Biographies : 101
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BiographyPONIATOWSKI, Józef
Born in 1763 in Vienna, Józef Poniatowski was the son of a Polish nobleman who had served as an artillery officer in the Austrian army and had been made Austrian ambassador to Poland. After the death of his father, Józef followed in his father's footsteps by enrolling in the Austrian army in 1780 with the […]
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BiographyRapp, Jean
Jean Rapp was born on 27 April, 1771, in Colmar (Haut-Rhin), into a bourgeois family. Although two of his uncles served in the royal army, Rapp’s parents, being Lutherans, wanted him to become a pastor. A difficult but incredible strong child, he was not cut out for a sedentary profession and in 1788 enrolled in […]
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BiographyREGNAUD DE SAINT-JEAN D’ANGELY, Auguste, Comte
The future Maréchal was born in Paris on 30 July, 1794: his birth certificate indicates that he was the “son of Marie-Louise-Augustine Chenié, artist and of Michel-Louis-Etienne Desrichards, employee in the Armée du Nord”. In actual fact, his father was Michel-Louis-Etienne Regnaud (1760-1819): Desrichards was the name of the property that belonged to his father's […]
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BiographyREILLE, Honoré Charles, Comte
A promising start Honoré Reille was born on 1 September, 1775, into a bourgeois family, and began his military career at the age of fourteen by volunteering for the Garde Nationale d'Antibes in 1789. He became a grenadier in the 1er bataillon du Var on 1 October, 1791 and served under Dumouriez in 1792. His […]
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BiographyRICHEPANCE, Antoine
Fact file Born Metz, 25 March, 1770, died Basse Terre (Guadeloupe) 3 September, 1802. Son of a pennant bearer of the Régiment des dragons de Boufflers Son of the regiment, officially joined the Régiment de Conti-Cavalerie, 22 August, 1774 Joined the Chasseurs d'Alsace (later the 1er chasseurs à cheval), 20 October, 1785 Maréchal des logis, […]
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BiographyRÜCHEL, Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm Philipp von
Born 21 July, 1754, in Zizenow in Pomerania, died in Haseley, Pomerania, 13 January 1823. Almost the model of an 18-century Prussian infantry general, renowned for his dislike of the French and a very lively spirit, Rüchel began his military career at the Berlin cadet school on 14 January 1767. His first rank was as Fahnenjunker […]
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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 […]