Jean Joseph Guieu

Last updated
Jean Joseph Guieu
Born30 September 1758 (1758-09-30)
Champcella, France
Died5 October 1817 (1817-10-06) (aged 59)
Châteauroux, France
Allegiance Flag of France.svg France
Years of service 1774-1803
Rank General of Division
Battles/wars

French Revolutionary Wars

Jean Joseph Guieu, also Jean Guyeux, (30 September 1758 5 October 1817) joined the French royal army and quickly rose in rank during the French Revolutionary Wars. He fought in the War of the Pyrenees against Spain and became a general officer. After transferring to Italy, he held important commands under Napoleon Bonaparte in the Italian campaign of 1796-1797. He retired from the army in 1803 and his surname is one of the Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe.

French Revolutionary Wars series of conflicts fought between the French Republic and several European monarchies from 1792 to 1802

The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Great Britain, Austria and several other monarchies. They are divided in two periods: the War of the First Coalition (1792–97) and the War of the Second Coalition (1798–1802). Initially confined to Europe, the fighting gradually assumed a global dimension. After a decade of constant warfare and aggressive diplomacy, France had conquered a wide array of territories, from the Italian Peninsula and the Low Countries in Europe to the Louisiana Territory in North America. French success in these conflicts ensured the spread of revolutionary principles over much of Europe.

War of the Pyrenees conflict

The War of the Pyrenees, also known as War of Roussillon or War of the Convention, was the Pyrenean front of the First Coalition's war against the First French Republic. It pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal from March 1793 to July 1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars.

A General Officer is an officer of high rank in the army, and in some nations' air forces or marines.

Contents

Early career

Born at Champcella, Hautes-Alpes, France in 1758, Guieu enlisted in the French artillery in 1774. In 1791 he served as captain of a volunteer battalion in the Army of the Alps. Between 1793 and 1795 he fought under Pierre Augereau in the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees. On 4 October 1793, he was appointed colonel and on 25 December he was promoted general of brigade. From 29 April to 1 May 1794, he led a brigade under Augereau at the Battle of Boulou. He also fought at the Battle of the Black Mountain in November 1794. After the Peace of Basel with Spain in July 1795, he transferred to the Army of Italy. [1]

Champcella Commune in Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur, France

Champcella is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France.

Hautes-Alpes Department of France

Hautes-Alpes is a department of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in southeastern France named after the Alps mountain range.

Army of the Alps

The Army of the Alps was one of the French Revolutionary armies. It existed from 1792–1797 and from July to August 1799, and the name was also used on and off until 1939 for France's army on its border with Italy.

Italy

Guieu commanded a brigade in Jean Sérurier's division during the Montenotte Campaign in April 1796. During the action at San Michele Mondovi on 19 April, his brigade flanked the Sardinians out of position, though the Sardinians later drove the French back when they dispersed to plunder the village. During the Battle of Mondovì on 21 April, Guieu's brigade played a prominent role and helped capture the village of Vicoforte. [2]

Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier French soldier and political figure who rose to the rank of Marshal of France

Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier, 1st Comte Sérurier led a division in the War of the First Coalition and became a Marshal of France under Emperor Napoleon. He was born into the minor nobility and in 1755 joined the Laon militia which was soon sent to fight in the Seven Years' War. After transferring into the regular army as an ensign, he was wounded at Warburg in 1760. He fought in the Spanish-Portuguese War in 1762. He married in 1779 after a promotion to captain. A newly minted major in 1789, the French Revolution sped up promotion so that he was colonel of the regiment in 1792. After leading Army of Italy troops in a number of actions, he became a general of brigade in 1793 and a general of division the following year.

Montenotte Campaign

The Montenotte Campaign began on 10 April 1796 with an action at Voltri and ended with the Armistice of Cherasco on 28 April. In his first army command, Napoleon Bonaparte's French army separated the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont under Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi from the allied Austrian army led by Johann Peter Beaulieu. The French defeated both Austrian and Sardinian armies and forced Sardinia to quit the First Coalition. The campaign formed part of the Wars of the French Revolution. Montenotte Superiore is located at the junction of Strada Provinciale 12 and 41 in the Liguria region of northwest Italy, 15 kilometres (9 mi) northeast of Carcare municipality. However, the fighting occurred in an area from Genoa on the east to Cuneo on the west.

Battle of Mondovì battle

The Battle of Mondovì was fought on 21 April 1796 between the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte and the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont led by Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi. The French victory meant that they had put the Ligurian Alps behind them, while the plains of Piedmont lay before them. A week later, King Victor Amadeus III sued for peace, taking his kingdom out of the First Coalition. The defeat of their Sardinian ally wrecked Austrian Habsburg strategy and led to the loss of northwest Italy to the First French Republic.

Guieu fought Austrians at Salo on Lake Garda. Golfo di Salo.JPG
Guieu fought Austrians at Salò on Lake Garda.

During the first Austrian attempt to relieve the Siege of Mantua, Guieu led a brigade in Pierre Sauret's division. Surprised by the attack of Peter Ott on 29 July, Guieu rallied 400 men and withdrew to the Palazzo Martinengo in the village of Salò. [3] Though without food, Guieu withstood a siege by Joseph Ocskay's brigade until the 31st, when Sauret drove the Austrians away after a sharp action. [4] During the Battle of Lonato on 3 August, Guieu led Sauret's division when the latter was injured. He recaptured Salò and attacked Gavardo from the east. Though driven back on Salò, he held his ground. The presence of a French division so close to the Austrian line of retreat helped Peter Quasdanovich make up his mind to withdraw in the early hours of 4 August. [5]

Salò Comune in Lombardy, Italy

Salò is a town and comune in the Province of Brescia in the region of Lombardy on the banks of Lake Garda, on which it has the longest promenade. The city was the seat of government of the Italian Social Republic from 1943 to 1945, with the ISR often being referred to as the "Salò Republic".

Joseph Ocskay von Ocskó joined the army of the Habsburg Empire and rose to the rank of general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars. He fought in numerous actions in the 1796-1797 Italian campaign against the French army commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte. In particular, he led a combat brigade during the first, third, and fourth Austrian attempts to relieve the Siege of Mantua.

Battle of Lonato

The Battle of Lonato was fought on 3 and 4 August 1796 between the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte and a corps-sized Austrian column led by Lieutenant General Peter Quasdanovich. A week of hard-fought actions that began on 29 July and ended on 4 August resulted in the retreat of Quasdanovich's badly mauled force. The elimination of Quasdanovich's threat allowed Bonaparte to concentrate against and defeat the main Austrian army at the Battle of Castiglione on 5 August. Lonato del Garda is located near the SP 668 highway and the Brescia-Padua section of Autostrada A4 to the southwest of Lake Garda.

On the first day of the Battle of Arcola, Bonaparte ordered Guieu to take the 18th and 25th Demi-Brigades across the Adige River at a ferry near Albaredo d'Adige. Guieu successfully carried out this assignment and drove the Austrians out of Arcole late on the evening of 15 November. Bonaparte later withdrew the troops and the village had to be fought over on the following two days. [6] On 6 December, Guieu received promotion to general of division. In March 1797, he led a division in driving the Austrian army out of northeast Italy, fighting at Sacile and seizing Palmanova. He helped André Masséna and Sérurier trap the division of Adam Bajalics near Tarvisio. [7]

Albaredo dAdige Comune in Veneto, Italy

Albaredo d'Adige is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Venice and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Verona. It is located on the river Adige. As of 2004, it had a population of 5,138 and an area of 28.2 square kilometres (10.9 sq mi).

Arcole Comune in Veneto, Italy

Arcole, historically also known as Arcola, is a comune with 5,274 inhabitants in the province of Verona. It is known as the site of the Battle of the Bridge of Arcole.

Sacile Comune in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

Sacile is a town and comune in the province of Pordenone, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of north-east Italy. It is known as the "Garden of the Serenissima" after the many palaces that were constructed along the river Livenza for the nobility of the Most Serene Republic of Venice.

Later career

Guieu's active service ended in 1799 and retirement from the army followed in 1803. He died at Châteauroux in 1817. The name GUYEUX is inscribed on the 24th column of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. [1]

Châteauroux Prefecture andj commune in Centre-Val de Loire, France

Châteauroux is the capital of the Indre department in central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called Castelroussins.

Arc de Triomphe Triumphal arch in Paris

The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile — the étoile or "star" of the juncture formed by its twelve radiating avenues. The location of the arc and the plaza is shared between three arrondissements, 16th, 17th (north) and 8th (east). The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.

Paris Capital of France

Paris is the capital and most populous city of France, with an area of 105 square kilometres and an official estimated population of 2,140,526 residents as of 1 January 2019. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of Europe's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts.

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 Chandler, p 189
  2. Boycott-Brown, p 271
  3. Boycott-Brown, p 380
  4. Boycott-Brown, p 385
  5. Boycott-Brown, p 389-390
  6. Boycott-Brown, p 464-466
  7. Smith-Kudrna, Bajalics

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