François Joseph Lefebvre
| Service/ | Army |
|---|---|
| Years of service | 1773–1814 |
| Rank | Marshal of the Empire |
| Commands held | Army of Sambre and Meuse X Corps IV Corps |
| Battles/wars | See battles
|
| Awards | Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour |
| Signature |  |
François Joseph Lefebvre, Duke of Danzig (/ləˈfɛvrə/ lə-FEV-rə, French: [fʁɑ̃swa ʒɔzɛf ləfɛvʁ]; 25 October 1755 – 14 September 1820),[1] was a French military commander of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, and one of the original eighteen Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon.
Early life
Lefebvre was born on 28 May 1755 in
Lefebvre was in Paris at the time of the Storming of the Bastille in 1789 and, like his close friend, Michel Ordener, he embraced the French Revolution. After his unit was disbanded early in the Revolution, Lefebvre entered the newly-formed National Guard of Paris, obtaining the rank of lieutenant, and was injured defending King Louis XVI's during a popular uprising.[2] He was soon transferred to a regular infantry regiment.[2]
French Revolutionary Wars
Lefebvre held the rank of captain at the start of the
In May 1799, Lefebvre, by then a well-known
Napoleonic Wars
On 19 May 1804, Lefebvre was one of four senators to be made a Marshal of the Empire.[3] He presented the Joyeuse to Napoleon in his coronation as emperor on 2 December.[2] For the duration of the War of the Third Coalition, Lefebvre commanded a reserve corps in Mainz as well as three departments on the left bank of the Rhine.[2] He was appointed commander of the Imperial Guard's infantry in the campaign of 1806, during the War of the Fourth Coalition.[2]
On 23 January 1807 he received the order to capture
Lefebvre commanded the infantry of the Old Guard in the 1812 French invasion of Russia, and fought at the Battle of Borodino.[1] He served in the German campaign (1813) and in the French campaign (1814) of the War of the Sixth Coalition, and voted for the emperor's deposition at the Senate in April 1814.[2] After the first Bourbon Restoration he was made Peer of France by King Louis XVIII (4 June 1814), but rallied to Napoleon during the Hundred Days.[2]
Later life
Lefebvre was excluded from the
He never forgot the hard work that brought him rank and wealth. When a friend expressed envy of his estate, Lefebvre said, "Come down in the courtyard, and I'll have ten shots at you with a musket at 30 paces. If I miss, the whole estate is yours." After the friend declined this offer, Lefebvre added, "I had a thousand bullets shot at me from much closer range before I got all this."
In popular culture
Lefebvre is portrayed by Yves Montand in Sacha Guitry's 1955 film Napoléon.
In the 1931 anthology If It Had Happened Otherwise, the alternate history scenario "If the Moors in Spain Had Won" by Philip Guedalla has Napoleon appointing Lefebvre as King Youssef I of Granada after deposing the House of Boabdil, only to trigger an analog of the Peninsular War.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Alvin K. Benson (2001). "Francis Joseph Lefebvre". In John Powell (ed.). Magill's Guide to Military History. Vol. 3. Salem Press, Inc. p. 883.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Thierry Lentz (2006). "28 mai 1807 : Le maréchal Lefebvre devient duc de Dantzig". Fondation Napoléon. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
- ^ R. P. Dunn-Pattison, Napoleon's Marshals, (Empiricus books, 1909), viii.
- ^ Hamish Davey Wright. "Andreas Hofer and the insurrection in the Tyrol, 1809". Fondation Napoléon. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
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