Frédéric Guillaume de Donop

Triumphal arch in Paris north pillar (1st column)

Frédéric Guillaume de Donop (born June 3, 1773 in Kassel , Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel , † June 18, 1815 near Waterloo ) was a French général de brigade of the cavalry of German descent.

Life

At the age of 16, Donop joined the French army; on June 5, 1790 he entered the Régiment d'Esterhazy huozards . He was able to distinguish himself very quickly through bravery and two years later he switched to the rank of lieutenant in the Sambre and Maas Army .

Further promotions followed and in early May 1801 he joined General Jean Victor Tharreau's staff as an aide-de-camp . Here he served in this position in the battle of Wischau (November 25, 1805) and Austerlitz (December 2, 1805).

As captain of a hussar regiment of the Grande Armée , Donop fought near Saalfeld (October 10, 1806), Jena (October 14, 1806) and Pułtusk (December 26, 1806).

With effect from July 3, 1807 Donop had been promoted to Chef d'escadron and was later transferred to Spain as such to fight in the Napoleonic Wars . For a short time, General Armand Lebrun de La Houssaye's Donop Aide-de-camp was on his staff. He acted u. a. at Talavera (July 27/29, 1809) and Majadahonda (August 11, 1812).

After the Battle of Paris (March 30, 1814) and Napoleon's abdication , Donop moved to King Louis XVIII. and was rewarded for this during the restoration with the promotion to the Maréchal de camp . When Napoleon left the island of Elba and his “ rule of the hundred days ” began, Donop immediately rejoined the emperor.

Fédédric Guillaume de Donop died in the battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815 and was buried there.

Honors

• 9 February 1813 Officer of the Legion of Honor
• 1816 Ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Louis
• His name can be found on the north pillar (1st 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).
• 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 . Saffroy, Paris 1999, ISBN 2-901541-06-2 (reprint of the Paris 1934 edition).