Louis-Vincent-Joseph Le Blond, Comte de Saint-Hilaire

General Count Saint-Hilaire

Louis-Vincent-Joseph Le Blond, Comte de Saint-Hilaire (born September 4, 1766 in Ribemont , Aisne department, † June 5, 1809 Vienna ) was a French Général de division during the Napoleonic Wars .

Hilaire was the son of a captain. He showed his interest in a military career early on. In 1777 he joined the Régiment de Conti-Dragons as a cadet . In 1792 he was promoted to Capitaine in this regiment . As such, he was involved in the siege of Toulon . For career reasons, he took part in the Italian campaign, where he was wounded as Général de brigade in the battles for Loano . In 1799 he received the rank of Général de division as commander of Toulon and Marseille . After various divisional commands, he was involved in the fighting against the Third Coalition from 1805 . Although seriously wounded, he led the decisive attack on the Pratzeberg in connection with the Battle of Austerlitz . In 1806/07 he took part in the campaign against Prussia , was there in the battles near Jena , Eylau and Heilsberg . From 1808 he was involved in building the Grande Armée in Germany. For this purpose he had set up a staff in Friesack . In the war against Austria , Hilaire lost a leg in the battle of Aspern on May 22, 1809. As a result of this severe wound, he died two weeks later in Vienna. By order of Napoleon his remains were buried in the Paris Panthéon and his name was carved on the Arc de Triomphe .

literature

• Chevalier de Courcelles - "Dictionnaire historique et biographique des généraux français" , 2nd volume, Beaul-Bouq, 1821. consult online
• Fierro, Alfredo; Palluel-Guillard, André; Tulard, Jean - "Histoire et Dictionnaire du Consulat et de l'Empire" , Editions Robert Laffont, ISBN 2-221-05858-5