Charles Denis Bourbaki

Charles-Denis-Sauter Bourbaki (around 1870)

Charles-Denis-Sauter Bourbaki (born April 22, 1816 in Pau , † September 22, 1897 in Bayonne ) was a French general .

Life

Bourbaki was the son of a Greek colonel who died in the Greek War of Independence in 1827. Charles Denis attended the Saint-Cyr Military Academy and joined the Zouave Corps as a sous-lieutenant in 1836 . In 1838 he was promoted to lieutenant and served in the Foreign Legion . In the meantime he was also an orderly officer of King Ludwig Philipp . In 1842 he became captain of a Zouave unit, and in 1847 battalion commander of the Turkos in Constantine . In 1849 he led a regiment in the siege of Zaatcha . In 1850 he was commanded as Lieutenant-Colonel to the "1 ^er régiment de Zouaves" (1st Zouave Regiment), in which he was promoted to colonel in 1851 . In 1854 Bourbaki was promoted to Général de brigade and distinguished himself in the Crimean War at the head of the 1st and 2nd Zouave regiments in the battle of the Alma and later at Inkerman . On September 8, 1855 he successfully took part in the storming of Fort Malakow .

After the Crimean War he was added to the Governor General in Algeria and in 1857 promoted to Géneral de division . In 1859 he commanded in the Battle of Solferino , the Division of Lyon and excelled here. In 1869 Bourbaki was adjutant to the wing of Emperor Napoléon III. and in command of the Châlons-en-Champagne camp . In the Franco-Prussian War he took over the Imperial Guard from Bazaine and took part in the battles for Metz in a prominent position . The retreat of the guards at the Battle of Gravelotte-St. Private contributed significantly to the French defeat. On September 25, 1870, he escaped from the Metz fortress in disguise . He then traveled on a secret mission to Chislehurst in England to the Empress Eugenie , then returned to France , where he took over command of the Northern Army in Tours .

Bourbaki devoted himself to the reorganization of the Northern Army, which sparked decisive differences with Léon Gambetta . He was recalled on November 19 and took over the right wing of the Loire Army . On December 8th, he was tasked with the formation of an Eastern Army or Armée de l'Est or "Bourbaki Army " in order to relieve the Belfort fortress , take back Alsace and the connections of the German army between Paris and the Interrupt the Rhine . After the battle near Villersexel and the three-day battle on the Lisaine against General August Graf von Werder , Bourbaki retreated to Besançon . As early as January 25, 1871, the Germans had succeeded in relocating his return route west and south-west of Besançon and cutting off the railway connections to Lyon . As a result, Bourbaki made the decision to go to the left bank of the Doubs and then to march on Pontarlier in order to escape from there along the Swiss border in a south-westerly direction. Demoralized by the defeat, without food in harsh winter conditions and in the mountains with ice and snow rushed by the opponents from Werder, the troops were in a desolate state. In desperation, Bourbaki tried to take his own life on January 26th. General Clinchant took over the troops and had to seek refuge in Switzerland with great losses. The army arrived in Switzerland between February 1 and 3 with 87,000 men and was interned for six weeks. The Bourbaki panorama in Lucerne still testifies to the transfer to Switzerland near Les Verrières in the canton of Neuchâtel . Bourbaki was also brought to Switzerland and, after his recovery, took over the VI ^e corps d'armée (6th Army Corps ) in July 1871 , the XIV ^e corps d'armée and the governorate of Lyon in 1873 .

In 1881 he retired from active service . Charles Denis Sauter Bourbaki died on September 22, 1897 in Cambo near Bayonne.

literature

• Louis d'Eichthal: Le général Bourbaki, par un de ses anciens officiers d'ordonnance. E. Plon, Nourrit et cie, Paris 1885, (OCLC 12526525).
• G. de Corlay: Le général Bourbaki, 1816-1897. C. Paillart, Abbeville 1900, (OCLC 23425910).

Web links

Commons : Charles Denis Bourbaki  - Collection of images, videos and audio files