François Jean Werlé (6 September 1763, Soultz-Haut-Rhin – 16 May 1811) was a Général de Brigade of the First French Empire who saw action during the Napoleonic Wars and died fighting against the British during the Peninsular War.
François Jean Werlé (6 September 1763, Soultz-Haut-Rhin – 16 May 1811) was a Général de Brigade of the First French Empire who saw action during the Napoleonic Wars and died fighting against the British during the Peninsular War.
Werlé received the rank of Chef de Brigade on 25 March 1799 and promoted to Général de Brigade on 29 August 1803. He commanded a brigade in Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon's division of Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte's I Corps at the Battle of Austerlitz. Still serving as an I Corps brigadier, he played a role in the Battle of Schleiz on 9 October 1806, clearing a forest of Prussian outposts. He participated in the pursuit of the Prussian Army after Emperor Napoleon's army defeated it at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt. He participated in the defeat of Duke Eugen of Württemberg's corps at the Battle of Halle on 17 October. Later, he was in on the defeat and capture of Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher's column in the Battle of Lübeck on 6 November.
In November 1809, Werlé led a Polish division in IV Corps at the decisive French victory at the Battle of Ocaña. His 5,600-man brigade (actually the size of a division) formed the French reserve at the Battle of Albuera. He was killed in that battle when Marshal Soult sent the reserve into the battle. After a bitter firefight with Lowry Cole's British division, Werlé's French soldiers were defeated.
Aside from his military rank, Werlé became a Commander of the Légion d'Honneur on 14 June 1804, and was made a Baron of the Empire on 27 November 1808.
The Battle of Ocaña was fought on 19 November 1809 between French forces under Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult against the Spanish army under General Juan Carlos de Aréizaga, which suffered its greatest single defeat in the Peninsular War.
Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia was a French general and statesman. He was a Marshal of the Empire during the Napoleonic Wars, and served three times as President of the Council of Ministers of France.
Emmanuel de Grouchy, marquis de Grouchy was a French military leader who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was the last Marshal of the Empire to be created by Napoleon, and is best known for his actions during the Waterloo campaign.
Claude-Victor Perrin, Duke of Belluno was a French military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was made a Marshal of the Empire in 1807 by Emperor Napoleon I.
Jean-Baptiste Girard was a French général and baron d'Empire, who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Marshal of the Empire was a civil dignity during the First French Empire. It was established by Sénatus-consulte/Napoléon Bonaparte on 18 May 1804 and to a large extent reinstated the formerly abolished title of Marshal of France. According to the Sénatus-consulte, a Marshal was a grand officer of the Empire, entitled to a high-standing position at the court and to the presidency of an electoral college.
Édouard Jean-Baptiste Milhaud was a French politician and general. He distinguished himself throughout the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and is considered one of the best generals of cavalry of Napoleon's army.
Jean Gabriel Marchand, 1st Count Marchand went from being an attorney to a company commander in the army of the First French Republic in 1791. He fought almost exclusively in Italy throughout the French Revolutionary Wars and served on the staffs of a number of generals. He participated in Napoleon Bonaparte's celebrated 1796-1797 Italian campaign. In 1799, he was with army commander Barthélemy Catherine Joubert when that general was killed at Novi. Promoted to general officer soon after, he transferred to the Rhine theater in 1800.
The Battle of Schleiz took place on 9 October 1806 in Schleiz, Germany between a Prussian-Saxon division under Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien and a part of Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte's I Corps under the command of Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon. It was the first clash of the War of the Fourth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars. As Emperor Napoleon I of France's Grande Armée advanced north through the Franconian Forest it struck the left wing of the armies belonging to the Kingdom of Prussia and the Electorate of Saxony, which were deployed on a long front. Schleiz is located 30 kilometers north of Hof and 145 kilometers southwest of Dresden at the intersection of Routes 2 and 94.
Eugène-Casimir Villatte, comte d'Oultremont fought in the French army during the Wars of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. He rose to command a division at many of the important battles in the Peninsular War. His is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe.
In the Battle of Halle on 17 October 1806 a French corps led by Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte fought the Prussian Reserve under Eugene Frederick Henry, Duke of Württemberg. The French defeated their opponents, forcing the Prussians to retreat northeast toward Dessau after suffering heavy losses. The clash occurred in the War of the Fourth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars. The city of Halle is located about 30 kilometers northwest of Leipzig on the Saale River.
In the Capitulation of Erfurt on 16 October 1806, a large body of troops from the Kingdom of Prussia under Lieutenant General the Prince of Orange surrendered to Marshal Joachim Murat of France, at the city of Erfurt. The Prussian soldiers were demoralized by their shattering defeat at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt on 14 October and unwilling to put up much resistance. The event occurred during the War of the Fourth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars. Erfurt is located on the Gera River about 40 kilometers west of Jena.
The VI Corps of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. It was formed at the Camp de Boulogne and assigned to Marshal Michel Ney. From 1805 to 1811, the VI Corps fought under Ney's command in the 1805 Austrian Campaign: War of the Third Coalition, Prussian Campaign of 1806 and Polish Campaign of 1807 of the War of the Fourth Coalition. General Jean Gabriel Marchand was in charge of the corps for a period when Ney went on leave. The VI Corps was revived in 1812 for the French invasion of Russia and placed under Marshal Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr. It consisted entirely of Bavarian soldiers at that time. During the disastrous retreat from Moscow, the corps was virtually destroyed. In 1813, during the War of the Sixth Coalition, it was rebuilt and reorganized with French troops. Marshal Auguste de Marmont took command of the corps and managed it until Napoleon's abdication in 1814. It took part in many battles including Dresden and Leipzig in 1813. During the War of the Seventh Coalition, General Georges Mouton commanded the VI Corps at the Battle of Waterloo.
The VIII Corps of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. Emperor Napoleon I formed it in 1805 by borrowing divisions from other corps and assigned it to Marshal Édouard Mortier. Marshal André Masséna's Army of Italy was also reorganized as the VIII Corps at the end of the 1805 campaign. The corps was reformed for the 1806 campaign under Mortier and spent the rest of the year mopping up Prussian garrisons in western Germany.
Jean-Baptiste Solignac fought in the French Army during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, attaining the rank of general of division. Solignac served as the chief of staff of André Massena in Italy, and helped Massena enrich himself by looting. He fought at Magnano and was wounded at Novi in 1799. He led a brigade at Caldiero in 1805. Solignac was dismissed in 1806 for embezzling, but was reactivated to lead a brigade in the 1807 Invasion of Portugal. He was badly wounded at Vimeiro. He led a division during Massena's invasion of Portugal and fought at Fuentes de Oñoro. Dismissed again in 1811, he was again restored to command and fought at Courtrai in 1814. He was dismissed from the army in 1815 and not restored to command until 1830. He finally retired from the army in 1834 and died in 1850. SOLIGNAC is among the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe.
The IX Corps of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. The corps was first formed in 1806 from German troops allied with the First French Empire, with Emperor Napoleon I appointing his brother Jérôme Bonaparte as commander. During 1807, elements of the corps besieged several Prussian fortresses.
The Reserve Cavalry Corps or Cavalry Reserve of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1805, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte appointed Marshal Joachim Murat to command all the cavalry divisions that were not directly attached to the army corps. During the Ulm campaign, Murat led his horsemen in successfully hunting down many Austrian units that escaped the capitulation of Ulm, before fighting at Austerlitz in December 1805. Under Murat, the Cavalry Reserve played a prominent role in the destruction of the Prussian armies after the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt in 1806. In 1812, the Reserve Cavalry Corps was split up into the I, II, III, and IV Cavalry Corps for the French invasion of Russia.
Charles Louis Dieudonné Grandjean became a French division commander and saw extensive service during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1792 he gave up his legal career to enlist in the infantry and served in the Army of the Rhine. In March 1799 he earned promotion to general of brigade by distinguished actions at Verona. That year he led an Army of Italy brigade at Magnano, the Trebbia, Novi and Genola. In 1800 he fought at Stockach and Hohenlinden.
Christophe Antoine Merlin became a French division commander during the Napoleonic Wars. He joined a volunteer regiment in 1791 and fought against the Kingdom of Spain in the War of the Pyrenees. After becoming an officer in the 4th Hussar Regiment, he participated in the Rhine and Italian campaigns. In 1805 he was promoted general of brigade and fought in Italy and in the 1806 Invasion of Naples. Later he became an equerry to Joseph Bonaparte when that individual headed the Kingdom of Naples.
Pierre François Xavier Boyer became a French division commander during the Napoleonic Wars. He joined a volunteer regiment in 1792. He fought in the Italian campaign of 1796 and participated in the French invasion of Egypt in 1798. He became a general of brigade in 1801 and took part in the Expedition to Saint-Domingue in 1802. While sailing back to France he was captured by the British. After being exchanged, he fought at Jena and Pultusk in 1806, Friedland in 1807 and Wagram in 1809. Transferred to Spain, Boyer led a dragoon division at Salamanca and Battle of Venta del Pozo in 1812 and Vitoria in 1813. He earned the nickname "Pedro the Cruel" for brutal actions against Spanish partisans. He led an infantry division at the Nivelle and the Nive in late 1813. His division was transferred to the fighting near Paris and he was promoted general of division in February 1814. He led his troops at Mormant, Craonne, Laon and Arcis-sur-Aube.
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