Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot
Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot (born February 24, 1817 in Nevers , † August 16, 1882 in Versailles ) was a French general.
Life
He attended the military school in Saint-Cyr , joined the army in 1840 as a Sous-lieutenant, first served in Africa , was the commander of a brigade from the Canrobert Corps in the Italian War in 1859 and was given command of the Strasbourg military division in 1869, from where he wrote the emperor to the attention of the military superiority of Prussia . In July 1870 the Franco-Prussian War began and Ducrot was given command of the "1 er division" (1st division) of the Corps Patrice de Mac-Mahon . He took part in the battle of Wörth and in the retreat to Châlons, there received the command of the "1 er corps d'armée" (1st Army Corps), made the march to Sedan , had to defend the central position between Moncelle and Daigny in the battle of September 1st and took over to Patrice de Mac- Mahon's wounding assumed the supreme command, but immediately had to cede it to Emanuel Félix de Wimpffen , who canceled his orders for a retreat to Mézières or a transfer to Belgium .
After Sedan's surrender, Ducrot gave his word of honor to stand at Pont-à-Mousson , whereupon he was allowed to go there independently. When he arrived at Pont-à-Mousson, he reported according to the regulations, but escaped in the confusion that reigned in the overcrowded station. He then went to Paris and received the high command of the second army, which was made up of regular troops and "Gardes mobiles" (mobile guards). He broke his word of honor not to fight the Germans any more.
With this he prepared a major failure, which was then implemented at the end of November. After Ducrot had sworn in a clichéd appeal to return to Paris only victorious or dead, he attacked the army of defenses in the east near Villiers on November 30th , achieved some successes in the first few days, but could not force the breach of enemy lines and had to return to Paris on December 4th, as the terrible cold made further fighting impossible.
In the case of the failure to the west on January 19, 1871, he was supposed to advance with the right wing at the Battle of Buzenval , but was delayed by three hours, so that this undertaking also failed. Member of the National Assembly since February 1871 , he joined the clerical monarchists and openly admitted his hatred of the Republicans.
In 1872 he was given command of the "8 e corps d'armée" (8th Army Corps) in Bourges , where he worked for the monarchical restoration and in 1877, after the fall of Minister Albert de Broglie in November 1877 , prepared everything for a coup. After the Republicans prevailed, he was deposed and died on August 16, 1882 in Versailles.
Works
- La journée de Sedan with the 1st corps de l'Armée de Chalon . - Paris: Dentu, 1871
- Wissembourg . - Paris: Dentu, 1873
- La Defense de Paris (1870-1871) . 4 volumes. - Paris: Dentu, 1875–78
literature
- Les enfants du général Ducrot : La vie militaire du général Ducrot d'après sa correspondance (1839–1871) . - Paris: Plon et Nourrit, 1895
Web links
- Website of the Adrien Mentienne Museum in Bry-sur-Marne - Highlighting the collections of the museum, especially the battle of Villiers's collection (French and English versions are available)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ducrot, Auguste-Alexandre |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 24, 1817 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Nevers |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 16, 1882 |
| Place of death | Versailles |