Jacques Desjardin
Jacques Desjardin | |
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General of Division | |
Battles/wars |
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Awards | Légion d'Honneur |
Jacques Desjardin (French pronunciation:
Revolution
Born on 9 February 1759 in Angers, France, Desjardin joined the French army on 8 December 1776 at the age of 17. Since his father worked as a humble valet, Desjardin's prospects of advancement in the Vivarais Infantry Regiment were poor. He became a corporal in 1781 and sergeant in 1789. He was granted leave to see his father in 1790 and immediately threw himself into the task of drilling his hometown National Guard unit. Coming to the attention of the revolutionary authorities, he was appointed adjutant general on 5 August 1791.[1]
After a reorganization, Desjardin became
By 4 May 1794, Desjardin had command over a 31,736-strong army that consisted of François Muller's division, 14,075 men, Jacques Fromentin's division, 10,619 soldiers, and Éloi Laurent Despeaux's division, 7,042 troops. One month later, Desjardin's Right Wing of the Army of the North had grown to a strength of 37,147 men. There were 43 infantry battalions, nine cavalry regiments, and three artillery companies under his orders.[3] The French strategy for 1794 called for Desjardins to join the Right Wing with Louis Charbonnier's Army of the Ardennes to form a 60,000-man army to strike toward Mons. The objective was later changed to Charleroi. Unfortunately, the Army of the North's commander Jean-Charles Pichegru neglected one of the basic principles of warfare by failing to appoint a single overall commander for the army. Between 11 May and 3 June this force crossed the Sambre river three times and was driven back each time. In one overheard conversation between the co-commanders, Charbonnier sounded like a buffoon. He noted that the troops were starving and they needed to cross the river to feed them, to which Desjardin replied that the crossing must be arranged in a military fashion. Charbonnier answered, "Good, you work out the details. As for me, I'm in charge of eating vegetables and pumping oil". One political agent attached to the army remarked, "I did not see the shadow of treason, but the incapacity of the leaders was flagrant". Nevertheless, the oft-beaten army returned to the fray each time "as if it had come fresh from the barracks".[4]
In his critique of the French defeat in the
The French army re-crossed the Sambre and on 21 May the opposing armies fought a drawn battle during which one of the Army of the Ardennes divisions remained completely inert because Charbonnier failed to approve its movements.
Desjardin participated in the siege of
Empire
On 28 February 1804, the soon-to-be Emperor Napoleon made Desjardin a member of the
Having a long march from Brest to the
At the beginning of the War of the Fourth Coalition, Desjardin still commanded the 1st Division of the VII Corps, a total of 8,242 soldiers and eight artillery pieces. Pierre Belon Lapisse's brigade consisted of the 4-battalion 16th Light Infantry Regiment. Jacques Lefranc's brigade comprised the 44th and 105th Line Infantry Regiments, three battalions each, and the 2nd Battalion of the 14th Line Infantry Regiment. The divisional artillery was made up of a half company each of foot and horse artillery and included two 12-pound guns, four 6-pound guns, and two 6-inch howitzers.[19]
At the
When
In November, the corps of Lannes, Augereau, and Marshal
Two days later, Desjardin fought at the
On 7 and 8 February, the French and Russian-Prussian armies fought the costly
Around 9:00 AM, Napoleon ordered Soult to attack on the left, but his two divisions were thrown back by the Russians after a terrific struggle.[38] Fearing that his enemies might crush his left flank, the emperor ordered Augereau and Saint-Hilaire to advance. They were instructed to bear slightly to the right in order to contact Davout's corps, which was beginning to arrive on the right flank. At 10:00 AM, when the troops were set in motion, a blinding snowstorm swept across the field.[39]
Augereau arranged his divisions so that the leading brigade's battalions were deployed in line and the trailing brigade's battalions formed in mobile squares. Historian David G. Chandler suggested that Augereau should have formed his men in battalion columns in the prevailing weather conditions. Saint-Hilaire's division managed to keep a true course, but the VII Corps soon lost its way, veering to the left. Not only did this create a dangerous gap on Augereau's right flank, but it sent his men marching blindly into range of a 70-gun grand battery in the center of the Russian line. When the Russian guns opened up, they began to mow down hundreds of Augereau's hapless infantry.[37]
The Russian commander
During the slaughter of his division, Desjardin fell gravely wounded. He was removed to the town of Landsberg (Gorowo Ilaweckie) where he died on 11 February 1807. The name DESJARDINS is inscribed on Column 16 of the Arc de Triomphe in honor of the fallen general.[1]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Mullié, Jacques Jardin
- ^ Smith, 32. Smith misspelled Harville as Marville.
- ^ Smith, 70–71. The author misspelled Muller as Miller
- ^ a b Phipps 2011, pp. 145–147.
- ^ Dupuis 1907, pp. 141–144.
- ^ Dupuis 1907, p. 165.
- ^ Dupuis 1907, p. 167.
- ^ Dupuis 1907, pp. 172–179.
- ^ Dupuis 1907, p. 184.
- ^ Smith 1998, p. 83.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 150.
- ^ Smith, 89
- ^ Lefort (1905), 69–71
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 389.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 410.
- ^ Chandler Campaigns, 1103
- ^ Chandler Campaigns, 402-403
- ^ Smith, 214
- ^ Chandler Jena, 37
- ^ Chandler Jena, 54 map
- ^ Chandler Jena, 60
- ^ Petre Prussia, 142-143
- ^ Petre Prussia, 143
- ^ Petre Prussia, 144
- ^ Petre Prussia, 145
- ^ Chandler Campaigns, 514
- ^ Petre Poland, 75
- ^ Petre Poland, 79-82
- ^ Petre Poland, 84-85
- ^ Smith, 236
- ^ a b Petre Poland, 114
- ^ Petre Poland, 109
- ^ Petre Poland, 110
- ^ Petre Poland, 111-112
- ^ Petre Poland, 165-166
- ^ Petre Poland, 178
- ^ a b Chandler Campaigns, 542
- ^ Chandler Campaigns, 541
- ^ Petre Poland, 180
- ^ Petre Poland, 181-182
- ^ Petre Poland, 184
- ^ Petre Poland, 227
References
- ISBN 978-0-275-98612-4.
- OCLC 401930.
- Dupuis, Victor (1907). Les operations militaires sur la Sambre en 1794 (in French). Paris: Librarie Militaire R. Chapelot et Cie. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- Lefort, Alfred (1905). Publications de la Section Historique: De l'Institut G.-D. de Luxembourg (in French). Vol. 50. Luxembourg: Worré-Mertens. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- Mullié, Charles (1852). Biographie des célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 a 1850 (in French). Paris.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Petre, F. Loraine (1976) [1910]. Napoleon's Campaign in Poland 1806-1807. London: Lionel Leventhal Ltd.
- ISBN 1-85367-145-2.
- ISBN 978-1-908692-25-2.
- ISBN 1-85367-276-9.