Pierre Decouz

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Pierre Decouz

Pierre Decouz (born July 18, 1775 in Annecy , Haute-Savoie , † February 18, 1814 in Paris ) was a French general of the infantry .

Live and act

In March 1793 Decouz joined the army as a volunteer and in May of the same year he was promoted to Sous-lieutenant . As such, he took part in the siege of Toulon (September / December 1793) and was promoted to lieutenant on the day of Toulon's surrender (December 18) .

From 1794 Decouz served in the Armée d'Italie and after further promotions he came in 1797 to the staff of General François Rambeaud (1745–1799). When Napoleon Bonaparte planned his invasion of Egypt the following year , Decouz took part under the command of Rambeaud. After his promotion to Capitaine , he moved to General Jean Lannes' staff in September 1798 and fought under this, among others, at Acre (March / May 1799), at the Pyramids (July 21, 1799) and at Abukir (July 25, 1799).

During this time, Decouz was aide-de-camp with Général Louis de Friant and returned to France in 1801. He settled in Paris and married the daughter of a lawyer there.

At the beginning of the third coalition war , Decouz returned to Général Jean Lannes in 1805 and fought under his command in front of Schöngrabern (November 16, 1805), Austerlitz (December 2, 1805), Auerstedt (October 14, 1806) and Pułtusk (December 26, 1806) ).

After further promotions he led his own command in the battles near Friedland (June 14, 1807), Regensburg (April 19/23, 1809) and Wagram (July 5/6, 1809).

At Napoleon's request, Decouz went to the Kingdom of Naples in 1809 and supported Marshal Joachim Murat there . In addition to the official duties, the two became friends and Decouz became the godfather of Murat's son Napoleon Achille . On the occasion of Napoleon's Russian campaign , Decouz returned to Paris on Murat's staff in 1812.

In this war, Decouz took part in the battles near Smolensk (August 17/18, 1812), Borodino (September 7, 1812), Krasnoye (November 15/18, 1812) and the Beresina (November 26/28 1812).

In March 1813, Decouz moved from the Grande Armée to the Garde impériale and fought, among others, near Bautzen (May 20/21, 1813). In August of the same year he was promoted to Général de division and as such he fought, inter alia, near Dresden (August 26/27, 1813).

From January 1814 he was on the staff of Marshal Michel Ney and fought under his command in the Battle of Brienne (January 29, 1814). There he was seriously wounded and was taken to a military hospital in Paris that night. On February 18, 1814, General Pierre Decouz died of his injuries and found his final resting place in the Père Lachaise cemetery (22nd division).

The Château de Carron near Francin ( Savoie Department ) has been owned by the Decouz family since 1811 and has been a historic monument since 1989 .

Honors

literature

  • David G. Chandler : The campaigns of Napoleon . Weidenfeld, London 1993, ISBN 0-297-81367-6 (unchanged reprint of the London 1966 edition).
  • Michel Germain: Personages illustresdes Savoie. "De viris illustribus" . Éditions autre Vue, Lyon 2007, ISBN 978-2-915688-15-3 , p. 179.
  • Maurice Messiez (Ed.): Pierre Decouz. Soldier de la Révolution, général d'Émpire, par lui-même, lettres inédites . Curandera, Challes-les-Eaux 1989, ISBN 2-86677-055-1 .
  • Charles Mullié: Biography of the célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850, Volume 1 . Poignavant, Paris 1851.
  • Georges Six: Dictionnaire biographique des généraux et amiraux français de la Révolution et de l'Émpire. 1792-1814, volume 1 . Saffroy, Paris 1999, ISBN 2-901541-06-2 (unchanged reprint of the Paris 1934 edition).

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Decouz, Pierre
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French general of the infantry
DATE OF BIRTH July 18, 1775
PLACE OF BIRTH Annecy , Haute-Savoie department
DATE OF DEATH February 18, 1814
Place of death Paris