 23, 1808, Cádiz became the Spanish seat of power, and was targeted by 60,000 French troops under...
, a strategic disaster for the French. In 1811 he marched north into Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...
and took 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....
. When the Anglo-Portuguese army laid siege to the city he marched to its rescue, and fought and nearly won the famous and very bloody Battle of Albuera
Battle of Albuera
The Battle of Albuera was an indecisive battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about 20 kilometres south of the frontier fortress-town of Badajoz, Spain.From...
on 16 May.
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
's great victory of Salamanca
Battle of Salamanca
The Battle of Salamanca saw Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish armies under the Duke of Wellington defeat Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces among the hills around Arapiles south of Salamanca, Spain on July 22, 1812 during the Peninsular War....
, he was obliged to evacuate Andalusia. In the subsequent Siege of Burgos
Siege of Burgos
At the Siege of Burgos, from 19 September to 21 October 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese Army led by General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington tried to capture the castle of Burgos from its French garrison under the command of General of Brigade Jean-Louis Dubreton. The French repulsed every...
campaign, Soult was able to drive Wellington's Anglo-Allied army back to Salamanca. There, Soult failed to attack Wellington despite a 80,000 to 65,000 superiority of numbers, and the British army retired to the Portuguese frontier. Soon after, he was recalled from Spain at the request of Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte was the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who made him King of Naples and Sicily , and later King of Spain...
, with whom, as with the other marshals, he had always disagreed.
In March 1813 he assumed the command of IV Corps
IV Corps (Grande Armée)
The IV Corps of the Grande Armée was a military unit during the Napoleonic Wars. It consisted several different units and commanders.- Under Soult :Marshal Nicolas Soult took command of IV Corps in 1805....
of the Grande Armée and commanded the centre at 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 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...
, but he was soon sent, with unlimited powers, to the South of France to repair the damage done by the great defeat of Vitoria
Battle of Vitoria
At the Battle of Vitoria an allied British, Portuguese, and Spanish army under General the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, leading to eventual victory in the Peninsular War.-Background:In July 1812, after...
. It is to Soult's credit that he was able to reorganise the demoralised French forces with a rapidity that even took Wellington by surprise.
Although often found wanting tactically – even some of his own aides queried his inability to amend a plan to take into account altered circumstances on the battlefield – his performance in the closing months of the Peninsular War is the finest proof of his talents as a general. Though repeatedly defeated in these campaigns by the Allies under Wellington, many of his soldiers were raw conscripts, while the Allies could count greater numbers of veterans among their ranks. His last offensives into Spain were turned back by Wellington in the Battle of the Pyrenees
Battle of the Pyrenees
The Battle of the Pyrenees was a large-scale offensive launched on 25 July 1813 by Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult from the Pyrénées region on Emperor Napoleon’s order, in the hope of relieving French garrisons under siege at Pamplona and San Sebastián...
(Sorauren
Battle of Sorauren
The Battle of Sorauren was part of a series of engagements in late July 1813 called the Battle of the Pyrenees in which a combined British and Portuguese force under Sir Arthur Wellesley held off Marshal Soult's French forces attempting to relieve San Sebastián.With sizable Anglo-Portuguese forces...
) and by Freire's Spaniards at San Marcial
Battle of San Marcial
At the Battle of San Marcial, 31 August 1813, the Spanish Army of Galicia under General Freire turned back MarshalNicolas Soult's last major offensive against Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's allied army.-Background:...
. Pursued onto French soil, Soult was maneuvered out of several positions at Nivelle
Battle of Nivelle
The Battle of Nivelle took place in front of the River Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War . After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops were in hot pursuit of Marshal Soult who only had 60,000 men to place in a 20-mile perimeter...
, Nive, and Orthez
Battle of Orthez
The Battle of Orthez saw the Anglo-Portuguese Army under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington defeat a French army led by Marshal Nicolas Soult in southern France near the end of the Peninsular War.-Preliminaries:...
, before dealing Wellington a final bloody nose at the Battle of Toulouse
Battle of Toulouse (1814)
The Battle of Toulouse was one of the final battles of the Napoleonic Wars, four days after Napoleon's surrender of the French Empire to the nations of the Sixth Coalition...
.
Political career
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...
, Soult at once declared himself a Bonapartist
Bonapartist
In French political history, Bonapartism has two meanings. In a strict sense, this term refers to people who aimed to restore the French Empire under the House of Bonaparte, the Corsican family of Napoleon Bonaparte and his nephew Louis...
, was made a peer of France and acted as major-general (chief of staff) to the emperor in the campaign of 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...
, in which role he distinguished himself far less than he had done as commander of an over-matched army.
At the Second Restoration (1815) he was exiled, but not for long, for in 1819 he was recalled and in 1820 again made a marshal of France. He once more tried to show himself a fervent Royalist and was made a peer in 1827. After the revolution of 1830
July 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...
he made out that he was a partisan of 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...
, who welcomed his support and revived for him the title of marshal-general (previously only held by Turenne, Claude Louis Hector de Villars
Claude Louis Hector de Villars
Claude Louis Hector de Villars, Prince de Martigues, Marquis then Duc de Villars, Vicomte de Melun was the last great general of Louis XIV of France and one of the most brilliant commanders in French military history, one of only six Marshals who have been promoted to Marshal General of...
and Maurice de Saxe). He served as minister of war from 1830 to 1834, as Prime Minister from 1832 to 1834, as ambassador extraordinary to London for the coronation of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
in 1838 – where the Duke of Wellington reputedly caught him by the arm and exclaimed 'I have you at last!', again as Prime Minister from 1839 to 1840 and 1840 to 1847, and again as minister of war from 1840 to 1844. In 1848, when Louis Philippe was overthrown, Soult again declared himself a republican. He died at his castle of Soultberg, near his birthplace.
Works
He published a memoir justifying his adherence to Napoleon during the Hundred DaysHundred 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...
, and his notes and journals were arranged by his son Napoleon Hector (1801–1857), who published the first part (Mémoires du maréchal-général Soult) in 1854. Le Noble's Mémoires sur les operations des Français en Galicie are supposed to have been written from Soult's papers.
Commentary
Soult was a skillful military strategist. An example was his drive to cut off Wellington's British army from Portugal after Talavera, which nearly succeeded. Though repeatedly defeated by Wellington in 1813–1814, he conducted a clever defense against one of history's greatest commanders.Soult's armies were usually well maintained before going into battle. After Vitoria, he reorganized the demoralized French forces of Joseph Bonaparte into a formidable army in a remarkably short time. An exception to this good logistical record was launching the Battle of the Pyrenees offensive when his soldiers only had four days rations.
Tactically, Soult planned his battles well, but often left too much to his subordinates. Wellington said that Soult "never seems to me to know how to handle troops after the battle had begun". An example is at the Battle of Albuera
Battle of Albuera
The Battle of Albuera was an indecisive battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about 20 kilometres south of the frontier fortress-town of Badajoz, Spain.From...
, where he brilliantly turned Beresford's flank to open the battle. But when he found himself facing unexpected opposition from Spanish and British troops, Soult allowed his generals to adopt a clumsy attack formation, failed to act decisively and was finally beaten. Another example of his strengths and weaknesses can be seen at the Battle of the Nive
Battle of the Nive
The Battles of the Nive were fought towards the end of the Peninsular War. Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish army defeated Marshal Nicolas Soult's French army in a series of battles near the city of Bayonne.Unusually, for most of the battle, Wellington...
. Soult recognized Wellington's strategic dilemma and took advantage by launching surprise attacks on both wings of the Anglo-Allied army. But French tactical execution was poor and the British general managed to fend off Soult's blows. Sloppy staff work marred his tenure as Napoleon's chief-of-staff in the Waterloo campaign.
Soult allowed his personal ambitions to distract him from his military duty. Greed and ambition caused him to pass up a golden opportunity to take Cádiz
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....
. While occupying northern Portugal, his intrigues earned him the nickname, "King Nicolas." Later, he set himself up as a virtual viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
of Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, looting 1.5 million francs worth of art. One historian called him "a plunderer
Plunderer
The Plunderer is a fictional character, owned by Marvel Comics who exists in that company's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:...
in the world class."
Personal life
He married in 1796 Louise Berg (1771–1852) and had 3 children:- Napoleon (1802–1857), 2nd Duke of Dalmatia, who died without male heir, at which time the title became extinct.
- Hortense (1804–1862)
- Caroline (1817)
Footnotes
That article, in turn, references:-
- A. Salle, Vie politique du maréchal Soult (Paris, 1834)
- A. de Grozelier, Le Maréchal Soult (Castres, 1851)
- A. Combes, Histoire anecdotique du maréchal Soult (Castres, 1869).
Further reading
- Bukhari, Emir: Napoleon's Marshals. Osprey Publishing, 1979, ISBN 0850453054.
- Chandler, David: Napoleon's Marshals. Macmillan Pub Co, 1987, ISBN 0029059305.
- Connelly, Owen: Blundering to Glory: Napoleon's Military Campaigns. SR Books, 1999, ISBN 0842027807.
- Elting, John R.: Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon's Grande Armée. Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1997, ISBN 0029095018
- Gotteri, Nicole: Soult: Maréchal d'Empire et homme d'État. Besançon: La Manufacture, 1991. ISBN 978-2737702853
- Hayman, Peter: Soult: Napoleon's Maligned Marshall. Sterling Pub, 1990, ISBN 0853689318.
- Haythornthwaite, Philip: Napoleon's Commanders (2): c.1809–15. Osprey Publishing, 2002, ISBN 1841763454
- Humble, Richard: Napoleon's Peninsular marshals: A reassessment. Taplinger Pub., 1975, 0800854659
- Linck, Tony: Napoleon's Generals. Combined Publishing, 1994, ISBN 0962665584
- Macdonell, A. G.: Napoleon and His Marshals. Prion, 1997, ISBN 1853752223