Louis Gabriel Suchet

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Louis-Gabriel Suchet.

Louis Gabriel Suchet (March 2, 1770 in Lyon , † January 3, 1826 in Marseille ) was a French marshal of the Empire , who was appointed Duke of Albuféra by Napoléon after the conquest of Valencia (1811) .

Life

Suchet was the eldest son of the silk merchant Jean-Pierre Suchet (April 4, 1736 - January 14, 1789) and Marie-Anne Jacquier (1742–1789). He volunteered in the Lyon National Guard in 1792 and took part in the defense of Toulon the following year . In 1794 he fought under General Laharpe in northern Italy and took part in the battles of Loano , Dego and Lodi (1796). He then fought under Bonaparte at Borghetto , in the Battle of Castiglione , in Bassano and in the Battle of Arcole against the Austrians. On October 11, 1797 he was wounded at Cerea and then appointed commander of a half-brigade.

His assignments in South Tyrol and Switzerland under Guillaume-Marie-Anne Brune in the next year brought him his promotion to the Général de brigade . In August 1799 he was appointed Chief of Staff von Brune and restored the efficiency and discipline of the Army of Italy. In July 1799 he was promoted to Général de division and appointed Chief of Staff of Joubert . From December 31, 1799 to January 5, 1800 he was appointed as deputy of Masséna to the commandant of the Armée d'Italie and from June 1800 he acted as commander of Genoa .

After the Peace of Lunéville in 1801, he served as General Inspector of Infantry. In the campaigns of 1805 (against Austria ), 1806 (against Prussia ) and 1807 (against Russia ) he distinguished himself as commander of a division of the 5th Corps under Lannes . He fought in the battles of Austerlitz , Saalfeld , Jena , Pułtusk and Ostrolenka and on March 19, 1808 received the elevation to baron of the empire.

After the Peace of Tilsit , Suchet commanded the 5th Corps in Silesia and led it to Spain towards the end of 1808, where it covered the right bank of the Ebro during the siege of Saragossa . After the fall of the city, he was raised to the rank of count and in April 1809 took command of the Army of Aragon ; he won at Mavia, Belchite and Lerida and captured Tortosa and Tarragona on June 28, 1811, with which he acquired the marshal's baton.

Suchet's grave in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris

On October 25, 1811, he defeated the Spaniards under Joaquín Blake y Joyes near Murviedro , accepted the surrender of the Sagunto fortress the following day and conquered Valencia on January 9, 1812 , for which he received the title of duke (Albuféra means a fish-rich lagoon near Valencia).

After he went back over the Pyrenees in early 1814 , he declared from his headquarters in Narbonne on April 14, 1814 the recognition of Louis XVIII. and signed a truce with Wellington . He submitted to Louis XVIII. and then received the title of pair and a seat in the upper house .

When Napoléon I returned from Elba, Suchet joined him again and was given command of the Alpine Army; he penetrated Savoy on June 14, 1815 , but was thrown back by the Austrians.

With Louis XVIII. On his return he lost the peerage , but got it back in 1819.

Louis Gabriel Suchet died on January 3, 1826 in Marseille.

His chief of staff, Saint-Cyr-Nuguas, published his Mémoires sur les campagnes en Espagne depuis 1808 jusqu'en 1814 (2nd ed., Par. 1834, 2 vol.).

Suchet's son, Napoléon Suchet , Duke of Albuféra, (born May 23, 1813, † July 23, 1877 in Paris) was a member of the legislature from 1852 to 1870.

Honors

His name is entered on the triumphal arch in Paris in the 33rd column. In Lyon , a monument has been erected to him.

literature

Coat of arms of Louis-Gabriel Suchet, Duke of Albuféra

Web links

Commons : Louis Gabriel Suchet  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Seek, Louis Gabriel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Suchet, Louis-Gabriel; Albuféra, Duke of
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French marshal appointed Duke of Albufera by Napoléon Bonaparte
DATE OF BIRTH March 2, 1770
PLACE OF BIRTH Lyon , France
DATE OF DEATH January 3, 1826
Place of death Marseille