Pierre-Louis Charles de Failly (21 January 1810 – 15 November 1892) was a French general. He was born in Rozoy-sur-Serre,

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

), and of Sophie Desmons de Maigneux. He was educated at the Saint-Cyr and entered the army in 1828. By 1851, he had risen to the rank of colonel.

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, with whom he had favor, made him general of brigade in 1854 and general of division in 1855, after which Failly was for a time his '' aide-de-camp''. During 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 de ...

he served in the siege of Sevastopol. During the

Austro-Sardinian War The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

he commanded the 3rd Infantry Division in the 4th Corps. In 1867, he led the French expeditionary corps sent to protect the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

with which he defeated

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

Mentana Mentana is a town and ''comune'', former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy. It is located north-east of Rome and has a population of about 23,000. History Mentana's name in ...

, this action being the first in which the

Chassepot The Chassepot (pronounced ''SHAS-poh''), officially known as ''Fusil modèle 1866'', was a bolt-action military breechloading rifle. It is famous for having been the arm of the French forces in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. It repla ...

rifle was used. Back in France, he was made a senator for life. In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, Failly commanded the 5th Corps. His inactivity at

Bitche Bitche ( , ; German and Lorraine Franconian: ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments of France, department, administrative regions of France, administrative region of Grand Est, northeastern France. It ...

on 6 August while the 1st Corps on his right and the 2nd Corps on his left were crushed at the battles of Wörth and

Spicheren Spicheren (; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is located on the German border, lying next to the city of Saarbrücken. See also * Communes of the Moselle department The following is a list of ...

respectively, gave rise to the greatest indignation in France. Failly then commanded the right wing of Marshal de Mac-Mahon's ''

Army of Châlons , image= Macmahon.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption= Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Marshal Mac Mahon , dates= 17 August – 2 September 1870 , allegiance= , branch=French Army , command_structure=1st Army Corps5th Army Corps7th Army Corps 12th A ...

'' during the Sedan campaign, and the disastrous outcome of that campaign is partly ascribed to Failly's tactics, though he is certainly no more to blame than the other French generals. Failly and his 5th Corps were routed at

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...

on 30 August 1870 by two corps led by

George of Saxony en, Frederick Augustus George Louis William Maximilian Charles Maria Nepomuk Baptist Xavier Cyriacus Romanus , image =George of Saxony by Nicola Perscheid c1900.jpg , caption = Photograph by Nicola Perscheid c. 1900 , reign ...

. In this battle the French were surprised in their cantonments and driven back upon Mouzon. The defeat closed the southern escape route and forced the French ''Army of Châlons'' towards the Belgian frontier and encirclement at Sedan. He was captured by the Prussians at Sedan on 2 September, but was liberated some months later. The rest of his life was spent in retirement. He died at

Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with 19 c ...

, aged 82. Failly wrote ''Campagne de 1870. Opérations et marches du 5ème corps jusqu'au 31 août'' (Brussels, 1871).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Failly, Pierre Louis Charles French generals 1810 births 1892 deaths Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur French military personnel of the Crimean War French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath