Nicolas Dahlmann (; 7 November 1769 – 10 February 1807) was a French cavalry general of the

Napoleonic wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

Early life

Dahlmann was born in

Thionville Thionville (; ; ) is a city in the northeastern French Departments of France, department of Moselle (department), Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle (river), Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz. History Thionvi ...

as the son of a trumpeter and enlisted in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

in 1777 at the age of 8, where his father and older brother were already serving in the Regiment ''Dauphin Cavalerie'', which later in 1791 became the 12e Régiment de Cavalerie.

Napoleonic wars

Dahlmann served with the infantry and was deployed at the ''Armee de la Moselle'' and the ''Armee des Pyrenees Orientales''. He was wounded at his right leg at

Peyrestortes Peyrestortes (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Peyrestortes is located in the canton of Le Ribéral and in the arrondissement of Perpignan. History Battle On 17 September 1793, Fr ...

on 17 September 1793. From 1796 to 1798 he saw action with the ''Armee d'Italie'' and joined the Guides-a-Cheval de Bonaparte when they were formed in June 1796. He went to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

with the ''Armee d'Orient'' and served at Salahieh, modern day El Salheya bordering the

Sinai Desert Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

, and Aboukir. He returned to France with

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

in 1798 and became Chef d'Escadron of the Chasseurs-a-Cheval in October 1802. He served at Austerlitz and was promoted Colonel-Major of the Chasseurs-a-Cheval de la Garde Imperiale. Dahlmann saw further action at the

Battle of Jena 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 ...

and was promoted to General-de-Brigade in the age of 36. Throughout the

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 ...

in February 1807 he was attached to the Imperial staff but requested to lead his old unit, the Chasseurs à Cheval, in a cavalry charge on 8 February 1807. He was seriously wounded in his right hip from a heavy calibre artillery piece and died on 10 February 1807 in the manor house of Worienen. Napoleon granted Dahlmann's widow a pension of 6,000 francs and in 1811 accorded his only son the title of Baron de l'Empire at the age of 10. On the instructions of Napoleon, Dahlmann's heart was embalmed and taken to Paris where it was laid to rest in the Pantheon.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dahlmann, Nicolas 1769 births 1807 deaths People from Thionville French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French military personnel killed in the Napoleonic Wars Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe Generals of the First French Empire