Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois

Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois

Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois (born October 1, 1748 in Clairvaux, today part of Ville-sous-la-Ferté ; † November 5, 1839 in Beauvais ) was a French Général de division .

Life

As a teenager, Belgrand de Vaubois was already a cadet in the royal army. He was soon able to distinguish himself through bravery and was also regularly promoted. At the beginning of the revolution he was captain of the artillery and two years later he was already a lieutenant-colonel.

Belgrand de Vaubois became a Général de brigade member of Napoleon's staff when he set out on his Italian campaign in 1796 . Belgrand de Vaubois showed himself brave in the fights off Rovereto (September 4, 1796), Bassano (September 8, 1796) and Arcole (September 15/17, 1796). When he was able to return to France in 1797, General Barthélemy-Catherine Joubert was his successor.

When Napoleon was planning his campaign to Egypt in 1798 , Belgrand de Vaubois again became a member of the General Staff. On the way to Egypt Napoleonic troops raided on June 9, 1798 Order of Malta on Malta . Valletta was taken the very next day and after Malta had been restructured in the French way, Napoleon appointed Belgrand de Vaubois as Commandant en chef des isles de Malte et du Goze .

On September 2, 1798, the inhabitants of Malta revolted against the French occupation and were supported by a small Portuguese fleet from September 18. In February 1799, British troops led by Admiral Alexander Ball began to besiege Valletta . On September 4, 1800, Belgrand de Vaubois surrendered with the rest of his troops. After the surrender negotiations, he and the French soldiers were brought back to Marseille under British guard .

Belgrand de Vaubois resigned all of his military offices. He succeeded in politics and was elected Senator on July 27, 1800. Even after Napoleon's " Rule of the Hundred Days ", he no longer joined this. Around 1830 he retired into private life and settled in Beauvais. There he died at the age of 91 on November 5, 1839, where he found his final resting place.

Honors

• 1804 Commander of the Legion of Honor
• 1808 Comte de l'Émpire
• 1814 Chevalier des Ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Louis
• His name can be found on the southern pillar (24th column) of the triumphal arch on Place Charles-de-Gaulle ( Paris ).

literature

• David Chandler: The campaigns of Napoleon . Weidenfeld, London 1993, ISBN 0-297-81367-6 (reprint of the London 1966 edition). Gustav
• Joseph Fiebeger: The campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte of 1796–1797 . Leonaur Publ., New York 2010, ISBN 978-0-85706-224-6 ( digitized version )
• Philip J. Haythornthwaite: Who was who in the Napoleonic wars . Arms & Armor, London 1998, ISBN 1-85409-391-6 .
• Charles Mullié: Biography of the célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850 . Poignavant, Paris 1851 (2 vols.).
• Georges Six: Dictionnaire biographique des généraux & amiraux français de la Révolution et de l'Émpire. 1792-1814 . Saffroy, Paris 1999, ISBN 2-901541-06-2 (reprint of the Paris 1934 edition).
• Digby Smith : The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book . Greenhill, London 1998, ISBN 1-85367-276-9 .