Marshal of the Empire Nicolas Charles Oudinot Count of the Empire, Duke of Reggio | |
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 Oudinot byRobert Lefèvre, 1811 | |
| Born | (1767-04-25)25 April 1767 |
| Died | 13 September 1847(1847-09-13) (aged 80) |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of France.svg) Kingdom of France First French Republic First French Empire Bourbon RestorationJuly Monarchy |
| Branch | Army |
| Rank | Marshal of the Empire |
| Known for | Military officer |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Grand Cross of theLegion of Honour |
| Other work | Governor ofLes Invalides (1842–1847) |
Nicolas Charles Oudinot, duc deReggio (French pronunciation:[nikɔlɑudino]; 25 April 1767 – 13 September 1847), was a French general of theFrench Revolutionary Wars and theNapoleonic Wars. He is known to have been wounded 34 times in battle, being hit by artillery shells, sabres, and at least twelve bullets over the course of his military career. AMarshal of the Empire, he is best known for his contributions to the Napoleonic Wars with his famousgrenadier division. Oudinot is one of theNames inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe,Eastern pillar Columns 13, 14.
Nicolas Charles Oudinot was the son of Nicolas Oudinot and Marie Anne Adam, the only one of their nine children to live to adulthood. His father was abrewer,farmer anddistiller ofbrandy inBar-le-Duc,Lorraine. He decided upon amilitary career, and served in theregiment ofMedoc from 1784 to 1787, when, having no hope of promotion on account of his non-noble birth, he retired with the rank ofsergeant.[1]
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TheFrench Revolution changed his fortunes, and in 1792, on the outbreak of war, he was electedlieutenant-colonel of the 3rd battalion of the volunteers of theMeuse. His gallant defense of the little fort ofBitsch in theVosges in 1792 drew attention to him; he was transferred to the regular army in November 1793, and after serving in numerous actions on the Belgian frontier he was promotedgeneral of brigade, in June 1794 for his conduct at theBattle of Kaiserslautern.[1]
He continued to serve with distinction on the German frontier underLouis Lazare Hoche,Charles Pichegru andJean Victor Marie Moreau, was repeatedly wounded and once (in 1795) taken prisoner after having been wounded again. He wasAndré Masséna's right hand all through the Swiss campaign of 1799, first as a general of division, then as chief of staff, and won extraordinary distinction at theSecond Battle of Zurich. He was present under Massena at theSiege of Genoa, and so distinguished himself at theBattle of Monzambano thatNapoleon presented him with a sword of honour (an especially uncommon award replaced later by the Légion d'Honneur). He was made inspector-general of infantry, and, on the establishment of the empire, given theGrand Cross of theLegion of Honour, but was not included in the first creation of marshals.[1]
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Oudinot was elected a member of the chamber of deputies, but had little time to devote to politics. He took a leading role in theWar of the Third Coalition, commanding the famous division of "grenadiers Oudinot," made up of hand-picked troops and organised by him, with which he seized the Vienna bridges, received a wound at theBattle of Schöngrabern in Lower Austria against the Russians. In 1807, he participated inJoachim Murat's victory in theBattle of Ostrolenka in Poland and fought with resolution and success at theBattle of Friedland.[1]
In 1808 he was made governor ofErfurt andCount of the French Empire, and in 1809, after theBattle of Wagram, he was promoted to the rank ofMarshal of France. He was made a titular duke in chief of theduché-grand fief ofReggio in the satelliteKingdom of Naples, and received a large money grant in April 1810.[1]
From 1810 to 1812 Oudinot administered the government of the formerKingdom of Holland, and commanded the II Corps ofLa Grande Armée in theRussian campaign. His corps was instrumental in building the bridge over theBerezina that allowed the evacuation of troops after the defeat at theBattle of Berezina. During this period he suffered another wounding in battle.[1]
He was present at theBattle of Lützen and theBattle of Bautzen, and when holding the independent command of the corps directed to takeBerlin was defeated at theBattle of Grossbeeren. He was then superseded byMarshal Ney, but the latter was defeated at theBattle of Dennewitz.[1]
Oudinot was not disgraced. He held important commands at theBattle of Leipzig and in the campaign of 1814. On Napoleon's abdication, he rallied to the new government, and was made aPeer of France by the Bourbon Restoration KingLouis XVIII. Unlike many of his old comrades, he did not desert to his former master during Bonaparte's 1815 return.[1]
His last active service was in theFrench invasion of Spain in 1823, in which he commanded a corps and was for a time governor ofMadrid. He died asGovernor of the Parisian veterans institutionLes Invalides.
He married first, in September 1789, Charlotte Derlin (1768–1810) and had 7 children:
He married secondly, in January 1812, Eugenie de Coucy (1791–1868) and had 4 children:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Oudinot, Charles Nicolas".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.Marshals of theFirst French Empire | |||
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