Frédéric Henri Walther

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Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther
Général de division
Battles/warsWar of the First Coalition

War of the Second Coalition

Count of the Empire. Eastern Pillar, Column 16, Arc de Triomphe
.

Frédéric-Louis-Henri Walther (20 June 1761 – 24 November 1813), was a French

Napoleon Bonaparte. He fought in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic
wars.

He enlisted in 1781 and, in his 30-year career, he saw action at the major battles in Europe. He fought in

Panthéon, and his name is listed on the Arc de Triomphe
in Paris.

Family

Walther was the son of Georges Henri Walther, a

Lutheran pastor, and Marie Elisabeth Chatel of Montbéliard. He was born in Obenheim, in the Alsace region of the Bas-Rhin. His cousins, Frédéric Cuvier and Georges Cuvier, were naturalists and zoologists.[1] He married 20-year-old Salome-Louise Coulman on 12 April 1802. They had two daughters, born 1803 and 1807; in 1810,[2] a third child was still-born.[3]

Initially he enlisted as a simple soldier in the Berchény

Hussars. This unit was included in the 1791 reorganization, and became the 1st Regiment of Hussars. On 10 May 1792, he received a commission as a lieutenant.[4]

Military career

During the

Piave River in northern Italy. During these campaigns, he proved equally adept at leading heavy or light cavalry, although some military analysts consider he was a better heavy cavalry leader.[5] In 1793, he was promoted to general of brigade.[6]

In the

Battle of Winterthur, he directed the rear guard action covering Ney's retreat through Winterthur, holding a key bridge cross of the Tōss River for 90 minutes against a larger Austrian force under command of Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze.[7]

A few days later, he was present for the defeat at the

Alexander Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian force; he actively harried the fleeing Russians. He later fought at the Battle of Messkirch in 1800.[8]

Napoleonic Wars

During the

Grenadiers à Cheval (mounted grenadiers), of the Imperial Guard, in 1806,[10] a position he held until his death 1813.[11]

The French cavalry charges the Russian line at Eylau, depicted by Siméon Fort

At the

Jacques MacDonald's infantry and considerable cavalry support, including the Guard cavalry under Walther. After the battle, MacDonald accused Walther of failure to mobilize his cavalrymen quickly enough and not charging when the time was right.[14] Walther accompanied Napoleon to Russia as a commander of the light cavalry of the Imperial Guard, part of which rotated duties as Napoleon's honor guard.[15]

Walther's name is inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe (7th from the top on the right).

During the Saxon campaign of 1813, Walther continued command of the Guard Cavalry, and was present at the Battle of Lützen and Battle of Dresden, as commander of the Guard cavalry.[16] At the Second Battle of Kulm (17 September 1813), he commanded the Imperial Guard Cavalry including the dragoons, Grenadiers à Cheval, and 1st (Polish) and 2nd (Dutch) Lancers.[17] At the Battle of Leipzig, he commanded the 3rd Division of the cavalry of the Imperial Guard: The total cavalry of the Guard included 7,903 men and 18 guns.[18] After refitting and resupply at Erfurt, where Napoleon had stashed a large depot of arms and ammunition, the French army continued to withdraw through western Germany, toward the Rhine.[19]

The

Chasseurs à Cheval, and the mounted Polish Lancers; he also had charge of Napoleon's honor guard of five squadrons, and two field artillery battalions.[20] By this time, Walther was suffering from exhaustion. He collapsed and died in the night of 24 November 1813, in Kusel. Sources differ on whether he died of exhaustion or typhus, or a combination of both. His body was transported first to the cathedral in Metz and from there to Paris, escorted by a detachment of the Imperial Guard. He was buried in the Pantheon.[21] His name appears on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris
.

Sources

Notes and citations

  1. ISBN 2-7010-1261-9
    , p. 506.
  2. ^ Louise-Catherine born in 1803 and then Josephine-Napoleone-Frederique-Henriette born on the 14 June 1807. Senior, #7 Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther.
  3. ^ (in French) Dubois, p. 506.
  4. ^ Adolphe Le Reboullet, Revue alsacienne. Strasbourg: Berger, 1886-. Volume 9, 1887, p.511.
  5. ^ Terry J. Senior, "Top 20 French Cavalry Commanders: #7 Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther." Napoleon Series.org, Robert Burnham, editor in chief. Accessed 28 January 2010.
  6. ^ Tony Broughton, The Garde Imperiale and Its Commanders during the Period 1804 – 1815. Part I: The Cavalry Regiments, Regiment de Grenadiers-a-Cheval de la Garde Imperiale. Napoleon Series. Robert Burnham, editor in chief. Accessed 29 January 2010.
  7. ^ Andrew Hilliarde Atteridge. The bravest of the brave, Michel Ney: marshal of France, duke of Elchingen. New York: Brentano, 1913, pp. 45–46; p. 48. Lawrence Shadwell. Mountain warfare illustrated by the campaign of 1799 in Switzerland: being a translation of the Swiss narrative, compiled from the works of the Archduke Charles, Jomini, and other... London: Henry S. King, 1875. p. 108–109.
  8. ^ Senior, #7 Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther.
  9. ^
    ISBN 1-85367-276-9
    .     His division included the 3rd, 6th, 10th, 11th, 13th and 22nd Regiments of Dragoons.
  10. ^ Senior, #7 Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther.
  11. ^ Broughton. The Garde Imperiale.
  12. ^ David Chandler. Dictionary of the Napoleonic wars. Wordsworth editions, 1999. p. 144.
  13. ^ Smith, "Wagram," Databook, pp. 318–321.
  14. ^ Rothenberg, p. 192-193.
  15. ^ Smith, "Borodino," Databook, p. 391.
  16. ^ Smith, Databook, pp. 416, 443.
  17. ^ Smith, Databook, p. 455.
  18. ^ Smith, Databook, p. 461.
  19. ^ Smith, Databook, p. 473.
  20. ^ Smith, Databook, p. 474.
  21. ^ (in French) Révolution et Premier Empire. Histoire et Dictionnaire du consulat et de l'empire A Fierro A palluel guillard J Tulard ed Bouquins, 1995.; Senior, #7 Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther.

Bibliography

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