Antoine Dominique Abbatucci (1818–1878)

Antoine Dominique Abbatucci (born January 4, 1818 in Zicavo , Corsica , † January 26, 1878 in Nancy ) was a French general. He came from the Corsican noble Abbatucci family , took part in the Crimean War in 1854/55 and in the Battle of Solferino in 1859 and was appointed commander of the Legion of Honor in 1864. As Général de brigade , he served in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 and in the following year in the fight against the Paris Commune, and finally became Général de division . He died at the beginning of 1878 while still in active military service.

Life

Antoine Dominique Abbatucci was the second son of the French politician Jacques Pierre Charles Abbatucci ; he had four siblings. After attending high school, he embarked on a military career following the example of former family members. On March 11, 1840, at the age of 22, he entered the 39 ^e régiment d'infanterie as a simple soldier and became a sergent in 1841 . In 1845 he became the Sous-lieutenant in the 35 ^e régiment d'infantry and three years later to Lieutenant promoted. Due to his father's connections, he was appointed adjutant by the former King Jérôme Bonaparte in 1849 . Abbatucci held this position until 1851.

During the reign of Emperor Napoleon III. Abbatucci continued his military career. On 3 March 1852 he was captain in two ^e régiment de zouaves ( Zouaves ). He was transferred to North Africa and distinguished himself at the beginning of December 1852 for his bravery in the French conquest of the city ​​of Laghouat in northern Algeria . Because of this military service, Abbatuccis was appointed Knight of the Legion of Honor on December 22, 1852 .

Abbatucci stayed in North Africa until April 19, 1854, when he was assigned to participate in the Crimean War. He was initially an adjutant to General Joseph Vinoy , before becoming chief de bataillon in the 18th ^e régiment d'infanterie on June 1, 1855 . He took part in the siege of Sevastopol and was wounded in the left eye on June 21, 1855. He sustained a head injury during the fighting on July 9th. Soon afterwards his engagement in the Crimean War came to an end and he returned to his homeland in October 1855. On March 22, 1856 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in the 52 ^e régiment d'infanterie .

On January 5, 1857 Abbatucci married Jenny Marguerite Rose Rey de Foresta (1833-1903), the daughter of a lawyer from a family resident in Provence . The marriage had two children:

• Jacques Pierre Jean Charles Abbatucci (1857–1927), who was briefly a Corsican member of the Chamber of Deputies in 1885 , before his election was canceled after a few weeks
• Emilie Abbatucci (1859-1921), the Louis Thouvenel, son of Foreign Minister Édouard Thouvenel married,

In 1859 Abbatucci took part in the Sardinian War that the Kingdom of Sardinia and France fought against Austria . On 29 May this year he was appointed Colonel promoted and took over command of the 91 ^e régiment d'infantry in the Battle of Solferino (24 June 1859), was killed in his horse. In return, Abbatuccis was appointed officer of the Legion of Honor on August 13, 1859. Then he took over the command of the "2 ^e régiment de voltigeurs" ( Voltigeurs ), which was one of four regiments of the Imperial Guard . He was appointed commander of the Legion of Honor on November 15, 1864.

After Abbatucci had become General de brigade on December 14, 1868, he commanded a brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division of the 4th Army Corps in Lyon . Shortly before the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War (July 19, 1870), he left Lyon to go to his newly assigned unit, the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division of the 5th Army Corps, commanded by General Pierre de Failly . Abbatucci were now subordinate to the 19 ^e bataillon de chasseurs à pied ( hunters on foot ) (Commander Marqué), the 17 ^e régiment d'infanterie (Colonel Valentin Weissemburger) and the 27 ^e régiment d'infanterie (Colonel de Barolet).

On August 6, 1870 Abbatucci's brigade came into battle with the Prussians at Niederbronn-les-Bains . The retreat to Phalsbourg and on to Châlons followed. On August 29th his brigade fought at Bois-des-Dames and the following day in the battle at Beaumont , which ended with a victory for the Prussians. The 5th French Army Corps then withdrew to Sedan . There the Battle of Sedan took place on September 1, 1870 , which ended with the surrender of the French troops and the capture of Napoleon III. ended. At the same time Abbatucci was also taken prisoner of war and transferred to the internment camp in Stettin . However, he was released fairly quickly - probably due to an intervention by Adolphe Thiers with the Prussians - and was able to return to France on March 19, 1871.

On April 24, 1871 Abbatucci took over the leadership of the 1st Brigade de 1st Infantry Division of the 1st Corps of the army concentrated in Versailles . General Paul de Ladmirault had the supreme command of the entire 1st Corps . Abbatucci then took part in the suppression of the uprising of the Paris Commune and distinguished himself in the fighting from May 22nd to 25th, 1871 during the so-called "bloody week". Although he was thrown from his horse while passing a barricade during the fighting on May 23 and suffered a sprain, he bravely led his troops on foot and fought fierce battles with the Communards. On June 24, 1871, he was promoted to Général de division.

Abbatucci was subsequently appointed commander of the 3rd Infantry Division in 1871, that of the 33rd Infantry Division in October 1873 and finally, by a presidential decree of December 27, 1873, commander of the 11th Infantry Division in Nancy. He then also acted as inspector of the army for some time until 1877, but died suddenly while on active military service around the morning of January 26, 1878 at the age of 60 in Nancy and was buried with great sympathy from the population.

literature

• L. Hennet: Abbatucci (Antoine-Dominique) . In: Dictionnaire de biographie française (DBF). Volume 1 (1932), Col. 65 f.

Web links

• Charles René Abbatucci: Antoine Dominique Abbatucci, général de division (PDF file)