Capitaine général
Capitaine général (German: captain general) was a military-political position in the France of the Ancien Régime , but not a military rank .
history
In 1302 the title was awarded for the first time by King Philip the Fair , and in 1349 by Philippe de Valois . Charles V appointed Monsieur de Barante in 1380 as "capitaine général des gens d'armes et des arbalétriers" ( "arbalétriers" = crossbowmen ), and equipped him with the rights of a connétable .
In 1416 the Connétable d'Armagnac was appointed "capitaine général" of the fortresses.
The four corps of the Francs-archers were each subordinate to a "capitaine général" .
In 1520, the commander of the "lansquenets" was referred to equally as colonel général or "capitaine général" . In 1550 there was a "capitaine général" at the head of the companies of the Confréries (military brotherhood), "archers", "arbalétriers" and "arquebusiers" of the city of Paris. In 1599 the title of " grand maître " (grand master) was equated with that of "capitaine général de l'artillerie" .
1635 was by Louis XIII. a patent letter issued to Victor-Amédée, Duke of Savoy , with which he was appointed “capitaine général ” and commander in chief of the “ armée d'Italie ” (Italian army). Since the Marshals of France were subordinate to him in this function, he actually performed the function of generalissimo .
Under Louis XIV , Cardinal Mazarin gave the title of "capitaine général" with limited powers to Nicolas Chalon du Blé, marquis d'Uxelles et de Cormatin and Jacques de Castelnau-Bochetel, marquis de Castelnau . Your rank was now between that of the "maréchal de France" and the lieutenent général . During this period there was hardly any difference in the powers between the Maréchal général des camps et armées du roi and the “capitaine général” .
1672 appointed Louis XIV. Henri de Turenne for "capitaine général" , the Marshals of France Humières , Bellefonds and Créquy was assumed. The marshals refused to recognize Turenne as an authority and were suspended from duty for her disobedience.
In 1702, during the War of the Spanish Succession , the commanding officers were given the title of "capitaine général" .
During the Régence, the entourage of the artillery and the supply wagons were subordinate to a " capitaine général en secondé " ( acting captain general).
In 1802 (on X of the revolutionary calendar ) Charles Victoire Emmanuel Leclerc was appointed commander of an expedition to Santo Domingo . For this he was awarded the title of "capitaine général" , which was also true for the other commanders of that time on the island.
Historians sometimes mistakenly equate the “capitaine général” with the “capitaine en chef” , whereby they address the former as a military commander or the commander in chief only as “ capitaine ”.
literature
- Abel, comte Hugo: "France militaire, Histoire des armées françaises de terre et de mer, de 1792 à 1837" , H.-L. Delloye, Paris 1838 - [1]