Claude-Étienne Michel
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General Claude-Étienne Michel (3 October 1772 – 18 June 1815), an officer in Napoleon's army, eventually rose to second in command of the Chasseur Division of the Imperial Guard and commander of the Brigade of the
Middle Guard The Middle Guard () was a formation of the French Imperial Army's Imperial Guard. It was an intermediate force between the elite Old Guard and the less experienced Young Guard. It played a role in Napoleon's military campaigns, offering a balan ...
. He may actually be the officer who uttered the words often attributed to
Pierre Cambronne Pierre Jacques Étienne, 1st Viscount Cambronne (26 December 1770 – 29 January 1842), was a general of the First French Empire. A main strategist of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, he was wounded at the Battle of Waterloo. M ...
"'' La Garde meurt et ne se rend pas''" "The Guard dies, and does not surrender".D.H. Parry (c. 1900) ''Battle of the nineteenth century'', Vol 1 Cassell and Company: London
Waterloo


Life

Michel was born in Pointre in the Jura, the son of a surgeon.


Revolutionary Wars

During the French Revolution and the surrounding
War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI, constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, Frenc ...
he enlisted in the '6th battalion of volunteers from the Jura department' on 1 October 1791. He was a Sergeant Major by the 15th of the month and promoted to Sous-Lieutenant on March 4, 1792. then Lieutenant on the 22 August 1792, and was made a Captain on October 6, 1792 a rapid rise in a year. During this year he was deployed on the borders of Switzerland; The 6th Jura Volunteers were moved to the army of the Rhine and Michel was taken prisoner by the Prussians on March 5, 1793 at Rheindürkheim. Michel was held for over two years and finally exchanged in June 1795. Meanwhile the 6th Jura Volunteers along with the old Royal Army's 2nd Battalion of the 96th Regiment and 1st Haute-Vienne volunteers was formed into the 174th Demi-Brigade in October 1793 during a major overhaul of the revolutionary armies fusing older royal units with the volunteer battalions in mixed regiment sized units. Michel joined this new unit which was attached to the Army of Sambre and Meuse. Soon promoted again to Chef-de-Bataillon on October 1, 1795. The Demi-Brigade was then merged with the 93rd Demi-Brigade to become a new 49th Demi-Brigade in 1796, in a second major shake up of the French infantry, and assigned to the new Army of Germany when it is formed from the armies of 'Sambre and Meuse' and 'Rhine and Moselle' in 1797. Michel and the 49th Demi-Brigade was then part of the Gallo-Batavian army assembled in the
Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic (; ) was the Succession of states, successor state to the Dutch Republic, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 after the Batavian Revolution and ended on 5 June 1806, with the acce ...
and took part in the rushed 1798 expedition to Ireland but was captured at sea aboard ''La Furie'' and exchanged by the British at the end of the year. The Gallo-Batavian army provided much opportunity of action due to a combined British and Russian
invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...
of the republic in the
War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition () (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war targeting French Revolution, revolutionary French First Republic, France by many European monarchies, led by Kingdom of Great Britain, Britai ...
and he fought at Schoorldam, holding his positions at the end of the day, being slightly wounded towards the close of the battle. When the fighting renewed he had his right arm broken by a shot. The Gallo-Batavian army having succeeded in forcing the British/Russian forces to withdraw was moved into Germany in support of the fighting against Austria and Michel had recovered enough distinguish himself at the head of his battalion in the fighting at Burgeberach north of Nuremberg and was there shot in the other arm. This battle along with the larger Hohenlinden broke the Austrians and ended the war. The 49th Demi-Brigade is attached to the 'Army of England' and moved to quarters around Cherbourg.


Consulate and Empire

During the Consulate, with the temporary peace in Europe, France took stock of its colonial holdings. Michel was selected to join the disastrous expedition to
Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...
, in 1802, to attempt to reassert French control over the colony. He returned to France in 1803, one of the few survivors, joining the new 40th Regiment of the Line, there had been yet another reorganisation of the infantry and his old unit the 49th Demi-Brigade had been amalgamated with the 24th Demi-Brigade to form a new larger 24th Regiment in his absence. He was further promoted to
Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
, and so second in command, of the 40th Regiment of the Line on 22 November 1803. Then on March 25, 1804 he was made a member of the ''Légion d'Honneur''. The 40th was part of the 3rd Division of Lannes' V Corps of the ''
Grande Armée The (; ) was the primary field army of the French Imperial Army (1804–1815), French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Commanded by Napoleon, from 1804 to 1808 it won a series of military victories that allowed the First French Empi ...
'' during the
War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition () was a European conflict lasting from 1805 to 1806 and was the first conflict of the Napoleonic Wars. During the war, First French Empire, France and French client republic, its client states under Napoleon I an ...
and Michel's services at the
battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV French Republican calendar, FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near t ...
earned him, on December 27, 1805, the rank of Colonel and his admission, and transfer to, the 1st Regiment of Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard, on 1 May 1806. He took up the post of Major in the 1st Grenadiers as everyone serving in the Guard was considered to be a rank above those in the line infantry. In March 1806 he married Margaret Maret (1784–1875) who was the daughter of Count Jean Philibert Maret, a politician and soon to be appointed to the army
Commissariat A commissariat is a department or organization commanded by a commissary or by a corps of commissaries. In many countries, commissary is a police rank. In those countries, a commissariat is a police station commanded by a commissary. In some a ...
, and niece of Hugues-Bernard Maret one of the Emperor Napoleon's secretaries. He was promoted to Colonel of the 1st Grenadiers of the Guard, on February 16, 1807, in recognition of his conduct at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt where unused the Guard and
Battle of Eylau The Battle of Eylau (also known as the Battle of Preussisch-Eylau) was a bloody and strategically inconclusive battle on 7 and 8 February 1807 between Napoleon's and the Imperial Russian Army under the command of General Levin August von Be ...
where they were played a vital role. He fought at the Battle of Friedland again held in reserve, and left for Spain after the Treaty of Tilsit ended the war with Russia and Prussia, shattering the Third Coalition. In the Peninsular War He fought at
Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...
on November 10, 1808 and was elevated to an '' Officier de la Légion d'Honneur'' for displaying great valour and the title of ' Baron of the Empire'. Now well on his way to becoming part of the new Imperial French aristocracy. Michel was recalled from Spain to the ''
Grande Armée The (; ) was the primary field army of the French Imperial Army (1804–1815), French Imperial Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Commanded by Napoleon, from 1804 to 1808 it won a series of military victories that allowed the First French Empi ...
'' in 1809, and was present at the battles
Battle of Eckmühl The Battle of Eckmühl fought on 22 April 1809, was the turning point of the 1809 Campaign, also known as the War of the Fifth Coalition. Napoleon I had been unprepared for the start of hostilities on 10 April 1809, by the Austrians under ...
, Battle of Aspern-Essling and
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 of the French, Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian Empire, Austrian arm ...
. He was appointed '' Général d'Brigade'' on June 24, 1811, and fought in the campaign of 1812 in Russian. Again surviving the disastrous destruction of an expedition he returned to France. In 1813 Imperial France was fighting invasions on several fronts, Michel fought in Saxony as part of the
German Campaign of 1813 The German campaign () was fought in 1813. Members of the Sixth Coalition, including the German states of Austria and Prussia, plus Russia and Sweden, fought a series of battles in Germany against the French Emperor Napoleon, his marshals, and th ...
and was elevated again in the ''Légion d'Honneur'' to ''Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur'' on April 6, was admitted to the Order of the Iron Crown on August 16 and finally promoted to ''
Général 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 ...
'' on November 20. In 1814 Michel was in command of the 2nd Old Guard Division during the Six Days' Campaign and by early February in the fighting around
Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...
as a prelude to the main campaign, was hunting for the Allied vanguard commanded by the Prince of Lichtenstein. Supported by the dragoons of General André Briche, he surprised the allies at St. Theobald, and despite the greater numbers available to them, pushed them south to St. Parres les Vaudes, away from Troyes. The main events of the Six Day's ended for Michel when he was again shot in the arm on February 11 at Battle of Montmirail although he saw out the day, leading a counter attack that pushed back the Prussians. He was still bedridden as a result of this injury, when the Allied armies approached Paris. At the noise of war, the General forgot his wound and reappeared, his arm in a sling, on March 30 before the walls of the capital. Placed in command of a division of conscripts during the
battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...
he was again wounded, by grapeshot in the kidneys. However the fighting was in vain as Paris surrendered the following day and Napoleon was forced into abdication.


Restoration

Upon the restoration in common with many officers of the Empire he was accepted into the service of the King and Louis XVIII named him as a Knight of the
Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis () is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, notable as the fi ...
on August 20, 1814, and granted him a commission of Colonel in the Royal Guard.


Hundred Days

Again in common with many officers and men of the army he defected back to Napoleon upon his return from Elba. The Emperor raised him to Count of the Empire, and appointed him initially as commander of the 1st ''Chasseurs à Pied'' of the Old Guard. As part of the ''Armée du Nord'' he was placed as second in command of the Chasseur Division of the Guard. At the
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...
on June 18, Michel was part of the final assault on
La Haye Sainte La Haye Sainte (, , named either after Jesus' crown of thorns or a nearby bramble hedge) is a walled farmhouse compound at the foot of an escarpment near Waterloo, Belgium, on the N5 road connecting Brussels and Charleroi. It has changed very ...
personally leading the 1st/3rd Chasseurs. They mounted the ridge and were met by intense fire from the British Foot Guards. This attack, which caused heavy losses in the ranks, was also fatal to General Michel. His body was not recovered and is buried with his comrades on the battle field. His name is engraved on column 10 of the northern pillar of the
Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...
.


Notes and Links

*http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/frenchguard/c_guardinf1.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20110813112947/http://chasseurs.ru/regiment.html * {{DEFAULTSORT:Michel, Claude-Etienne 1772 births 1815 deaths People from Jura (department) French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel killed in the Napoleonic Wars People of the Battle of Waterloo Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe