Bernard-Pierre Magnan

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Bernard-Pierre Magnan

Bernard-Pierre Magnan (born December 7, 1791 in Paris , † May 29, 1865 ibid) was a French general and Marshal of France . From 1810 he took part in the campaigns of Napoleon's armies , was able to continue his military career after his final fall in 1815 and later became a close confidante of Napoleon III.

biography

Early years and participation in military campaigns under Napoleon Bonaparte

Bernard-Pierre Magnan, son of a lackey of the Princess of Lamballe , worked briefly as a clerk for a notary after studying law and then joined the French army as a volunteer in December 1809, initially in the position of a simple soldier, namely in the 66th Infantry Regiment . He initially took part in the campaigns of 1810 and 1811 in Spain and Portugal under Marshals Ney and Masséna and was in the sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo (April 26 to July 10, 1810) and Almeida (July 25 to August 27, 1810 ) and at the battles of Buçaco (September 27, 1810), Fuentes de Oñoro (May 3-5, 1811) and Arapiles (July 22, 1812).

Magnan was promoted on July 20, 1811 to lieutenant , on February 8, 1813 to lieutenant , and on September 6, 1813 to captain and was in these degrees, a campaigner for the under Generals Reille and Soult even further in the campaigns of 1812 and 1813 in Spain, notably in the battle of Vitoria (June 21, 1813) and in the battles fought by the English army in the relieves of San Sebastián (July 7 to September 8, 1813) and Pamplona . As a result, he was transferred as captain to the imperial guard and as such took part in the campaign in France in 1814 and in Belgium in 1815. He fought in the battles of Château-Thierry (February 12, 1814), Montereau (February 18, 1814), Craonne (March 7, 1814), where he was wounded, and Paris (March 30–31, 1814) ), was during the return of Louis XVIII. not active, but rejoined Napoleon during his reign of the Hundred Days and took part in the Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815), which ended with Napoleon's decisive defeat .

Military career after the Restoration of the Bourbons and during the July Monarchy

After the second restoration of the Bourbons , Magnan was assigned to the newly created 6th Royal Guard Regiment on October 23, 1815 as deputy battalion commander in the captain's rank, and on August 8, 1820 , he was transferred to the 34th line regiment as battalion chief . On November 20, 1822 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the 60th Infantry Regiment and in this position took part in the campaign of Catalonia under Marshal Moncey in 1823 , where he was publicly praised in the order of the day for his good behavior, especially in the battles of Esplugas and Caldes has been. On September 21, 1827 he was promoted to colonel of the 49th Line Regiment, with whom he took part in the campaign in Algeria in 1830 . Here, too, he distinguished himself through his military services and received commendations in the order of the day for his leadership in the Battle of Staoueli (June 19, 1830) and during the 22 days of fighting at Bona.

In 1831 Magnan was supposed to suppress an insurrection in Lyons , but, since he started talks with the workers, he was accused by the state of low-energy behavior and made available. From April 1832 to June 1839 he served in Belgium as part of a French army stationed there, which was supposed to ensure the preservation of the newly won Belgian independence. At first, with the rank of general, he was given command of a brigade and later command of the vanguard of the Army of Flanders . On December 31, 1835, he was given the rank of French Maréchal de camp and in 1839, when hostilities seemed imminent, in the Beverlo camp, he was given supreme command of a combined division.

After seven years of service in Belgium, Magnan returned to France in 1839, initially commanding a brigade of the Observation Corps in the Pyrenees and then becoming military commander of the Département du Nord. Although he had not stood far from the assassination attempt by Prince Louis Napoleon (later Emperor Napoleon III) in 1840 , he knew how to rid himself of any suspicion in the Chamber of Peers. He suppressed the workers' unrest in Lille and Roubaix , was promoted to division general on October 20, 1845 , became inspector general in Algeria in 1846 and was given command of a military division in France in 1847. When the February Revolution broke out in 1848 , he made himself available to Louis-Philippe I to march against the rebels and later accompanied the Duchess of Orléans to the Chamber of Deputies .

Career during the Second Republic and the Second Empire

Magnan took command of a division in Corsica and was subsequently appointed commander of the 3rd Infantry Division of the Alpine Army by the government of the Second Republic . At the head of this division, after a seven-day march, he entered Paris on July 3, 1848, moved into the camp of St. Maur and formed the reserve of the Paris Army. But the events in Italy soon called him back to the foot of the Alps , where he took up positions with his division in the Ain department . After Marshal Bugeaud's departure to Paris, he took over interim command of the Alpine Army. When an insurrection broke out in Lyons on June 15, 1849, Magnan, having his own headquarters in Lyons, immediately took energetic steps to suppress this popular uprising. He voluntarily placed himself under the command of General Gemeau , although the latter had the license to lieutenant general with him on the same day . But he led his troops himself and successfully in the fight against the insurgents. His horse was shot twice and the scabbard of his sword was torn in the middle by a bullet. Louis Napoleon, then French President, appointed him Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor on June 23, 1849, and on July 14th made him command of the 4th Military Division ( Strasbourg ). In addition, he also commanded the troops stationed in the 1st subdivision ( Bas-Rhin ).

In a partial election held on July 8, 1849, Magnan, who had been put up as a candidate by the conservative monarchists of the Comité de la rue de Poitiers, was elected to represent the Seine in the legislative national assembly. There he joined the right wing and voted with the majority hostile to the republican institutions.

In the summer of 1851 Magnan became commander-in-chief of the Paris army and at that time was already completely won over to the personal policy of President Louis Napoleon, who was striving for absolute power. He then resigned his mandate as deputy of the National Assembly and François Jules Devinck succeeded him in this position on November 30, 1851. Shortly thereafter, Magnan was one of the main organizers of Louis Napoleon's coup d'état of December 2, 1851, and he also suppressed the uprising it provoked in Paris. For this he received the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor on December 11, 1851, was appointed Senator on January 27, 1852 and was one of the five generals who were to form the government in the sudden death of the President of the Republic.

On December 2, 1852 Magnan was the newly elected Emperor Napoleon III. to Marshal of France , then in 1854 to Oberjägermeister , and in April 1855 he was appointed chairman of the commission which, on imperial orders, was set up to manage the gifts bequeathed to the army. When the military divisions were established, he was given the command of the 1st Army Corps in Paris. In January 1862 he was imposed by an imperial decree on the French Freemasons as Grand Master for three years, which provoked violent protests among the members of the Grand Orient de France . He died in Paris on May 29, 1865 at the age of 73, leaving his son in great debt.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Magnan, Bernard-Pierre
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French general and Marshal of France
DATE OF BIRTH December 7, 1791
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH May 29, 1865
Place of death Paris