Nicolas Charles Oudinot, 1st Count Oudinot, 1st Duke of Reggio (25 April 1767 in

Bar-le-Duc Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France. The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, ...

– 13 September 1847 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

), was a Marshal of the Empire. He is known to have been wounded 34 times in battle, being hit by artillery shells, sabers, and at least twelve bullets over the course of his military career. Oudinot is one of the Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, Eastern pillar Columns 13, 14.

Early life

Nicolas Charles Oudinot was the son of Nicolas Oudinot and Marie Anne Adam, the only one of their nine children to live to adulthood. His father was a brewer,

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer m ...

and distiller of brandy in

, Lorraine. He decided upon a

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

career, and served in the

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

of Medoc from 1784 to 1787, when, having no hope of promotion on account of his non-noble birth, he retired with the rank of

sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

French Revolutionary Wars

The

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

changed his fortunes, and in 1792, on the outbreak of war, he was elected

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 ...

of the 3rd battalion of the volunteers of the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a ...

. His gallant defense of the little fort of Bitsch in the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a singl ...

in 1792 drew attention to him; he was transferred to the regular army in November 1793, and after serving in numerous actions on the Belgian frontier he was promoted general of brigade, in June 1794 for his conduct at the

Battle of Kaiserslautern The Battle of Kaiserslautern (28–30 November 1793) saw a Coalition army under Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel oppose a Republican French army led by Lazare Hoche. Three days of conflict resulted in a victory by th ...

. He continued to serve with distinction on the German frontier under Louis Lazare Hoche,

Charles Pichegru Jean-Charles Pichegru (, 16 February 1761 – 5 April 1804) was a French general of the Revolutionary Wars. Under his command, French troops overran Belgium and the Netherlands before fighting on the Rhine front. His royalist positions led to hi ...

and

Jean Victor Marie Moreau Jean Victor Marie Moreau (, 14 February 1763 – 2 September 1813) was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States. Biography Rise to fame Moreau was born at Morl ...

, was repeatedly wounded and once (in 1795) taken prisoner after having been wounded again. He was André Masséna's right hand all through the Swiss campaign of 1799, first as a general of division, then as chief of staff, and won extraordinary distinction at the Second Battle of Zurich. He was present under Massena at the Siege of Genoa, and so distinguished himself at the Battle of Monzambano that

Napoleon 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 wh ...

presented him with a sword of honour (an especially uncommon award replaced later by the Légion d'Honneur). He was made inspector-general of infantry, and, on the establishment of the empire, given the

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

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 Napoleo ...

, but was not included in the first creation of marshals.

Napoleonic Wars

Oudinot was elected a member of the chamber of deputies, but had little time to devote to politics. He took a leading role in the war of 1805, commanding the famous division of "grenadiers Oudinot," made up of hand-picked troops and organized by him, with which he seized the Vienna bridges, received a wound at the Battle of Schöngrabern in Lower Austria against the Russians. In 1807, he participated in Joachim Murat's victory in the Battle of Ostrolenka in Poland and fought with resolution and success at the Battle of Friedland. In 1808 he was made governor of

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits in ...

and Count of the French Empire, and in 1809, after the

Battle of Wagram The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles ...

, he was promoted to the rank of

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

. He was made a titular duke in chief of the duché-grand fief of Reggio in the satellite

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

, and received a large money grant in April 1810. From 1810 to 1812 Oudinot administered the government of the former

Kingdom of Holland The Kingdom of Holland ( nl, Holland (contemporary), (modern); french: Royaume de Hollande) was created by Napoleon Bonaparte, overthrowing the Batavian Republic in March 1806 in order to better control the Netherlands. Since becoming Empero ...

, and commanded the II Corps of La Grande Armée in the Russian campaign. His corps was instrumental in building the bridge over the Berezina that allowed the evacuation of troops after the defeat at the Battle of Berezina. During this period he suffered another wounding in battle. He was present at the Battle of Lützen and the Battle of Bautzen, and when holding the independent command of the corps directed to take

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

was defeated at the Battle of Grossbeeren. He was then superseded by Marshal Ney, but the latter was defeated at the

Battle of Dennewitz The Battle of Dennewitz (german: Schlacht von Dennewitz (Battle near Jüterbog) took place on 6September 1813 between French forces commanded by Marshal Michel Ney and the Sixth Coalition's Allied Army of the North commanded by Crown Prince ...

. Oudinot was not disgraced. He held important commands at the Battle of Leipzig and in the campaign of 1814. On Napoleon's abdication, he rallied to the new government, and was made a Peer of France by the Bourbon Restoration King

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

. Unlike many of his old comrades, he did not desert to his former master during Bonaparte's 1815 return.

Later life

His last active service was in the French invasion of Spain in 1823, in which he commanded a corps and was for a time governor of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. He died as

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the Parisian veterans institution Les Invalides.

Honours

* 1849 : Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Pope Pius IX.Handelsblad (Het) 14-08-1849

Personal life

He married first, in September 1789, Charlotte Derlin (1768–1810) and had 7 children: *Marie-Louise (1790–1832): wife (1808) of general Pierre Claude Pajol (1772–1844) * Charles (1791–1863) *Nicolette (1795–1865): wife (1811) of general (1772–1855) *Emilie (1796–1805) *Auguste (1799–1835) *Elise (1801–1882) *Stephanie (1808–1893) He married secondly, in January 1812, Eugenie de Coucy (1791–1868) and had 4 children: *Louise-Marie (1816–1909) *Caroline (1817–1896) *Charles-Joseph (1819–1858) *Henri (1822–1891)

References

;Attribution * *Chandler, David (editor). ''Napoleon's Marshals.'' London: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oudinot, Nicolas 1767 births 1847 deaths People from Bar-le-Duc Nicolas Nicolas Politicians from Grand Est Members of the Corps législatif Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Bourbon Restoration Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy Marshals of France French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Marshals of the First French Empire Knights Commander of the Military Order of William Grand Chanceliers of the Légion d'honneur Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Max Joseph Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe