Jacques Gervais, baron Subervie (1 September 1776,

Lectoure Lectoure (; Gascon: ''Leitora'' ) is a commune in the Gers department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. It is located north of Auch, the capital of the department, south of Agen and approximately northwest of Toulouse. Geogr ...

, Gers – 10 March 1856) was a French

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

and

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Military career

Subervie served as a French commander during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, during which he mainly commanded cavalry troops. Subervie was promoted

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

on 27 December 1805 and appointed to command the 10th

Chasseurs à Cheval ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army origi ...

Regiment. On 21 March 1809 while in pursuit of a Spanish army, Subervie's 10th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment fell into a deadly ambush. Spanish General Henestrosa noticed that the 10th Chasseurs had outstripped the other regiments in

Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle Antoine-Charles-Louis, Comte de Lasalle (10 May 1775, Metz6 July 1809, Wagram) was a French cavalry general during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, often called "The Hussar General". He first gained fame for his role in the Capitulation ...

's division. Henestrosa concealed the Almanza and Infante Cavalry Regiments on either side of the main road near the village of

Miajadas Miajadas () is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2005 census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given popula ...

. When Subervie ordered his horsemen to charge a troop of Spanish horsemen that were deployed on the highway, he found his regiment surrounded by the Almanza and Infante Regiments. The 10th Chasseurs lost one officer and 62 men killed and 70 wounded before they fought their way out of the trap. In the Battle of Medellín on 28 March, Lasalle's four light cavalry regiments drove off the Spanish right wing cavalry and then charged the infantry. After putting up a good fight, the infantry finally took to its heels. A French participant recorded that the chasseurs were particularly brutal during the pursuit of the fleeing Spanish, cutting them down without mercy in revenge for their drubbing at Miajadas. At the

Battle of Talavera The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish a ...

on 27–28 July 1809, Christophe Antoine Merlin's cavalry brigade consisted of the 10th and 26th Chasseurs à Cheval, Polish Lancer and Westphalian

Chevau-léger The Chevau-légers (from French ''cheval''—horse—and ''léger''—light) was a generic French name for several units of light and medium cavalry. Their history began in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, when the heavy cavalry forces ...

Regiments. Toward the end of the battle, the British army commander

Sir Arthur Wellesley Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...

directed William Anson's cavalry brigade to charge the French. About in front of the French defenders, the 1st Hussars of the King's German Legion and the British

23rd Light Dragoons The 23rd Light Dragoons was a cavalry regiment of the British Army which existed several times. 1st existence It was created in 1781 as the 23rd Regiment of (Light) Dragoons by Sir John Burgoyne, Bt. at Bedford but renumbered in 1786 as the 19t ...

charged into a hidden watercourse which lamed many horses and threw their riders to the ground. Quickly reforming, the Germans and the two left wing squadrons of the 23rd LD charged the French infantry drawn up in squares and were driven away. The two right wing squadrons rode around the squares and charged Merlin's cavalry brigade. The 10th and 26th Chasseurs in the front line drew aside, letting the 23rd LD gallop past. After the two British squadrons crashed into the Westphalians in the second line, 10th and 26th Chasseurs charged their enemies from the rear. Only a few British horsemen escaped the trap. The 23rd Light Dragoons lost 207 killed, wounded and captured out of 450 horsemen in the battle. Subervie was made a Baron of the Empire on 28 November 1809 and

general of brigade Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

on 6 August 1811. During the Battle of Dresden on 26–27 August 1813, Subervie led the 9th Light Cavalry Division in the V Cavalry Corps under Pierre Claude Pajol. Only the 26th and 27th Chasseurs à Cheval were engaged. At the Battle of Leipzig on 16–19 October 1813, Subervie's 9th Light Cavalry Division was 1,700-strong. Stanislaus Klicky's brigade consisted of the 3rd Hussars and 27th Chasseurs à Cheval while Jacques Laurent Vial's brigade was made up of the 14th and 26th Chasseurs à Cheval and the 13th Hussars. He was made

general de division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

in early April 1814, a promotion which was annulled a couple of days later. During the Hundred Days, Subervie was given the 5th cavalry division (1,487 men and 6 guns) in the I Cavalry Corps of General Pajol with which he served in the

Battle of Ligny The Battle of Ligny, in which French troops of the Armée du Nord under the command of Napoleon I defeated part of a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher, was fought on 16 June 1815 near Ligny in what is now Belgium. The result was a t ...

. Detached from his parent corps, Subervie's division accompanied the Army of the North and

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

to Waterloo. At Waterloo, after the emperor noted that the Prussians were marching to aid the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

, he was sent together with

Lobau The Lobau () is a Vienna floodplain on the northern side of the Danube in Donaustadt and partly in Großenzersdorf, Lower Austria. It has been part of the Danube-Auen National Park since 1996 and has been a protected area since 1978. It is used ...

's VI Infantry Corps to hold the French right flank while the emperor faced Wellington. In this capacity he was involved in fighting the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

ns around

Plancenoit Plancenoit (; wa, Planchenois) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Lasne, located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium. The hamlet of Marache is on its territory. The village was a key strategic point during the ...

. He was laid off at the Bourbon Restoration and retired in 1825.

Later life

Elected in 1834, he was continually reelected until 1848, except between 1839 and 1842, and was part of the liberal opposition. For elections to the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

, he was elected as a Republican by the department of

Eure-et-Loir Eure-et-Loir (, locally: ) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. It is located in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. In 2019, Eure-et-Loir had a population of 431,575.Inspector-General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory of ...

of cavalry in 1840. He served as the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

of the

French Second Republic The French Second Republic (french: Deuxième République Française or ), officially the French Republic (), was the republican government of France that existed between 1848 and 1852. It was established in February 1848, with the February Re ...

's Minister of War from February 25, 1848 to March 20, 1848. He resigned March 19, when he was appointed Chancellor of the Legion of Honor. Subervie was a Grand Officier of the ''

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

'' and held the title of '' Baron d’Empire'' during the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930 ...

. After the coup of December 2, Subervie retired from public life and died in 1856.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Subervie, Jacques-Gervais 1776 births 1856 deaths People from Gers Politicians from Occitania (administrative region) Moderate Republicans (France) French Ministers of War Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 1848 Constituent Assembly Members of the National Legislative Assembly of the French Second Republic French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars French people of the Revolutions of 1848 Grand Chanceliers of the Légion d'honneur Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe