Jean-Nicolas Houchard
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Jean-Nicolas Houchard (born January 24, 1738 in Forbach , Lorraine , † November 17, 1793 in Paris ) was a French divisional officer # France, _Italy, _SpainGénéral de division .
Life
Houchard took part in the Seven Years' War as a commoner in the Régiment Royal-Allemand cavalerie . At the outbreak of the revolution he was a captain in the Bourbon dragoon regiment and in 1792 became colonel of a regiment Chasseurs à cheval ( hunters on horseback ). In this position he distinguished himself under Adam-Philippe de Custine so that in 1793 he was given supreme command of the Rhine and then of the Northern Army in his place .
He and his corps broke out of their position at Steenvoorde and Bailleul on September 6, 1793 , threw Field Marshal Freytag's 18,000-strong observation army back onto Hondschoote and took this position on September 8. As a result, the Duke of York had to lift the siege of Dunkirk , which Lazare Hoche was defending, and the Allied plan to invade France itself was thwarted.
On September 13th, Houchard defeated the Dutch at Menen , but suffered a defeat on September 15th at Courtrai by the Austrian general Beaulieu . He was therefore arrested on the orders of the National Convention , sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Tribunal as a traitor to the fatherland and guillotined in Paris on November 17, 1793 .
Honors
His name is entered on the triumphal arch in Paris in the 3rd column.
literature
- His son published the Notice historique et justificative sur la vie militaire du général Houchard ( Strasbourg 1809) to justify his father .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Houchard, Jean-Nicolas |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French revolutionary general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 24, 1738 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Forbach , Lorraine |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 17, 1793 |
| Place of death | Paris |