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Achille Fontanelli | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byAndrea Appiani | |
| Born | 8 November 1775 (1775-11-08) |
| Died | 22 July 1838(1838-07-22) (aged 62) |
| Allegiance |  Italy Austria |
| Branch | Infantry |
| Service years | 1797–1814 1814–1815 |
| Rank | General of DivisionFeldmarschall-Leutnant |
| Conflicts | |
Achille Fontanelli (8 November 1775 – 22 July 1838) was an Italiannationalist and Napoleonicgeneral. Born into a low-ranking noble family, he took service with a pro-French Italian military unit in 1797. He was captured in 1799 but was repatriated in time to serve in theMarengo Campaign in 1800. He was promoted togeneral officer in 1804 and in the 1809 war he led an Italian division in several major battles. After serving as Minister of War toEugène de Beauharnais, he was tapped to command a division in the 1813 campaign. After the collapse ofNapoleon's empire in 1814, he took service with theAustrian Empire.
Fontanelli was born inModena on 8 November 1775 to a minor Italian aristocratic family, son of Marquis Alfonso and Paolina Cervi. His parents died while he was young. With the arrival in Italy ofNapoleon Bonaparte's French army in 1796 he enrolled in the city Guard of Modena.[1]
The following year he transferred to one of the Bologna Cohorts of theLombard Legion, which became part ofJean Lannes' brigade. In February he served againstMichelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi's forces in Romagna, and was at the capture ofAncona. In mid June Bonaparte ordered an expedition against theIonian Islands. The Lombard Legion had been split in two parts with the Transpadane Cohorts gathered under the name of the 3rd Legion. Taking temporary command of this unit Fontanelli led it in the capture ofCorfu. In 1798 his command returned to central Italy and joinedGiuseppe Lechi for a joint march against Rome, however the Pope resigned before the invasion so the Legion remained in garrison atPesaro.
In 1799, the Lombard Legion evolved into the 3rd CisalpineDemi-Brigade. After the renewed outbreak of hostilities Fontanelli marched towards Ferrara and Verona underJoseph Hélie Désiré Perruquet de Montrichard, serving at the action at Finale and retreating to Bologna, then to Pesaro, where, together withDomenico Pino, he refused to participate in General Lahoz's decision to capitulate. Fontanelli instead marched the Legion toAncona, which was under blockade from a joint Turkish-Russian fleet led by admirals Wejnowich and Pastokhin. The Fontanelli column was welcome in the Citadel, but Fontanelli was arrested on suspicion of insubordination. The Cisalpine officers were however totally discharged, and attached to the Ancona garrison.
Following the eventual surrender of Ancona at the end of 1799 Fontanelli was repatriated to France, where in 1800 he was reassigned to command a light infantry battalion of the Legione Italica. At the head of this he followed Bonaparte in thecrossing of the Alps and theMarengo Campaign.
In 1802 he served as anaide-de-camp to Napoleon. In 1804 he was namedGeneral de Brigade,Count of the Empire, and Commander of theLégion d'Honneur. On 1 August 1805 Fontanelli was appointed commander of the Corps of Gardes Velites in theItalian Royal Guard underPino, holding this post until 1811. In 1805–1806 he commanded the Italian division in Italy.[2]
PromotedGeneral de Division in 1809, he took command of the 2nd, later 1st Italian Division in the Army of Italy underEugène de Beauharnais. Initially serving in theTyrol campaign in April, his corps returned to Italy to fight at theBattle of Piave on 8 May 1809. He also led his troops at theBattle of Tarvis on 17 May andBattle of Raab on 14 June. After theBattle of Wagram he was honoured asCount of the Empire, Grand Officer of theLegion d'Honneur andmajor general in 1810. Appointedaide-de-camp to the king and commander of the 1st Military Division at Milan, he was appointed Minister of the War and Navy of theKingdom of Italy from 1811 to 1814.
From 1813 he was charged with the reorganization of the Italian troops into five divisions. In autumn 1813 he was given command of the 15th Division composed of four regiments and a divisional battery (brigades of Sant'Andrea and Moroni) of Italians inIV Corps underHenri Gatien Bertrand, replacingLuigi Gaspare Peyri, and saw action at the battles ofGrossbeeren on 23 August,Dennewitz 6 September,Wartenburg on 3 October andLeipzig on 16–19 October. After Leipzig, Fontanelli's division successfully heldLindenau, allowing the remains of Napoleon'sLa Grande Armée to reach France.
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After the Restoration he was given the rank of AustrianFeldmarschall-Leutnant, with which he retired to private life and died of bone cancer in autumn 1838 in Milan. The head of his funeral procession was led by the Austrian field marshalJoseph Radetzky von Radetz.
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