Pierre César Dery

Pierre César Dery (born February 2, 1768 in Saint-Pierre (Martinique) , † October 18, 1812 in the Battle of Tarutino , Russia) was a French général de brigade of the cavalry .

Life

At the age of 12, Dery entered the Royal Navy on March 4, 1780 and began his service on the frigate l'Iphigénie . After first promotions, he moved to l'Élise and took part in the American War of Independence until 1783 .

Dery switched from the Navy to Cavalry in October 1788, seeing more career opportunities there. In the battle of Sint-Truiden (March 7, 1793) he was wounded by a saber. After his recovery he was transferred to the Sambre and Maas Army and fought in the Battle of Fleurus (June 26, 1794). In the battle near Bad Kreuznach (November 9, 1794) he distinguished himself by capturing two cannons.

During the Battle of Marengo (June 14, 1800) he was wounded again and was taken prisoner of war. At the request of Tsar Alexander I , Dery was released the following day and brought back to the Grande Armée with medical care .

From August 12, 1805 Dery acted as aide-de-camp of Maréchal Joachim Murat and took part in campaigns in Austria and Prussia.

From December 30, 1806, Dery was a Colonel in command of the 5th ^e régiment de hussards in the Lasalles division . At Waltersdorf (February 4, 1807) and at Heilsberg (June 10, 1807) he was distinguished by his bravery, but was seriously wounded both times. After his recovery he was promoted and transferred to the Kingdom of Naples in 1809 .

In 1812 Dery returned to France and joined Napoleon's Russian campaign . He fought valiantly alongside Horace-François Sébastiani at Ostrowno (July 25/26, 1812) and was wounded again. Dery was fatally wounded in the Battle of Tarutino (October 18, 1812) and died on the battlefield.

Honors

• December 16, 1803 Chevalier of the Legion of Honor
• May 3, 1810 Baron de l'Émpire
• His name can be found on the eastern pillar (12th column) of the triumphal arch on Place Charles-de-Gaulle ( Paris ).

literature

• Karl Bleibtreu : Marshals, generals, soldiers of Napoleon I. VRZ-Verlag, Hamburg 1999, ISBN 3-931482-63-4 (reprint of the Berlin 1899 edition).
• David Chandler: The campaigns of Napoleon . Weidenfeld, London 1993, ISBN 0-297-81367-6 (reprint of the London 1966 edition).
• Charles Mullié: Biography of the célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850 . Poignavant, Paris 1851 (2 vols.).
• Georges Six: Dictionnaire biographique des généraux & amiraux français de la Révolution et de l'Émpire (1792–1814 ), two volumes, Saffroy, Paris 1999, ISBN 2-901541-06-2 , unaltered reprint of the 1934 edition of Paris (PDF / Text file volume 1 and volume 2 )
• Digby Smith : The Greenhill Napoleonic wars data book . Greenhill, London 1998, ISBN 1-85367-276-9 .