Pierre Francois Sauret
Encyclopedia
Pierre François Sauret de la Borie (23 March 1742, Gannat
, Allier
- 24 June 1818) enlisted in the French army as a private, fought in the Seven Years War, and became a general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars
. He served with distinction during the War of the Pyrenees
before being transferred to the Army of Italy
. During the 1796 Italian campaign, he led a combat division under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte. He retired from active military service in order to enter politics.
on 23 March 1742, Sauret joined the French royal army in 1756 as an enlisted man in the Guyenne
Regiment. He fought in a number of actions during the Seven Years War, including the Battle of Rossbach
at the age of 15, becoming a sergeant in 1763. He slowly advanced in rank until 1780, when he became an officer, and by 1792 he was a captain.
and earned rapid advancement. In October 1793 he was elevated to the rank of general of brigade. In December he was wounded in the left leg at the battle of Villelongue-dels-Monts
and received promotion to general of division.
When Jacques François Dugommier
took command in January 1794, he reorganized the army into three infantry divisions and a cavalry reserve. Sauret, Dominique Pérignon, and Pierre Augereau became the infantry division commanders and André de La Barre the cavalry leader. During Dugommier's offensive, Sauret led his troops in the French victory at the Battle of Boulou
on 30 April and 1 May 1794. His troops, including the brigades of Jean-François Micas, Louis Pelletier, Jean-Jacques Causse, Jean Pinon, and Claude Victor, participated in the siege of Collioure
, which began the day after Boulou. On 26 May, the 7,000-man Spanish garrison surrendered, while the French Émigrés escaped in fishing boats. The Spanish surrender of the Fort de Bellegarde in September allowed Dugommier to plan an invasion of Catalonia that fall.
Sauret commanded the left wing at the Battle of the Black Mountain
, where Dugommier ordered him to mount a feint attack on 17 November. Dugommier was killed by a Spanish artillery shell on the 18th, and his successor Pérignon reinforced Sauret. After four days of fighting, the French army broke through the fortifications, which were manned by Spanish, Portuguese, and French Émigré soldiers. The Spanish commander Luis Firmin de Carvajal, Conde de la Union
died defending the Notre-Dame-Del-Roure redoubt on 20 November and his army took to its heels.
Pérignon quickly captured Figueres
and invested the port of Rosas. From 28 November 1794 to 4 February 1795, Sauret commanded 13,000 troops at the successful Siege of Rosas
in northeast Spain where he was wounded twice. His command included the brigades of Victor, Causse, Joseph Martin, Robert Motte, Théodore Chabert, and François Guillot, plus a small division under Jean Beaufort de Thorigny. Pérignon and Sauret vigorously pressed the siege operations despite severe winter weather. Heavy guns were mounted on Mont Puy-Bois in order to take the Castillo de la Trinidad, a key outwork, under fire. The Spaniards abandoned the badly damaged Castillo on 1 January. On the night of 3 February, the fleet of Federico Gravina evacuated the garrison before a threatened French assault could take place.
In the spring of 1796, Sauret was transferred to the Army of Italy
, then commanded by Bonaparte. He became involved in fighting during the first Austrian attempt to raise the Siege of Mantua
. At the end of July, his 4,500-man division defended the west side of Lake Garda
with the brigades of Jean Guieu
and Jean Rusca. Bonaparte felt this force was adequate to defend the area because he believed the mountain roads were too poor to sustain major operations. When Peter Quasdanovich
's 18,000-strong Austrian Right Column descended from the north, Sauret's troops were not only badly outnumbered, but also unready.
On 29 July, the brigades of Peter Ott
and Joseph Ocskay
seized the towns of Gavardo
and Salò
, forcing Sauret to pull back to Desenzano del Garda
with the loss of 500 men and two cannons. However, Guieu and 400 soldiers barricaded themselves in Salò's Palazzo Martinengo and refused to give up. The following day, Johann von Klenau
surprised Brescia
, cutting Bonaparte's supply line to Milan
. Reacting to the loss of his base of operations, the French army commander began shifting his main strength to face Quasdanovich, while Augereau observed the main Austrian army under Dagobert von Wurmser
. On 31 July, Sauret marched to Salò, defeated Ocskay's troops in a fight lasting several hours, and rescued Guieu and his men. Though, he quickly pulled back to Lonato del Garda, the defeat prompted Quasdanovich to regroup his troops at Gavardo. Sometime during 1 August, Sauret was injured and Guieu took command of the division. After an intricate series of actions, the Battle of Lonato
on 3 August resulted in the defeat and withdrawal of Quasdanovich. Sauret's division, still under Guieu, observed the retreat of the Austrian Right Column and missed the Battle of Castiglione
on 5 August.
, Alessandria
, and Geneva
. He was elected to the Corps législatif
in 1799, and became its secretary in 1803. He retired from active military service in 1801 to pursue a full-time political career. In 1813, Napoleon elevated him to a Baron of the Empire. He died on 24 June 1818 at Gannat, his birthplace. SAURET is inscribed on column 35 of the Arc de Triomphe
.
Gannat
Gannat is a commune in the Allier department in central France.Gannat was a sub-prefecture until 1926, with a population of around 5 800 inhabitants. There is a castle , two churches of which one is partly Romanesque with a 19th-century Gospel Book. The Cultures du Monde Festival is held every July...
, Allier
Allier
Allier is a department in central France named after the river Allier.- History :Allier is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Auvergne and Bourbonnais.In 1940, the government of Marshal...
- 24 June 1818) enlisted in the French army as a private, fought in the Seven Years War, and became a general officer during 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...
. He served with distinction during the War of the Pyrenees
War of the Pyrenees
War of the Pyrenees refers to the Pyrenees front of the First Coalition's war against the First French Republic. Also known as Great War, War of Roussillon, or War of the Convention, it pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal from March 1793 to July 1795 during the...
before being transferred 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...
. During the 1796 Italian campaign, he led a combat division under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte. He retired from active military service in order to enter politics.
Early career
Born in GannatGannat
Gannat is a commune in the Allier department in central France.Gannat was a sub-prefecture until 1926, with a population of around 5 800 inhabitants. There is a castle , two churches of which one is partly Romanesque with a 19th-century Gospel Book. The Cultures du Monde Festival is held every July...
on 23 March 1742, Sauret joined the French royal army in 1756 as an enlisted man in the Guyenne
Guyenne
Guyenne or Guienne , , ; Occitan Guiana ) is a vaguely defined historic region of south-western France. The Province of Guyenne, sometimes called the Province of Guyenne and Gascony, was a large province of pre-revolutionary France....
Regiment. He fought in a number of actions during the Seven Years War, including the Battle of Rossbach
Battle of Rossbach
The Battle of Rossbach took place during the Seven Years' War near the village of Roßbach, in the Electorate of Saxony. Frederick the Great defeated the allied armies of France and the Holy Roman/Austrian Empire...
at the age of 15, becoming a sergeant in 1763. He slowly advanced in rank until 1780, when he became an officer, and by 1792 he was a captain.
War of the Pyrenees
In 1792, Sauret served in the Army of the Alps. During 1793-1795, he fought in the Army of the eastern Pyrenees against SpainSpain
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...
and earned rapid advancement. In October 1793 he was elevated to the rank of general of brigade. In December he was wounded in the left leg at the battle of Villelongue-dels-Monts
Villelongue-dels-Monts
Villelongue-dels-Monts is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.The inhabitants are called Villelonguais.-Geography:...
and received promotion to general of division.
Jacques François Dugommier
Jacques François Coquille named Dugommier was a French general....
took command in January 1794, he reorganized the army into three infantry divisions and a cavalry reserve. Sauret, Dominique Pérignon, and Pierre Augereau became the infantry division commanders and André de La Barre the cavalry leader. During Dugommier's offensive, Sauret led his troops in the French victory at the Battle of Boulou
Battle of Boulou (1794)
The Battle of Boulou, 29 April to 1 May 1794, saw the French Army of the eastern Pyrenees led by Jacques François Dugommier attacking the joint Spanish-Portuguese Army of Catalonia under Luis Firmin de Carvajal, Conde de la Union. The decisive French victory resulted in the French regaining nearly...
on 30 April and 1 May 1794. His troops, including the brigades of Jean-François Micas, Louis Pelletier, Jean-Jacques Causse, Jean Pinon, and Claude Victor, participated in the siege of Collioure
Collioure
Collioure is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.It lies on the Mediterranean and was a part of the ancient Roussillon province....
, which began the day after Boulou. On 26 May, the 7,000-man Spanish garrison surrendered, while the French Émigrés escaped in fishing boats. The Spanish surrender of the Fort de Bellegarde in September allowed Dugommier to plan an invasion of Catalonia that fall.
Sauret commanded the left wing at the Battle of the Black Mountain
Battle of the Black Mountain
The Battle of the Black Mountain was fought from 17 to 20 November 1794 between the army of the First French Republic and the allied armies of the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Portugal...
, where Dugommier ordered him to mount a feint attack on 17 November. Dugommier was killed by a Spanish artillery shell on the 18th, and his successor Pérignon reinforced Sauret. After four days of fighting, the French army broke through the fortifications, which were manned by Spanish, Portuguese, and French Émigré soldiers. The Spanish commander Luis Firmin de Carvajal, Conde de la Union
Luis Firmin de Carvajal, Conde de la Union
Luis Firmin de Carvajal, Conde de la Union became a general officer in the army of the Kingdom of Spain. In 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars, he commanded the Spanish Army in a mostly unsuccessful effort to hold back the army of the First French Republic...
died defending the Notre-Dame-Del-Roure redoubt on 20 November and his army took to its heels.
Pérignon quickly captured Figueres
Figueres
Figueres is the capital of the comarca of Alt Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which attracts many visitors...
and invested the port of Rosas. From 28 November 1794 to 4 February 1795, Sauret commanded 13,000 troops at the successful Siege of Rosas
Siege of Roses (1794-1795)
The Siege of Roses began on 28 November 1794 and lasted until 4 February 1795 when the Spanish garrison evacuated the port and the forces of the First French Republic took control. Dominique Pérignon commanded the French army and Domingo Izquierdo led the Spanish defenders...
in northeast Spain where he was wounded twice. His command included the brigades of Victor, Causse, Joseph Martin, Robert Motte, Théodore Chabert, and François Guillot, plus a small division under Jean Beaufort de Thorigny. Pérignon and Sauret vigorously pressed the siege operations despite severe winter weather. Heavy guns were mounted on Mont Puy-Bois in order to take the Castillo de la Trinidad, a key outwork, under fire. The Spaniards abandoned the badly damaged Castillo on 1 January. On the night of 3 February, the fleet of Federico Gravina evacuated the garrison before a threatened French assault could take place.
Italian campaign
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...
, then commanded by Bonaparte. He became involved in fighting during the first Austrian attempt to raise the Siege of Mantua
Siege of Mantua (1796-1797)
In the Siege of Mantua, which lasted from 4 July 1796 to 2 February 1797 with a short break, French forces under the overall command of Napoleon Bonaparte besieged and blockaded a large Austrian garrison for many months until it surrendered...
. At the end of July, his 4,500-man division defended the west side of Lake Garda
Lake Garda
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last ice age...
with the brigades of Jean Guieu
Jean Joseph Guieu
Jean Joseph Guieu, also Jean Guyeux, joined the French royal army and quickly rose in rank during the French Revolutionary Wars. He fought in the War of the Pyrenees against Spain and became a general officer. After transferring to Italy, he held important commands under Napoleon Bonaparte in the...
and Jean Rusca. Bonaparte felt this force was adequate to defend the area because he believed the mountain roads were too poor to sustain major operations. When Peter Quasdanovich
Peter Quasdanovich
Peter Vitus Freiherr von Quosdanovich was a general of the Austrian Empire. Feldmarschall-Lieutenant and Commander of the Order of Maria Theresa...
's 18,000-strong Austrian Right Column descended from the north, Sauret's troops were not only badly outnumbered, but also unready.
On 29 July, the brigades of Peter Ott
Peter Karl Ott von Bátorkéz
Peter Karl Ott von Bátorkéz joined the Austrian army and fought in the wars against the Kingdom of Prussia, Ottoman Turkey, and the First French Republic in the last half of the 18th century. During the French Revolutionary Wars, he rose in rank to general officer and twice campaigned against the...
and Joseph Ocskay
Joseph Ocskay von Ocsko
Joseph Ocskay von Ocskó joined the army of the Habsburg Empire and rose to the rank of general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars. He fought in numerous actions in the 1796-1797 Italian campaign against the French army commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte...
seized the towns of Gavardo
Gavardo
Gavardo is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy.As of 2007 Gavardo had an estimated population of 11,337....
and Salò
Salò
Salò is a town and commune in the Province of Brescia in the region of Lombardy on the banks of Lake Garda. The city was the capital of Italian Social Republic from 1943 to 1945, with the ISR often being called the "Republic of Salò" .-History:Salò was founded in the Roman period as Pagus...
, forcing Sauret to pull back to Desenzano del Garda
Desenzano del Garda
Desenzano del Garda is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy, which borders Lake Garda. It is bordered by other communes of Castiglione delle Stiviere, Lonato, Padenghe sul Garda and Sirmione.-History:...
with the loss of 500 men and two cannons. However, Guieu and 400 soldiers barricaded themselves in Salò's Palazzo Martinengo and refused to give up. The following day, Johann von Klenau
Johann von Klenau
Johann von Klenau , also called Johann Josef Cajetan von Klenau und Janowitz, the son of a Bohemian noble, was a field marshal in the Habsburg army...
surprised Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
, cutting Bonaparte's supply line to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. Reacting to the loss of his base of operations, the French army commander began shifting his main strength to face Quasdanovich, while Augereau observed the main Austrian army under Dagobert von Wurmser
Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
Dagobert Sigismund, Count Wurmser was an Austrian field marshal during the French Revolutionary Wars. Although he fought in the Seven Years War, the War of the Bavarian Succession, and mounted several successful campaigns in the Rhineland in the initial years of the French Revolutionary Wars, he...
. On 31 July, Sauret marched to Salò, defeated Ocskay's troops in a fight lasting several hours, and rescued Guieu and his men. Though, he quickly pulled back to Lonato del Garda, the defeat prompted Quasdanovich to regroup his troops at Gavardo. Sometime during 1 August, Sauret was injured and Guieu took command of the division. After an intricate series of actions, the Battle of Lonato
Battle of Lonato
The Battle of Lonato was fought on 3 and 4 August 1796 between the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte and a corps-sized Austrian column led by Feldmarschallleutnant Peter Quasdanovich. A week of hard-fought actions that began on 29 July and ended on 4 August resulted in the...
on 3 August resulted in the defeat and withdrawal of Quasdanovich. Sauret's division, still under Guieu, observed the retreat of the Austrian Right Column and missed the Battle of Castiglione
Battle of Castiglione
The Battle of Castiglione saw the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte attack an army of Habsburg Austria led by Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser on 5 August 1796. The outnumbered Austrians were defeated and driven back along a line of hills to the river crossing at...
on 5 August.
Later career
Bonaparte replaced him in command soon after. He wrote of Sauret on 14 August, "Good, very good soldier; not sufficient intellect for a general officer; not lucky." Afterward Sauret was entrusted with the command of the fortresses of TortonaTortona
Tortona is a comune of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines.-History:...
, Alessandria
Alessandria
-Monuments:* The Citadel * The church of Santa Maria di Castello * The church of Santa Maria del Carmine * Palazzo Ghilini * Università del Piemonte Orientale-Museums:* The Marengo Battle Museum...
, and Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. He was elected to the Corps législatif
Corps législatif
The Corps législatif was a part of the French legislature during the French Revolution and beyond. It is also the generic French term used to refer to any legislative body.-History:The Constitution of the Year I foresaw the need for a corps législatif...
in 1799, and became its secretary in 1803. He retired from active military service in 1801 to pursue a full-time political career. In 1813, Napoleon elevated him to a Baron of the Empire. He died on 24 June 1818 at Gannat, his birthplace. SAURET is inscribed on column 35 of the Arc de Triomphe
Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
The following is the list of the names of the 660 persons inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris. Most of them are generals who served during the First French Empire with additional figures from the French Revolution ....
.
Printed materials
- Boycott-Brown, Martin. The Road to Rivoli. London: Cassell & Co., 2001. ISBN 0-304-35305-1
- Chandler, DavidDavid G. ChandlerDavid G. Chandler was a British historian whose study focused on the Napoleonic era.As a young man he served briefly in the army, reaching the rank of captain, and in later life he taught at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Oxford University awarded him the D. Litt. in 1991...
. Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars. New York: Macmillan, 1979. ISBN 0-02-523670-9 - Ostermann, Georges. "Pérignon: The Unknown Marshal". Chandler, David, ed. Napoleon's Marshals. New York: Macmillan, 1987. ISBN 0-02-905930-5
- Smith, DigbyDigby SmithDigby Smith is a British military historian. The son of a British career soldier, he was born in Hampshire, England, but spent several years in India and Pakistan as a child and youth. As a "boy soldier," he entered training in the British Army at the age of 16...
. The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill, 1998. ISBN 1-85367-276-9
External references
- French Wikipedia Pierre François Sauret de la Borie