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Charles Abel Douay (2 March 1809 – 4 August 1870) was a general in the French army during the reign of the
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Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
. He commanded troops in numerous French campaigns in Europe and overseas. He was killed in battle at the age of sixty-one, near
Wissembourg Wissembourg (; South Franconian: ''Weisseburch'' ; German: ''Weißenburg'' ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Wissembourg was a sub-prefecture of the department until 2015. The name ''Wissembourg'' ...
during the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
.


Early life and career

Charles Abel Douay was born in the city of
Draguignan Draguignan (; ) is a commune in the Var department in the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (formerly Provence), southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of Artillery" an ...
on 2 March 1809.EB (vol.7, ed.9), p. 583. He became a well-known and well-respected military officer, described roundly as an "able" and "intrepid"Williams, p. 150. soldier. He served in
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, in the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
and in
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in 1859. He was the elder brother of General Félix Charles Douay (1816–1879), who was also a distinguished career officer.Zola, p. 62. (Because of their similar names and overlapping careers, the elder Douay is most frequently referred to as "Abel Douay".) At the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War, Abel Douay had already settled into his position as president of the military academy at Saint-Cyr.Wawro, p. 96–97.


Death

Recalled to active duty at the outbreak of war in 1870, the academy president was given command of a division under
Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...
Patrice de Mac-Mahon Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, marquis de MacMahon, duc de Magenta (; 13 June 1808 – 17 October 1893), was a French general and politician who served as President of France from 1873 to 1879. He was elevated to the dignity of Marshal ...
at the frontline, and on the first day of the first battle of the war, Abel Douay was killed in combat, hit by an
artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
explosion.Horne, p. 271. The subsequent Battle of Wissembourg (4 August 1870) proved a disaster for the French. Demoralized by the loss of their commander, Douay's outnumbered division fell back. By the end of the month, a crushing loss at the
Battle of Sedan The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Napoleon III, Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and ...
eliminated Mac-Mahon's entire army and, with it, the
Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...
.


Battle of Wissembourg

On 3 August 1870, the 61-year-old Abel Douay led the forward division of Mac-Mahon's army group, a force of approximately 8,600,Howard, p.100. into the frontier town of Wissembourg in
Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
, the border region between the two combatant nations.Howard, p. 100–101. Faulty intelligence had characterized the
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
ns' border positions as weak and unready, and Abel Douay's superiors felt confident that he could repulse any enemy probes while making use of the town's badly needed food and resources. Though the logistical benefit of the seizure of Wissembourg's stores was keenly appreciated at first, the tactical and strategic drawbacks quickly became known: the town, a flat lowland place with antiquated seventeenth-century fortifications, faced thickly wooded countryside which would help cover the advance of the attackers.Ollier, p. 25. At 8:30am the next day, batteries of undetected Prussian artillery began pummelling the French position, and though Abel Douay attempted a rapid defensive posture, the advantage of surprise had been devastatingly complete. The massive scale of the attack quickly became apparent – total Prussian forces are estimated between 50,000Howard, p. 102. and 80,000. By mid-morning Abel Douay was already organizing for a withdrawal when he was killed by a burst of artillery. Some writers have mistakenly reported that he was hit by gunfire, but most historians concur that he died from a shell which exploded in the nearby ammunition magazine of one of the French grapeshot cannon. The withdrawal turned into a rout, with over a thousand French soldiers dead and a thousand more taken prisoner.


Aftermath

The death of Abel Douay was a deeply demoralizing blow to the French army and gave a profound shock to the nation at large. Few, however, were as shocked as Napoleon III, who immediately issued a flurry of new orders reconstituting the army's command structure and strategic guidelines. General Félix Douay was stationed along the same front as his older brother and fought at Sedan until the final surrender. He too served as a field commander, leader of the French 7th Corps. Twenty years after the battle, an apocryphal story was published in Germany proffering a different end for Abel Douay: a German "eyewitness" claimed that the general had been shot by one of his own men, allegedly for ordering the French retreat. This story perhaps derived from the reported words of Frederick III who, advancing through the battlefield, had come upon Abel Douay's corpse and made the bald observation that the general had died beyond the range of German rifle fire. A solemn portrayal of this scene was later created by the Prussian
history painter History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek mythology, Greek and Roman my ...
Anton von Werner Anton Alexander von Werner (9 May 18434 January 1915) was a German painter and illustrator, best known for his depictions of the Franco-Prussian War and the Unification of Germany, typical of the Naturalist style. Member of the Akademie der K ...
. General Abel Douay is buried in a stately tomb just outside Wissembourg together with many of his fallen soldiers. A large monument to the battle was erected near his tomb at the end of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.Hallays, pp. 300–301.


References


Bibliography

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Further reading

* '' Service historique de la défense'' – File of General Charles Abel Douay (7 Yd 1428) {{DEFAULTSORT:Douay, Abel 1809 births 1870 deaths French generals French military personnel of the Crimean War French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour People from Draguignan