François Roch Ledru des Essarts

François Roch Ledru des Essarts (born April 25, 1770 in Chantenay , † April 23, 1844 in Champrosay) was a French division general .

Life

The son of a notary first studied with the Oratorians of Le Mans until he joined the 2nd Battalion of the Sarthe Volunteers in July 1792 . He was quickly elected lieutenant and on September 8, 1792, in the 2nd Battalion of Soissons District Volunteers, elected captain . Ledru fought in the Northern Army and took part in the defense of Lille , from February 1793 he served under General de Flers in Flanders . He took part in the defense of the city of Breda , which eventually had to surrender. In autumn 1793 he fought against the Austrians in the battle of Hondschoote (September 8) and Wattignies (October 16). In June 1794 he was appointed lieutenant colonel in the 2nd battalion of Sarthe and transferred to the Ardennes Army, where he fought as battalion commander in front of Charleroi and in the siege of Maastricht . He took part in the blockade of Mainz and in the following year 1797 he switched to the Italian Army under Bonaparte , where his battalion became part of Bernadotte's division . He fought his troops on the Tagliamento and in front of Gradisca . In 1798, Ledru's troops were stationed in Rome and then became part of the Army of Naples under General Championnet . He served in Abruzzo , near Modena , and was wounded during the Battle of the Trebbia , where he was promoted to chief of the 55th Line Regiment on the battlefield and to colonel on June 19, 1799 . In 1800 he served first under Masséna , then under Suchet, defending the bridge over the Var . In the following years his regiment moved to Bruges before moving to the field camp in Boulogne in 1804 , after which he was appointed officer of the Legion of Honor on June 14, 1804 . During the 1805 campaign on the Danube , Ledru's troops served in the association of General Saint-Hilaire's division near Donauwörth , Memmingen , Hollabrunn and Wirschau. During the Battle of Austerlitz his troops were deployed on the left wing of the IV Corps and were able to take 14 cannons and many prisoners from the enemy while advancing on the heights of Pratzen. In recognition of his contributions, he was promoted to Général de brigade on December 24, 1805 .

In 1806 Ledru took over the Merle Brigade of the Legrand Division and in the same year took part in the campaign against Prussia . In October his troops fought in the Battle of Jena , he himself was wounded, and in November he was fighting again outside Lübeck . At the beginning of February 1807 his troops pursued Hoff and occupied the village of Eylau in the fight against Russian infantry . When the battle at Eylau began the next day, Ledru was seriously injured. After his recovery he took part in the battle of Heilsberg in June with the Soult corps and marched on Konigsberg .

In February 1809 he was made Baron von Essarts and remained in Germany under General Legrand. During the campaign of 1809 he commanded a brigade in the IV Corps of Masséna, Ledru's brigade fought in the Battle of Landshut and Eggmühl . He fought in the Battle of Ebelsberg on the Traun Bridge, and in this bloody battle the Austrians were forced to hand over the castle. Ledru's troops fought in the Battle of Aspern in May 1809 , brought up the rear and was only transported across the Danube to Lobau at the end . He was wounded by a bullet in the neck near Aspern . In 1810 Ledru returned to the Legrand division in the Saint-Omer camp and was granted the General de División patent on July 31, 1811 .

In June 1812, when the Russian campaign started, he was given command of a division in Marshal Ney's corps . On August 2nd he fought in the battle of Krasnoye ; on September 7 at the Battle of Borodino . During the subsequent retreat, his division formed part of the rearguard after he had left Vjasma , fought in the battle of the Berezina and had to return to the Vistula . In the campaign of 1813 he was commander of the 31st Division of the XI. Corps under Marshal Macdonald and took part in the battles of Bautzen , Katzbach and the Battle of Leipzig . In the battle of Hanau his troops fought against the Bavarian troops.

In the spring campaign of 1814 he fought at Claye , Villeparisis and at the Battle of Paris . For the defense of France from 1814 Ledru initially served under General Maison before he was sent to the command of the 3rd Division of the Reserve, organized in Paris . Ledru took command in Meaux and then fought outside Paris. He was pushed back to Essonnes with Marmont's corps , but then protested Marmont's treasonous actions to turn the corps over to the Allies. Ledru tried to keep fighting with his troops, to go back to Fontainebleau , but was then surrounded by the Allies.

After the Restoration , General Ledru was made a Knight of the Military Order of St. Louis and on July 29, 1814, a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor. In 1815 he received a command in the Alpine Army under Marshal Suchet and was assigned to defend Lyon . In 1817 he was responsible for organizing the three Swiss regiments that France had taken into service. In 1819 he was appointed commander of the 7th Military Division in Grenoble , and then appointed inspector of the infantry. On November 3, 1827, he received the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor and was promoted to Peer of France in July 1830 . After the revolution he resigned on September 4, 1835, and retired. The remains of the general, who died in 1844, were buried about 18 km south of Paris, in the cemetery of the city of Draveil .

literature

• Georges Six: Dictionnaire Biographique des Généraux & Amiraux Français de la Révolution et de l'Empire (1792–1814), Gaston Saffroy, Paris 2003.

Web links

• https://www.frenchempire.net/biographies/ledru/