Claude Dallemagne (French pronunciation:[kloddalmaɲ]; 8 November 1754,Peyrieu,Ain – 12 June 1813) started his career in theFrench army under theBourbons, fought in theAmerican Revolutionary War, rose in rank to become ageneral officer during theFrench Revolutionary Wars, took part in the1796 Italian campaign underNapoleon Bonaparte, and held military posts during theNapoleonic Wars.
Born on 8 November 1754 to parents Balthazar D'Allemagne (1710–1772) and Marie Lasalle (1731–1799), Claude D'Allemagne grew up inPeyrieu,Ain,France. A year after his father died, he enrolled in the Hainaut Regiment, taking Dallemagne as his new surname. In 1777, his battalion embarked for the West Indies withComte d'Estaing's fleet. He fought in actions atDominica,St. Vincent,Grenada, andSt. Lucia, being wounded in the latter combat. In 1779 he took part in the ill-fatedSiege of Savannah inGeorgia. By 1786, he earned advancement to sergeant-major.[1]
Under theFrench Revolution, the pace of Dallemagne's promotions quickened. He becamesous-lieutenant in September 1791,lieutenant in June 1792, andcaptain that September. In late 1793, he fought at theSiege of Toulon, winning promotion togeneral of brigade. After a brief stint in theArmy of the western Pyrenees, he transferred to theArmy of Italy in early 1794. That year he captured theCol de Tende. He also served in the 1795 campaign.[2]
In April 1796, Dallemagne commanded a brigade inFrancois Macquard's division. His troops were ordered to the front after theMontenotte Campaign forced theKingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont to sue for peace. Bonaparte formed an advanced guard by combining 3,500 converged footgrenadiers andcarabiniers with 1,500 cavalry. Assigning Dallemagne to command the advanced guard,[3] Bonaparte sent it marching along the south bank of thePo River to turn Austrian GeneralJohann Beaulieu's left flank. Supported by the division ofAmédée Laharpe, Dallemagne crossed to the north bank and defeated the Austrians at theBattle of Fombio on 7–8 May 1796.[4] Two days later, he led his troops at the successfulBattle of Lodi. Along withAndré Masséna,Jean Lannes,Louis Berthier, andJean-Baptiste Cervoni, he bravely rallied the troops to cross the bridge after cannon fire caused them to hesitate.[5]
In July, Bonaparte detached Dallemagne's brigade fromJean Serurier's division and sent it to reinforce Masséna.[6] He led his soldiers with distinction at theBattle of Lonato. On 31 July, his troops helped recover Lonato fromPeter Ott's Austrians. On 3 August, Ott repulsed his attack onGavardo but this action allowed Masséna to mass against and destroyJoseph Ocskay's brigade. Two days later, Dallemagne fought at theBattle of Castiglione. He received promotion togeneral of division on 15 August.
Dallemagne held important posts during theSiege of Mantua. After theBattle of Bassano and the combat of La Favorita, he led an attack to drive the Austrian garrison back within the fortress on 24 September.[7] During theBattle of Arcole campaign, Dallemagne led a small division under the orders ofCharles Kilmaine.[8] In theBattle of Rivoli campaign, he commanded a division under Serurier in the siege. A division came under his orders in the invasion of Austrian during the spring of 1797.
Beginning in 1797, Dallemagne held commands atBoulogne,Ancona,Rome, andMainz. He asked to be retired from the army in December 1799, which became official in 1802. Meanwhile, he began a political career and served as a deputy in theCorps législatif from 1802 to 1813. Dallemagne married Jeanne Christine Gaudet (1785–1849) on 19 February 1800. They had two sons, Clément and Claudius.
In 1803, Dallemagne became a Legionnaire in theLégion d'honneur and the following year a Commandant. Emperor Napoleon called him back to active duty in 1807. He commanded a corps of observation until 1809, being posted inPomerania andBerlin. Appointed governor ofWesel from March 1809 to March 1810, he briefly participated in theWalcheren Campaign.[9] He transferred to command the military division ofCaen from 1810 to 1813. The emperor granted him the title ofBaron in March 1813. Dallemagne died inNemours on 12 June 1813. DALLEMAGNE is inscribed on Column 26 of theArc de Triomphe inParis.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
