Pierre Berthezène
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Pierre, baron Berthezène (; 24 March 1775,
Vendargues Vendargues is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Since 2006, Vendargues has been twinned with Clackmannanshire, Scotland. Population See also *Communes of the Hérault department A commune is ...
– 9 October 1847, Vendargues) was a French general.


Life


Early military career

Pierre's parents, Jacques Berthezène and Marguerite Causse, were from a modest background. They chose a career in the church for him and the village priest taught him in preparation for the seminary at
Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
. Berthezène was still studying when the French Revolution broke out. On 15 September 1793 he joined the 5th volunteer battalion of Hérault, amalgamated into the 7th provisional battle
demi-brigade A ''demi-brigade'' () is a military formation used by the French Army since the French Revolutionary Wars. The ''demi-brigade'' amalgamated the various infantry organizations of the French Revolutionary infantry into a single unit. Each one wa ...
, which later became the 10th line infantry regiment in year 4. He rose to corporal, sergeant and sergeant-major on 17, 19 and 22 September. In this regiment he met other non-commissioned officers such as Lannes and Victor.


Revolutionary wars

He joined the
armée des Pyrénées orientales The Army of the Eastern Pyrenees (''Armée des Pyrénées Orientales'') was one of the French Revolutionary armies. It fought against the Kingdom of Spain in Roussillon, the Cerdanya and Catalonia during the War of the Pyrenees. This army and the ...
, but a few days after the affair at Peyrestortes, the brigade went to reinforce the corps besieging Toulon. At the capture of the British redoubt which was decisive in the French revolutionaries' capture of the city, the young Berthezène captured a British NCO's rifle, which he kept himself. This act of bravery gained him promotion to lieutenant on 1 Messidor, year II. His demi-brigade then moved to
Garnier Garnier () is a mass market cosmetics brand owned by the French company L'Oréal. Garnier produces hair care and skin care products. Launch ''Laboratoires Garnier'' was founded in France in 1904 by Alfred Amour Garnier. The company's first pr ...
's division in the armée d'Italie. In 1796 Berthezène, having been elected lieutenant, distinguished himself at Castiglione. In 1798 he was attached to the staff of General Grenier under whom he distinguished himself and was promoted to captain. In 1799 he was made aide-de-camp to General
Compans Compans () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Demographics The inhabitants are called ''Compannais''. See also *Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department The following is a li ...
. In 1799 he was given command of a battalion in the 72nd demi-brigade, which he commanded in the Marengo campaign, during which he was wounded.


Napoleonic wars

After having served in Holland and Hannover, Berthezène was promoted to colonel in 1807 and was given command of the 10th light infantry regiment. For his service at Heilsberg he was ennobled as a baron. After the
Peace of Tilsitt Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such a ...
Berthezène occupied the isle of
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. When the
War of the Fifth Coalition The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in Central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis I and Napoleon's French Emp ...
started, Berthezène and his regiment joined the division of Saint-Hilaire near
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. During the
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 ...
Berthezène was again wounded when his regiment took the enemy positions. Under the command of Marshal Lannes, Berthezène served at Battle of
Essling Essling
Essling entry in the Viennese government's history wiki (German)
() is a neighbourhood ...
. Berthezène was promoted to general de brigade on 6 August 1811. In October he was given command of
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and in December 1811 he was given a command in the grenadiers of the
Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the emperor and/or empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial force ...
. In this latter capacity Berthezène served during the
Russian Campaign The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continent ...
where he commanded three regiments of the Young Guard. During the retreat he distinguished himself at the
Battle of the Beresina The Battle of (the) Berezina (or Beresina) took place from 26 to 29 November 1812, between Napoleon's and the Imperial Russian Army under Field Marshal Wittgenstein and Admiral Chichagov. Napoleon was retreating toward Poland in chaos after t ...
. In 1813 he was given command of a part of the Old Guard, with whom he served at
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and
Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...
. On 4 August 1813 Berthezène was promoted to general de division and given command of the 44th division under Marshal Gouvion Saint-Cyr under whom he served at
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
. After the
battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...
he was part of the forced besieged at
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
and capitulated on 11 November 1813. He was held as a prisoner of war in Hungary for the duration of the war.


First Bourbon Restoration and Hundred Days

In June 1814 Berthezène was released from prison after the
Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...
and was available for military service again.
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. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...
awarded him the croix de Saint-Louis on 19 July and attached him to the committee for war on 18 December. He was in this position at the time Napoleon landed in the
Golfe-Juan Golfe-Juan (; ) is a seaside resort on France's Côte d'Azur. The distinct local character of Golfe-Juan is indicated by the existence of a demonym, "Golfe-Juanais", which is applied to its inhabitants. Overview Golfe-Juan belongs to the commu ...
. Berthezène followed him during the
Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...
. On 29 March, Napoléon put him in charge of the commission charged with placing half-pay officers and on 7 June he was given command of the 11th infantry division, 3rd army corps, armée du Nord. He fought at
Ligny Ligny (; ) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Sombreffe, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Previously its own municipality, a 1977 fusion of the Belgian municipalities made it an '' ancienne commune'' of So ...
on 16 June, where his horse was shot from under him, and after Habert was badly wounded at
Wavre Wavre (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium. Wavre is in the Dijle, Dyle valley. Most inhabitants sp ...
took over command of his division. He drove eight Prussian battalions from the heights at
Bierges Bierges (; ) is a sub-municipality of the city of Wavre located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Wallonia, Belgium. It was a separate municipality until 1977. On 1 January 1977, it was merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business tr ...
. On 20 June,
Dominique Vandamme General Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme, Count of Unseburg (; 5 November 1770, in Cassel, Nord – 15 July 1830) was a French military officer, who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He was a dedicated career soldier with a reputation as an excell ...
put him in command of two more infantry divisions and commanded him to hold up the enemy to buy time for Marshal Grouchy to take up position at
Dinant Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...
- this led to a fierce battle beneath the walls of
Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...
in which Berthezène's horse was again killed under him. When the provisional government seemed to wish to withdraw behind Paris, Berthezène was sent to take command of 3rd corps, but the armistice was concluded and he returned to his division. After Napoleon's second abdication, he commanded the rearguard corps in the Loire until the licensing.


Second Bourbon Restoration

After the licensing of the ''armée de la Loire'', the general came to Paris, where he stayed. General Despinois, commander of Paris, summoned him to see his chief of staff and told him that he could authorise his stay in Paris and that he had to see the minister for war ( the Duc de Feltre). The general went to find the minister, who told him to go to his estate. Authorised on 16 September to retire to his estates, on 9 December he was granted permission to retire to Belgium. After a couple of months his exile was retracted and he was allowed to return to France. Pierre Berthezène was placed on the non-active list on 18 April 1816. In 1818 he was named an inspector-general of the infantry by Marshal Gouvion Saint-Cyr. In 1820 he was again placed on active duty. Having been named a member of the advisory committee on the infantry in January 1830, Berthezène was given command of the 1st infantry division for the French invasion of Algeria. On 14 June 1830 Berthezène landed his troops on the coast near
Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
and attacked and took an artillery battery of 16 pieces. Berthezène then took part in the fighting for the city of Algiers.


July Monarchy

After the
July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...
Berthezène returned to France in November. In February 1831 Berthezène replaced
Bertrand Clausel Bertrand, Comte Clauzel (; 12 December 1772 – 21 April 1842), was a French soldier who served in the French Revolutionary Wars, Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Napoleonic wars. He saw service in the Low Countries, Italy, Haiti, and Spain, wh ...
as military governor of Algeria. He took office on 21 March and served until the end of December 1831 during his tenure he concentrated French efforts on the city of Algiers and other major ports opposing designs on the Algerian hinterland that exceeded the resources available to him. He returned to France in January 1832 and was made
Pair de France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...
in October of that year. In the Chamber of Pairs, Berthezène acted as a moderate, mainly concentrating on issues regarding the colonization of Algeria. In the early 1840s Berthezène became embroiled in a dispute between Marshal
Gérard Gérard (French language, French: ) is a French masculine given name and surname of Germanic languages, Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other Germanic name, early Germanic names, it is ...
and Marshal Grouchy about the latter’s actions during the Waterloo campaign. Pierre Berthezène died at
Vendargues Vendargues is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Since 2006, Vendargues has been twinned with Clackmannanshire, Scotland. Population See also *Communes of the Hérault department A commune is ...
on 9 October 1847.


Works

* ''Dix huit mois en Algérie'' * ''Souvenirs militaires'', publié par son fils,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, 1855.


Coat of arms


Notes and references

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berthezene, Pierre 1775 births 1847 deaths People from Hérault French generals Peers of France French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars French prisoners of war in the Napoleonic Wars Governors general of Algeria Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe