Louis Gabriel Suchet duc d’Albuféra | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byJean-Baptiste Paulin Guérin | |
| Born | 2 March 1770 (1770-03-02) Lyon, France |
| Died | 3 January 1826 (1826-01-04) (aged 55) Marseille, France |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of France French First Republic First French Empire Bourbon Restoration (1814–1815) |
| Service | Army |
| Years of service | 1792–1815 |
| Rank | Marshal of the Empire |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Grand Cross of theLegion of Honour |
Louis-Gabriel Suchet, duc d'Albuféra (French pronunciation:[lwiɡabʁijɛlsyʃɛ]; 2 March 1770 – 3 January 1826), was a FrenchMarshal of the Empire and one of the most successful commanders of theFrench Revolutionary andNapoleonic Wars. He is regarded as one of the greatest generals of the Napoleonic Wars.
Suchet was born on 2 March 1770 inLyon, the son of Jean-Pierre Suchet and Anne-Marie Jacquier.[1] His mother died four years later.[1] His father was asilk merchant, and Suchet originally intended to follow a business career.[1] He received a solid education and joined his father's business in 1787, working as an apprentice for two years.[1]
Upon Jean-Pierre's death in January 1789, Suchet and his brother Gabriel-Catherine took over the family enterprise, which they decided to expand under the nameMaison Suchet frères.[1] However, theFrench Revolution led Suchet to volunteer, in 1791, for the cavalry of theNational Guard at Lyon.[2] He displayed abilities which secured rapid military promotions, and by 1792 he was a captain of thevolunteers fromArdèche.[2][3]
.jpg)
After theLevée en masse of August 1793, Suchet was appointed commander of the 4th Ardèche Battalion.[3] In this capacity he served in theSiege of Toulon, where he captured British GeneralCharles O'Hara.[3] In May 1794, at the head of 250 soldiers of his battalion, he suppressed acounter-revolutionary uprising in the town ofBédoin in southeastern France.[1] Suchet was then sent to theArmy of Italy, where he would serve for most of the next seven years.[3] He fought at theBattle of Loano in November 1795 during thearmy's first campaign.[3] During theItalian campaign of 1796–1797, he served with distinction at the battles ofLodi,Castiglione, andBassano.[3] He went toParis onleave after being severely wounded on 11 October atCerea, but soon returned to the army.[2][3]
In May 1797, Suchet was one of threelieutenant colonels of the 18th Infantry Demi-brigade, with little hope of advancement. He was sent toVenice to procure uniforms for the troops. Since the Venetians believed that they might in future be ruled by the French, Suchet and an aide were treated like royalty. For two months, they enjoyed living in a palace, having a personal gondola and holding reserved seats at the opera. On 28 October 1797, 150 officers ofAndré Masséna's division hosted a large dinner. The colonel of the 32nd Line,Dominique Martin Dupuy brought Suchet toNapoleon Bonaparte's table and said, "Well general, when will you make our friend Suchet a colonel?" Bonaparte tried to brush him off with the reply, "Soon: we will see about it." Thereupon Dupuy took off one of his epaulettes and placed it on Suchet's shoulder, saying, "By my almightiness, I make thee colonel." This clownish action was successful; Bonaparte immediately directedLouis-Alexandre Berthier to write out Suchet's nomination for advancement.[4]
Suchet received the command of the 18thhalf-brigade (demi-brigade) on 26 October 1797.[3] In March 1798, he served under GeneralGuillaume Brune in theinvasion of Switzerland.[3] At the end of the campaign, he was promoted tobrigade general and was given the honor of presenting the flags captured from the enemy to theDirectory.[3][5] Although designated to take part in theexpedition to Egypt, Brune kept Suchet’s services and appointed him his chief of staff in the Army of Italy, a role that he retained under GeneralBarthélemy Joubert, Brune's successor as commander in Italy and Suchet's friend.[3] He was appointed chief of staff of theArmy of the Danube on 21 February 1799, but soon rejoined Joubert in Italy and was promoted togeneral of division.[3] After Joubert's death at theBattle of Novi, Suchet continued to serve as chief of staff to his successorsMoreau andChampionnet.[3]
In 1800, Suchet was named second-in-command to GeneralAndré Masséna.[2] His dexterous resistance to the superior forces of the Austrians with the left wing of Masséna's army, when the right and centre werebesieged in Genoa, not only prevented the invasion of France from this direction but contributed to the success of Bonaparte'scrossing of the Alps, leading to a decisive victory at theBattle of Marengo on 14 June.[2] Following the signing of theConvention of Alessandria on 15 June, Suchet was entrusted with the administration ofGenoa andLucca.[3] He took a prominent part in the subsequent of the Italian campaign up to theArmistice of Treviso, and thereafter served as governor ofPadua until thePeace of Lunéville and the end of theWar of the Second Coalition.[3] He was appointed Inspector-General of the Infantry on 24 July 1801.[3]
Suchet greatly enhanced his reputation during theNapoleonic Wars.[2] In 1804, during theWar of the Third Coalition, he commanded the 4th division ofMarshal Lannes'sIV Corps and distinguished himself at the battles ofUlm andAusterlitz.[3] He served under Lannes in theV Corps in 1806, during theWar of the Fourth Coalition, and fought at the battles ofSaalfeld,Jena,Pułtusk, andOstrolenka.[3]
In the subsequent negotiations of theTreaties of Tilsit, Suchet worked with Russian generalsTolstoy andWittgenstein on the settlement of the borders of the newDuchy of Warsaw. He was named aCount of the Empire on 24 June 1808.[3] Two months later, Suchet was stationed toSilesia as commander-in-chief of the V Corps.[3]
.jpg)
Suchet was deployed toSpain in November 1808.[3] After serving in theSiege of Zaragoza, in April 1809 he was appointed commander of the Army ofAragon and governor of that region.[2] Within two years, he brought the area into complete submission by wise and skillful administration no less than by his valor.[2] Beaten by the Spanish at theBattle of Alcañiz, he defeated the army ofBlake y Joyes at theBattle of María on 14 June 1809.[2] On 22 April 1810, he defeatedO'Donnell at theSiege of Lérida, thenlaid siege to Mequinenza in May.[5]
Hecaptured Tortosa on 2 January 1811.[3] For his successfulSiege of Tarragona from May to June 1811, Suchet was made aMarshal of the Empire by Napoleon on 8 July 1811.[3] He then launched an invasion of theregion of Valencia, defeated Blake y Joyes at theBattle of Saguntum on 15 October, and received thecapitulation of Valencia on 9 January 1812.[3] He was rewarded with the title ofduc d'Albuféra (Duke ofAlbuféra) on 24 January 1812.[5]
After the tide turned against France, Suchet managed to defend his territories in eastern Spain until the French defeat atVitoria on 21 June 1813, after which he was forced to evacuate Valencia.[3] He withdrew toCatalonia then to thePyrenees before finally re-entering France, and afterwards took part in thedefense of southwestern France until Napoleon's abdication in April 1814.[3]
Suchet accepted theBourbon Restoration and was made apeer of France on 4 June 1814 by KingLouis XVIII.[3] This was forfeited (effective 24 July 1815) by his support of Napoleon's return during theHundred Days.[2] During Napoleon's brief restoration, Suchet was given command of theArmy of the Alps and led thedefensive campaign on the southeastern front.[2] He resisted the Allies' advance for nearly two months before withdrawing to his hometown of Lyon, where he signed an armistice on 12 July.[3]
Suchet was only restored to the Chamber of Peers on 5 March 1819.[3] Unlike other marshals whom Napoleon harshly criticized inSaint Helena, Suchet never lost Napoleon's high esteem.[5] He died on 3 January 1826 at theChâteau de Saint-Joseph-Montredon, now calledChâteau de Saint-Just, nearMarseille.[3][6][2] His son, Louis-Napoléon (1813–1877), succeeded him as Duc d'Albufera.
His memoirs (Mémoires sur Ses Campagnes en Espagne) were published in two volumes from 1829 to 1834.[2]
The chicken dishpoularde à la d'Albuféra is named after him.
Suchet married Honorine Anthoine de Saint-Joseph (Marseille, 26 February 1790 – Paris, 13 April 1884), a niece ofJulie Clary, the wife ofJoseph Bonaparte, on 16 November 1808.[7][8] They had three children:[9]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), "Suchet, Louis Gabriel",Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 26 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 7
Marshals of theFirst French Empire | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.svg) |  | ||
