Henri Catherine Balthazard Vincent

Henri Catherine Balthazard Vincent (born May 22, 1775 in Valenciennes , Département Nord , † December 24, 1844 in Paris ) was a French general of the infantry .

Live and act

Enthusiastic about the ideas of the revolution , Vincent joined the army as a volunteer in 1790 . Successively he was commanded to the Armée des Pyrénées Orientales , the Armée des Alpes and the Armée du Rhin .

He was able to distinguish himself through courage and bravery and came as a lieutenant in 1797 to the Armée de Sambre-et-Meuse . A supporter of Napoleon Bonaparte from an early age , he supported him in his putsch (November 9, 1799).

After further promotions, Vincent led his own command in the battles near Austerlitz (December 2, 1805), Jena (October 14, 1806) and Wagram (July 5/6, 1809).

When Napoleon was planning his invasion of Russia , he also brought Vincent to the General Staff. Vincent took u. a. in the battles near Klyastitsy (July 28/29, 1812), Polotsk (August 17/18, 1812), Borodino (September 7, 1812), Tarutino (October 18, 1812) and on the Berezina (26/28 November 1812).

Vincent returned home almost unharmed and after some restructuring of the Grande Armée he came to the staff of Marshal Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont . Under his command he fought in the Battle of Leipzig (October 16/19, 1813) and before Villeparisis (March 28, 1814). He took part in the Battle of Paris (March 30, 1814) and was entrusted with various administrative tasks during Napoleon's abdication and the Treaty of Fontainebleau (April 11, 1814).

King Louis XVIII brought Vincent into his bodyguard during the restoration (→ Maison militaire du roi de France ). When Napoleon left the island of Elba and his rule of the Hundred Days began, Vincent again joined his emperor.

After the Battle of Waterloo (June 18, 1815), Vincent was left without command for some time. In 1819 he was appointed inspecteur de cavalerie and he held this post until 1825.

In 1823 he took part in the invasion of Spain by Louis-Antoine de Bourbon, duc d'Angoulême , and fought under the command of General Étienne Tardif de Pommeroux de Bourdesoulle . Not interested in domestic politics, Vincent was not available for any office after the July Revolution of 1830 . He went into provisional retirement with half pay and was officially retired on February 7, 1831 with the rank of général de division . He settled in Paris and died there on December 24, 1844. He found his final resting place on the Cimetière de Montmartre .

Honors

• July 23, 1809 baron de l'Émpire
• August 1814 commander of the Legion of Honor
• His name can be found on the eastern pillar (19th column) of the triumphal arch on Place Charles de Gaulle (Paris).
• The rue général Vincent in Montpellier is named in his honor.

literature

• David G. Chandler : The campaigns of Napoleon . Weidenfeld, London 1993, ISBN 0-297-81367-6 (unchanged 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, vol. 2 . Poignavant, Paris 1852.
• Georges Six: Dictionnaire biographique des généraux et amriaux français de la Révolution et de l'Émpire. 1792-1814, Vol. 2 . Saffroy, Paris 1999, ISBN 2-901541-06-2 .

Web links

• Henri Catherine Balthazard Vincent at arcdetriomphe.info (English)
• The grave of General Henri Catherine Balthzard Vincent