Biographies : 5
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BiographySAINT-HILAIRE, Louis-Charles-Vincent Le Blond de
Son of a sous-aide-major of the regiment de Conti-cavalerie. Saint-Hilaire was born in 1766 in Ribemont, in the Aisne department. From the age of eleven, he served as a cadet in his father’s regiment, remaining there until 1783. The following year he was appointed sub-lieutenant in the Regiment d’Aquitaine and left with them for the […]
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BiographySCHARNHORST (Gerhard-Johann-David von), 1755-1813
Born in a Hanoverian farming family, Scharnhorst was an artillery teacher and founded a newspaper which was published until 1805. Once his reputation was established, he let himself be recruited by Prussia in 1801. There he gave talks (Clausewitz was amongst his audience), and he helped the Duke of Brunswick when the latter occupied Hanover […]
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BiographySCHWARZENBERG, Karl Philip von
Karl Philip von Schwarzenberg belonged to an old aristocratic family of the Holy Roman Empire, originally from Franconia. The family eventually settled in Bohemia during the 18th century, where it amassed large estates. Karl Philip was born on 15 April, 1771, in Vienna. From a young age he was destined for a military career, and […]
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BiographySOULT, Nicolas Jean de Dieu
One of an impressive pantheon of Gascon-born soldiers (including Murat, Ney and Lannes) who rose to international renowm under Napoleon, Soult was a clerk's son, and joined the royal French Army as a private in 1775. A sergeant in 1791, he was commissioned in 1792 and a battalion commander when he first achieved public distinction […]
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BiographySUCHET, Louis-Gabriel'Je vois par votre lettre que vous êtes jaloux de gloire : c'est le moyen de faire de grandes choses', Napoleon to Suchet, 1800.