Pierre, baron Berthezène (French pronunciation:[pjɛʁbɛʁtəzɛn]; 24 March 1775,Vendargues – 9 October 1847, Vendargues) was a French general.
Pierre's parents, Jacques Berthezène and Marguerite Causse, were from a modest background. They chose a career in the church for him and the village priest taught him in preparation for the seminary atMontpellier. Berthezène was still studying when theFrench Revolution broke out. On 15 September 1793 he joined the 5th volunteer battalion of Hérault, amalgamated into the 7th provisional battledemi-brigade, which later became the 10th line infantry regiment in year 4. He rose to corporal, sergeant and sergeant-major on 17, 19 and 22 September. In this regiment he met other non-commissioned officers such asLannes andVictor.
He joined thearmée des Pyrénées orientales, but a few days after theaffair at Peyrestortes, the brigade went to reinforcethe corps besieging Toulon. At the capture of the British redoubt which was decisive in the French revolutionaries' capture of the city, the young Berthezène captured a British NCO's rifle, which he kept himself. This act of bravery gained him promotion to lieutenant on1 Messidor, year II.
His demi-brigade then moved toGarnier's division in thearmée d'Italie. In 1796 Berthezène, having been elected lieutenant, distinguished himself atCastiglione.
In 1798 he was attached to the staff of GeneralGrenier under whom he distinguished himself and was promoted to captain. In 1799 he was made aide-de-camp to GeneralCompans. In 1799 he was given command of a battalion in the 72nd demi-brigade, which he commanded in the Marengo campaign, during which he was wounded.
After having served in Holland and Hannover, Berthezène was promoted to colonel in 1807 and was given command of the 10th light infantry regiment. For his service atHeilsberg he was ennobled as a baron. After thePeace of Tilsitt Berthezène occupied the isle ofRügen.
When theWar of the Fifth Coalition started, Berthezène and his regiment joined the division ofSaint-Hilaire nearRegensburg. During theBattle of Eckmühl Berthezène was again wounded when his regiment took the enemy positions. Under the command of Marshal Lannes, Berthezène served at Battle ofEssling.
Berthezène was promoted to general de brigade on 6 August 1811. In October he was given command ofWalcheren and in December 1811 he was given a command in the grenadiers of theImperial Guard. In this latter capacity Berthezène served during theRussian Campaign where he commanded three regiments of the Young Guard. During the retreat he distinguished himself at theBattle of the Beresina.
In 1813 he was given command of a part of the Old Guard, with whom he served atLützen andBautzen. On 4 August 1813 Berthezène was promoted to general de division and given command of the 44th division under MarshalGouvion Saint-Cyr under whom he served atDresden. After thebattle of Leipzig he was part of the forced besieged atDresden and capitulated on 11 November 1813. He was held as a prisoner of war in Hungary for the duration of the war.
In June 1814 Berthezène was released from prison after theBourbon Restoration and was available for military service again.Louis XVIII awarded him thecroix de Saint-Louis on 19 July and attached him to the committee for war on 18 December. He was in this position at the time Napoleon landed in theGolfe-Juan. Berthezène followed him during theHundred Days.
On 29 March, Napoléon put him in charge of the commission charged with placing half-pay officers and on 7 June he was given command of the 11th infantry division, 3rd army corps, armée du Nord. He fought atLigny on 16 June, where his horse was shot from under him, and afterHabert was badly wounded atWavre took over command of his division. He drove eight Prussian battalions from the heights atBierges. On 20 June,Dominique Vandamme put him in command of two more infantry divisions and commanded him to hold up the enemy to buy time for MarshalGrouchy to take up position atDinant - this led to a fierce battle beneath the walls ofNamur in which Berthezène's horse was again killed under him.
When the provisional government seemed to wish to withdraw behind Paris, Berthezène was sent to take command of 3rd corps, but the armistice was concluded and he returned to his division. After Napoleon's second abdication, he commanded the rearguard corps in the Loire until the licensing.
After the licensing of thearmée de la Loire, the general came to Paris, where he stayed.General Despinois, commander of Paris, summoned him to see his chief of staff and told him that he could authorise his stay in Paris and that he had to see the minister for war (the Duc de Feltre). The general went to find the minister, who told him to go to his estate. Authorised on 16 September to retire to his estates, on 9 December he was granted permission to retire to Belgium. After a couple of months his exile was retracted and he was allowed to return to France. Pierre Berthezène was placed on the non-active list on 18 April 1816. In 1818 he was named an inspector-general of the infantry by Marshal Gouvion Saint-Cyr. In 1820 he was again placed on active duty.
Having been named a member of the advisory committee on the infantry in January 1830, Berthezène was given command of the 1st infantry division for theFrench invasion of Algeria. On 14 June 1830 Berthezène landed his troops on the coast nearAlgiers and attacked and took an artillery battery of 16 pieces. Berthezène then took part in thefighting for the city of Algiers.
After theJuly Revolution Berthezène returned to France in November. In February 1831 Berthezène replacedBertrand Clauzel asmilitary governor of Algeria. He took office on 21 March and served until the end of December 1831 during his tenure he concentrated French efforts on the city of Algiers and other major ports opposing designs on the Algerian hinterland that exceeded the resources available to him.[1] He returned to France in January 1832 and was madePeer of France in October of that year. In the Chamber of Pairs, Berthezène acted as a moderate, mainly concentrating on issues regarding the colonization of Algeria.
In the early 1840s Berthezène became embroiled in a dispute between MarshalGérard and MarshalGrouchy about the latter’s actions during the Waterloo campaign.
Pierre Berthezène died atVendargues on 9 October 1847.
Bouillet, Marie-Nicolas; Chassang, Alexis, eds. (1878).Dictionnaire Bouillet (in French).{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)