Antoine Louis Decrest de Saint-Germain

Arc de Triomphe, north pillar, column 1

Antoine Louis Decrest de Saint-Germain (born December 8, 1761 in Paris , † October 4, 1835 in Neuilly-sur-Seine ) was a French officer of the Revolutionary Wars and general of the cavalry under Napoleon .

Decrest de Saint-Germain came from a noble family and was in the gendarmerie of Lunéville from 1778 . In 1781 he was a sous-lieutenant in the cavalry, but was dismissed in 1784 for violations of discipline. When the French Revolution broke out , a new career opportunity opened up and he was in the Paris National Guard from 1790 . When the Revolutionary Wars broke out in 1792, he was a captain and served in the Northern Army and the Ardennes Army. In 1793 he was suspended and arrested in April 1794 because of his aristocratic origins and only accepted back into the army in August 1795, as colonel and commander of the 23 ^e régiment de chasseurs à cheval . During the Rhine campaigns on September 20, 1796, he was wounded in the foot by a cannonball. In the battle of Wiesbaden on April 22, 1797 he was wounded again, this time on the left arm. In 1799 he served in the Danube Army and in 1800 in the Rhine Army. On December 3, 1800 he served under Michel Ney in the Battle of Hohenlinden .

In April 1805 he was Général de brigade and served in the heavy cavalry ( cuirassiers ) under Étienne de Nansouty . He took part in the campaigns in Austria, Prussia and Poland. In January 1809 he became Baron d´Empire, took part in the Battle of Aspern and in the same year became Général de division . In 1810 he returned to France with his division. In 1812 he took part in the Russian campaign and was wounded in the Battle of Borodino . In September 1813 he became Comte de l´Empire and took part in the Battle of Hanau . He also distinguished himself in the campaigns in France in 1814 by leading various cavalry attacks. His career continued under the Bourbons and he became inspector general of the cavalry. After Napoleon's return, he rejoined this and organized the cavalry of the Alpine Army. After Napoleon's abdication, he was dismissed from military service.

He is one of 660 people whose names are listed on the Arc de Triomphe .

In 1804 he became an officer of the Legion of Honor , in 1807 a commander and in 1814 a major officer. Also in 1814 he became a Knight of Saint-Louis .

literature

• Alfredo Fierro, André Palluel-Guillard, Jean Tulard: Histoire et Dictionnaire du Consulat et de l'Empire. Editions Robert Laffon, Paris 1995.
• Georges Six: Dictionnaire Biographique des Généraux & Amiraux Français de la Révolution et de l'Empire (1792-1814). Gaston Saffroy, Paris 2003.

Web links

• Biography of Nathan D. Jensen