Jean-Baptiste Bessières
Service/ | Army |
---|---|
Years of service | 1792–1813 |
Rank | Marshal of the Empire |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Grand Cross of the |
Relations | Bertrand Bessières (brother) Julien Bessières (cousin) |
Signature |
Jean-Baptiste Bessières, 1st duc d'Istrie (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ batist bɛsjɛʁ]; 6 August 1768 – 1 May 1813) was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. His younger brother, Bertrand, followed in his footsteps and eventually became a divisional general. Their cousin, Julien Bessières, also served Emperor Napoleon I as a diplomat and imperial official.
Early life and career
Bessières was born on 6 August 1768 in
In 1792, during the
Despised for its royalist nature, the Constitutional Guard was disbanded by the revolutionary government on 29 May 1792, less than three months after its formation. Like other former officers of the Guard, Bessières took part in the unsuccessful defense of the
Revolutionary Wars
Bessières gave a fresh start to his military career in November 1792, when he enlisted in the
After several setbacks in 1793, France reversed the situation of the war with Spain with a major victory at the Battle of Boulou, in 1794, with the Army of the Pyrenees under the command of General Jacques Dugommier. During the battle a charge of Bessière's chasseurs regiment was decisive in dispersing the more numerous Spanish cavalry. Next he took part in the Battle of the Black Mountain under the command of General Charles Dugua, and distinguished himself at Bascara in 1795.[7]
In 1796, at the rank of captain, Bessières went to serve in Napoleon Bonaparte's Italian campaign. At Rovereto his conduct brought him to his chief's notice, and after the Battle of Rivoli he was sent to France to deliver the captured colours to the Directory. Hastening back to the front, he accompanied Napoleon in the invasion of Styria in command of the Guides, who formed the nucleus of the later Consular and Imperial Guards.[8]
As a chef de brigade, he then served in the Egyptian expedition and won further distinction at Acre and Abukir.[8] Returning to Europe with Napoleon, Bessières was present at the Battle of Marengo (1800) as second-in-command of the Consular Guard. General Jean Lannes, commanding a corps at Marengo, felt that Bessières didn't support his faltering troops sufficiently, and a long running feud arose between them. At the close of the battle, Bessières led a successful cavalry charge with the Guard Cavalry, though its effect on the battle was not as decisive as Napoleon pretended.[8] It was General François Étienne de Kellermann's cavalry charge that won the battle for Marengo but Napoleon gave the credit largely to his own Guard Cavalry.
Napoleonic Wars
This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2021) |
Promoted to general of division in 1802, he was subsequently made a Marshal of the Empire in 1804, a wholly undeserved distinction rewarded due to his loyalty and friendship with Napoleon.[8] General Auguste de Marmont, a future marshal, said that if Bessières could be made a marshal, then anyone could become one as well. He was also made colonel-general of the Guard Cavalry and would command them in all future campaigns where he proved a very able cavalry commander.
In 1805, Bessières was awarded the Grand Eagle of the
With the outbreak of the
As war erupted in 1809 against
At the subsequent Battle of Wagram, Bessières once again led the cavalry reserve and had a horse killed under him which caused consternation amongst the Guard.[8] Napoleon congratulated him on making his Guard cry but also chided him for not netting more prisoners because he lost his horse.
Replacing Marshal
For the Russian campaign in 1812, Bessières commanded the enlarged Guard Cavalry. Hardly engaged at the Battle of Borodino, he destroyed his reputation with the rest of the army when he advised Napoleon not to use his Guard for a decisive breakthrough. Although this left the Imperial Guard intact for future battles, it prevented a decisive victory which might have successfully ended the Russian campaign.
With Marshal Joachim Murat back in Naples at the beginning of the 1813 campaign, Bessières was appointed to the command of the whole of Napoleon's cavalry.[8]
Death
Three days after the opening of the campaign and on the eve of the
After his death, Bessières was found to be heavily in debt after spending his fortune on his mistress.[citation needed] Napoleon oversaw his inheritance, settled most of his debts, and looked out for the future of his children. His eldest son, Napoléon Bessières, was made a member of the Chamber of Peers by King Louis XVIII.[8]
Legacy
As a commander, Bessières proved out of his depth when leading armies. His background as the commander of Napoleon's headquarters guard, the Guides of the Army of Italy, deprived him of the wide experience his fellow marshals had earned before assuming high command. Like Murat, he was however an excellent cavalry commander and he also proved an able administrator of the Imperial Guard. His few attempts at independent command were not a success however and Napoleon thereafter preferred using Bessières as a cavalry commander.
Bessières was not of high birth but he adopted the manners and looks of a gentleman as befitting Napoleon's closest Guard commander. He typically wore the uniform of Napoleon's old Guides of the Army of Italy with marshal's distinctions and wore his hair long with white powder in Ancien Régime style, even when the latter went out of fashion. He was known to be well mannered and kind and generous to subordinates but very touchy about his privileges and position.
Notes
- ^ Paris 1869, p. 51.
- ^ a b Ambert 1884, p. 11.
- ^ Ambert 1884, p. 10.
- ^ Ambert 1884, p. 12.
- ^ Ambert 1884, pp. 12–13.
- ^ Rabel 1903, p. 6.
- ^ Rabel 1903, pp. 7–8.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Chisholm 1911.
References
- Ambert, Joachim (1884). Les cinq épées : Bessières, Radetzky, de Gonneville, Dagobert et Dugommier. Tours: Éditions Mame.
- Rabel, André (1903). Le maréchal Bessières, duc d'Istrie. Paris: Calmann-Lévy.
- Paris, Louis (1869). Dictionnaire des anoblissements. Paris: Bachelin-Deflorenne.
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bessières, Jean Baptiste". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 823–824. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the