Claude Charles Aubry de La Boucharderie

Claude Charles Aubry de La Boucharderie (born October 25, 1773 in Bourg-en-Bresse , † November 6, 1813 near Leipzig ) was a French general de division in the artillery .

Life

Aubry de La Boucharderie is the son of Nicolas Aubry, General Inspector of the Corps des ingénieurs des ponts et chaussées ; his uncle was General Jean-Bernard Gauthier (1748–1796). He grew up at the Château de Loyat and was raised by private tutors. Following his family's wishes, he was to succeed his father, but as a supporter of the revolution he joined the army in 1789.

He became a cadet at the Artillery School of Châlons-sur-Marne and was promoted to lieutenant with effect from April 15, 1793. As an enthusiastic supporter of Napoleon , Aubry de La Boucharderie fought in several revolutionary wars and was also able to distinguish himself through bravery.

In 1802, General Charles Leclerc d'Ostin assembled an expeditionary army to fight insurgents under the leadership of Toussaint Louverture in Saint-Domingue on the West Indian island of Hispaniola (→ Haitian Revolution ). Aubry de La Boucharderie volunteered early on. a. together with Nicolas Bernard Guiot de Lacour , Philibert Fressinet and François Watrin . After Leclerc d'Ostin's death, Aubry de La Boucharderie returned to France in 1803 with Guiot de Lacour.

After his promotion to Colonel, Aubry de La Boucharderie rejoined the Grande Armée and became chief of staff at General André Masséna . He fought u. a. in the Battle of Aspern (May 21/22, 1809), where he was seriously wounded. He returned to France and experienced the end of the war in the hospital (→ Friede von Schönbrunn ). After his recovery, Napoleon appointed him head of the artillery school in Alessandria .

On the occasion of the Russian campaign , Aubry de La Boucharderie reported back to active service. As a member of Napoleon's staff, he fought near Smolensk (August 17/18, 1812), Borodino (September 7, 1812), Vyazma (November 3, 1812) and the Berezina (November 26-28, 1812).

In the following year he fought bravely at Großgörschen (May 2, 1813) and Bautzen (May 20/21, 1813). He was seriously wounded in the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig (October 16/19, 1813) and died on November 6, 1813 in a military hospital near Leipzig while his right leg was amputated.

Honors

• 1804 Chevalier of the Legion of Honor
• April 14, 1810 Baron de l'Émpire
• June 18, 1812 Commander of the Legion of Honor
• September 28, 1813 Comte de l'Émpire
• His name can be found on the eastern pillar (20th column) of the Triumphal Arch on Place Charles-de-Gaulle ( Paris )

literature

• Karl Bleibtreu : Marshals, generals, soldiers of Napoleon I. VRZ-Verlag, Hamburg 1999, ISBN 3-931482-63-4 (reprint of the Berlin 1899 edition).
• David Chandler: The campaigns of Napoleon . Weidenfeld, London 1993, ISBN 0-297-81367-6 (reprint of the London 1966 edition).
• Charles Mullié: Biography of the célébrites militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850 . Poignavant, PAris 1851 (2 vol.)
• Digby Smith : The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book . Greenhill, London 1998, ISBN 1-85367-276-9 .
• Claude Vigoureux: Aubry, l'esprit des lieux. Le général, la caserne, les regiments (Les cahiers d'ainventaire). Musnier-Gilbert, Bourg-en-Bresse 1999, ISBN 2-910267-22-9 .