Louis Jean-Baptiste d'Aurelle de Paladines (9 January 1804 – 17 December 1877) was a French general.

Life

He was born at Le Malzieu-Ville, Lozère, educated at the Prytanée National Militaire and St Cyr, and entered the army as sub-lieutenant of foot in 1824. He served with distinction in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

between 1841 and 1848, becoming

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

and an officer of the

Legion of Honour 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 ...

; took part in the Roman campaigns of 1848 and 1849, and was made colonel. He served as general of brigade throughout the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

of 1854-56, being promoted

general of 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 co ...

and commander of the Legion of Honour. During the campaign in Lombardy in 1859 he commanded at Marseilles, and superintended the despatch of men and stores to the seat of war, and for his services he was made a grand officer of the Legion of Honour. Placed on the reserve list in 1869, he was recalled to the Marseilles command on the outbreak of the Franco-German War of 1870-71. After the first capture of

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Government of National Defense The Government of National Defense (french: Gouvernement de la Défense nationale) was the first government of the Third Republic of France from 4 September 1870 to 13 February 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. It was formed after the proclam ...

, in November 1870, to the command of the Army of the Loire (notwithstanding his monarchist and catholic beliefs). He was at first very successful against von der Tann-Rathsamhausen, winning the battle of Coulmiers and compelling the Germans to evacuate Orléans, but the capitulation of

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

had set free additional German troops to oppose him, and, after his defeat at Beaune la Rolande and subsequent unsuccessful fighting near Orléans, resulting in its recapture by the Germans in December, Aurelle retreated into the

Sologne Sologne (; ) is a natural region in Centre-Val de Loire, France, extending over portions of the departements of Loiret, Loir-et-Cher and Cher. Its area is about . To its north is the river Loire, to its south the river Cher, while the distr ...

and was superseded. After the government surrendered to Prussia in January 1871, General Paladines was appointed as head of the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

, whose members deeply resented having him as their commander. After the armistice he was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

by the departments both of Allier and Gironde. He sat for Allier as a member of the ''Centre gauche'' parliamentary group and was one of the fifteen officers chosen to assist in the peace negotiations. He was decorated with the grand cross of the Legion of Honour, and was given the command at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

, but retired in 1872. Elected a life senator in 1875, he supported the monarchical majority of 1876. He died at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

in 1877. He was the author of ''La Première Armée de la Loire'', published in 1872.

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aurelle de Paladines, Louis Jean-Baptiste d' 1804 births 1877 deaths People from Lozère Politicians from Occitania (administrative region) Members of the National Assembly (1871) French life senators French generals French military personnel of the Crimean War French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur