Everything about Desaix totally explained
Louis Charles Antoine Desaix (
August 17,
1768 -
June 14,
1800) was a
French General and military leader. (According to the usage of the time, he took the name
Louis Charles Antoine Desaix de Veygoux.)
Biography
Born to an impoverished noble family of
Ayat-sur-Sioule (
Auvergne), Desaix received his military education at the school founded by Marshal d'
Effiat, and entered the French royal army. During his first six years of service, he devoted himself to duty and to military studies. When the
French Revolution broke out, he threw himself into the cause of liberty. Refusing to "emigrate", he joined the staff of the
duc de Broglie. The disgrace of this general nearly cost Desaix his life, but he escaped the
guillotine, and by his conspicuous services soon came into favour with the Republican government. Like many other members of the old ruling classes who had accepted the new order, the instinct of command, joined to native ability, brought Desaix career success. By 1794 he'd attained the rank of general of division.
In the campaign of 1795 he commanded
Jourdan's right wing, and in
Moreau's invasion of
Bavaria the following year he held an equally important command. In the retreat which ensued when the archduke Charles won the battles of
Amberg and
Würzburg Desaix commanded Moreau's rearguard, and later the fortress of
Kehl, with the highest distinction, and his name became a household word, like those of
Bonaparte, Jourdan,
Hoche,
Marceau and
Kléber. Next year his initial successes were interrupted by the Preliminaries of
Leoben, and he procured for himself a mission into
Italy in order to meet General Bonaparte, who spared no pains to captivate the brilliant young general from the almost rival camps of
Germany. Provisionally appointed commander of the "Army of England," Desaix was soon transferred by Bonaparte to the expeditionary force intended for
Egypt. It was his division which bore the brunt of the
Mamluk attack at the
battle of the Pyramids, and he crowned his reputation by his victories over
Murad Bey in
Upper Egypt. Amongst the
fellaheen he acquired the significant appellation of the "Just
Sultan."
When command passed to Kléber, Desaix was one of the small party selected to accompany Bonaparte. However, it was months before he could join the new
First Consul. The campaign of
1800 was close to its climax when Desaix at last arrived in
Italy. He was immediately assigned to the command of a corps of two infantry divisions. Three days later (
June 14), detached, with
Boudet's division, at
Rivalta, he heard the cannon of
Marengo on his right. Taking the initiative he marched at once towards the sound, meeting
Bonaparte's staff officer, who had come to recall him, half way on the route. He arrived with
Boudet's division at the moment when the
Austrians were victorious all along the line. Exclaiming, "There is yet time to win another battle!" he led his three regiments straight against the enemy's centre. At the moment of victory Desaix was killed by a
musket ball. Louis Charles Antoine Desaix was killed the same day as his good friend and comrade, governor-general of Egypt Jean Baptiste Kléber who was assassinated in Cairo.
Memory
Napoleon paid tribute to him by erecting the monuments of Desaix on the
Place Dauphine and the
Place des Victoires in
Paris. Moreover, his name is written on a face of the
Arc de Triomphe, with other great military figures of the
French Revolution.
Further Information
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