Michel Ordener

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Michel Ordener

Michel Ordener (born September 2, 1755 in L'Hôpital , † August 30, 1811 in Compiègne ) was a French Général de division and Senator of the First Empire .

Life

Born in ( German-speaking ) Lorraine, he had a very poor command of French and was only able to express himself in the local language commonly used there, "Lothrénger Platt" or "Lothrénger Deitsch", which his French contemporaries refer to as "bad German" (mauvais allemand) used.

On January 1, 1773 he joined the Régiment Condé-Cavalerie as a dragoon , where he reached the rank of brigadier ( Caporal ) on November 7, 1776 . After the "Régiment Condé-Cavalerie" had been converted into a dragoon regiment on December 9, 1776 and had received the name "Dragons de Boufflers", he was incorporated into this regiment with his rank and together with his escadron . With his tribal cadron, after a further restructuring, he went over to the “4e Régiment de chasseurs à cheval” (4th regiment of hunters on horseback).

Ordener continued his military career in this regiment, so he was promoted:

Ordener took part in the campaigns of 1792 and 1793 in the Armée du Rhin and the " Armée de la Moselle ". He repeatedly demonstrated his brilliant military skills in the wars of the years II (1794) to VIII (1800) again in the Rhine Army, the “ Armée des Alpes ” (Alpine Army), the “ Armée d'Italie ” (Italian Army) of the “ Armée d 'Angleterre ' (British Army) and the ' Armée du Danube ' (Danube Army). Ordener was highly praised by the commanding generals of the divisions to which his regiment belonged. In these campaigns, Ordener took around 6,000 prisoners and captured 26 artillery pieces with most of their ammunition wagons, seven flags or standards, around 200 supply vehicles and around 2,400 horses.

Seven horses were killed under him and he was hit by saber blows a total of eight times in battle , five of which were blows to the head in the skirmish at Valevau on 27th Thermidor on VII (17th August 1799). He was hit by bullets three times, but never so badly that he saw his willingness to perform limited. The only time he suffered from deafness was a shot fired close to his right ear.

On the 29th Messidor on VIII (July 18, 1800) he was appointed " Chef de brigade des grenadiers à cheval de la garde des Consuls" (Colonel of the grenadiers on horseback of the consular guard ).

Ordener was promoted to the Général de brigade on the 11th Fructidor on XI (29 August 1801) and on the 19th Frimaire on XII (11 December 1803) was admitted to the Légion-d'Honneur .

On the 25th Prairial on XII (June 14, 1804), Ordener was appointed commander of the Legion of Honor. He then took part with the guard cavalry in the campaigns of 1805 along the Atlantic coast and then joined the “Grande armée” in the month of “Vendémiaire” (ie in October) of the same year. During the wars against Austria the general was able to consolidate his good reputation and gain further services in the battle of Austerlitz .

On the 4th Nivôse at XIV, (December 25, 1804) promoted to Général de division , he was given command of the Grenadiers à cheval de la Garde impériale (Grenadiers on horseback of the Imperial Guard ). On May 20, 1806 he was appointed to the Senate and appointed Commandant de l'ordre de la Couronne de fer (Commander of the Order of the Iron Crown). On October 25, he retired from military service.

Napoléon appointed Général Ordener "Comte de l'Empire" (Imperial Count) in 1808 and on March 1, 1810, made him governor of the imperial palace in Compiègne.

He was awarded the Order of the Palatinate Lion by the King of Bavaria .

Ordener died on August 30, 1811 in Compiègne while exercising his service. He was buried in the Panthéon in Paris.

His name is on the triumphal arch on the western pillar in the 11th row of the 31st column .

The Duc d'Enghien affair

On the 20th Ventôse on XI (March 11th 1803) he received the order from the Minister of War, Marshal Louis-Alexandre Berthier , to go to Ettenheim to arrest Louis Antoine Henri de Bourbon-Condé, duc d'Enghien . He arrived there on 25th Ventôse (March 16) and, in agreement with the Général Fririon, had the Duke's property converted by a detachment gendarmerie and a department of the "22 e régimen de dragons" (22nd Dragoon Regiment). After five and a half hours the gates were forcibly opened and the duke , who was in a mill behind the brick kiln, was taken into custody. After his papers were confiscated, he was put on a cart and escorted to the Rhine between two rows of armed men.

After the Duke's capture, Ordener attached great importance throughout his life to the statement that he was neither directly nor indirectly involved in the conviction and execution of the same.

The entire action was an illegal act, which met with incomprehension even with the customs of the time and triggered protests at the highest level.

In Volume II of his Mémoires de Sainte-Hélène , Napoleon Bonaparte writes in this regard about Ordener:

"... faire remettre à la cour de Bade des explications sur la violation de son territoire, aussitôt qu'Ordener se serait saisi du duc d'Enghien. Ordener a dû obéir à l'ordre de passer le Rhin avec 300 dragons et d'enlever le prince. "

“... the statement went to the Baden court for the violent entry into its territory, that Ordener had only been charged with the arrest of the Duke d'Enghien. Ordener obeyed his orders to cross the Rhine with 300 dragoons and arrest the duke. "

literature

  • "Michel Ordener", in Charles Mullié, "Biography of the célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850", 1852
  • "Michel Ordener", in Robert et Cougny, "Dictionnaire des parlementaires français", 1889
  • Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre - Fort de Vincennes - Dossier SHAT Côte: 7 Yd 431.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ This was later renamed the 10e Régiment de chasseurs à cheval
  2. ^ Almanac impérial (1810)
  3. ↑ The exact date is not known
personal data
SURNAME Ordener, Michel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French general and senator
DATE OF BIRTH September 2, 1755
PLACE OF BIRTH L'Hôpital
DATE OF DEATH August 30, 1811
Place of death Compiègne , France