Louis-Alexandre Berthier
Louis-Alexandre Berthier Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin, Prince of Wagram | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Jacques Pajou, 1808 | |
| Minister of War | |
| In office 11 November 1799 – 2 April 1800 | |
| Preceded by | Edmond Louis Alexis Dubois-Crancé |
| Succeeded by | Lazare Carnot |
| In office 8 October 1800 – 19 August 1807 | |
| Preceded by | Lazare Carnot |
| Succeeded by | Henri Guillaume Clarke, Duke of Feltre |
| Sovereign Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin | |
| In office 25 February 1806 – 3 June 1814 | |
| Preceded by | Frederick William III of Prussia |
| Succeeded by | Frederick William III of Prussia |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 November 1753 |
| Branch/service | Army |
| Years of service | 1764–1815 |
| Rank | Marshal of the Empire |
| Battles/wars | American Revolutionary War French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars |
Louis-Alexandre Berthier (20 November 1753 – 1 June 1815), Prince of
Born into a military family, Berthier served in the
Early life
Berthier was born in
Early career
As a boy, Berthier was instructed in the military art by his father, an officer of the Corps de genie (Engineer Corps). In 1764 he was admitted to the Royal Engineering School of Mézières, as a second lieutenant, graduating as a topographical engineer two years later, at the age of 12.[2] In March 1772, Berthier entered the army as a lieutenant in the Flanders Legion.[2] He then joined the Prince of Lambesc's Lorraine Dragoon Regiment in August 1776, and was promoted to captain in June 1777.[2]
Berthier first saw action during the
French Revolutionary Wars
In 1792, Berthier was promoted to
Berthier first met Napoleon Bonaparte in March 1796, and was at once made chief of staff to the
Berthier accompanied Napoleon throughout the campaign of 1797, and was left in charge of the army after the
After this, Berthier joined his chief in Egypt, serving there until Napoleon's return. He assisted in the Coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799), afterwards becoming Minister of War for a time. During the Battle of Marengo, Berthier was the nominal head of the Army of Reserve, but the first consul accompanied the army and he acted in reality, as always, as chief of staff to Napoleon.[1]
Despite serving as a staff officer, Berthier had at one point received a battlefield injury. A contemporary subordinate staff officer, Brossier, reports that at the Battle of Marengo:
The General-in-Chief Berthier gave his orders with the precision of a consummate warrior, and at Marengo maintained the reputation that he so rightly acquired in Italy and in Egypt under the orders of Bonaparte. He himself was hit by a bullet in the arm. Two of his aides-de-camp, Dutaillis and La Borde, had their horses killed.[4]
At the close of the campaign, he was employed in civil and diplomatic business.[1] This included a mission to Spain in August 1800, which resulted in the retrocession of Louisiana to France by the Treaty of San Ildefonso on 1 October 1800, and led to the Louisiana Purchase.[citation needed]
Napoleonic Wars
In May 1804, Napoleon became emperor and at once made Berthier a
In 1808, Berthier served in the Peninsular War, and in 1809, served in the Austrian theatre during the War of the Fifth Coalition, after which he was given the title of Prince of Wagram. He was with Napoleon in Russia in 1812, and took part in the extremely unusual council of war on whether to proceed, being one of several who advised against an advance on Moscow which Napoleon had decided on, encouraged by Joachim Murat who was blamed by many for the horse-killing pace of the march into Russia. Berthier is said to have burst into tears at the decision. He served in Germany in 1813, and France in 1814, fulfilling, until the fall of the French Empire, the functions of chief of staff of the Grande Armée.[1]
Later life
Following Napoleon's first abdication, Berthier retired to
Death
On Napoleon's return to France in March 1815, Berthier withdrew to the Bavarian city of Bamberg. On 1 June 1815 he died from a fall from an upstairs window at the Neue Residenz, a 17th-century Bishop's residence.[6] The manner of his death remains uncertain because he fell from a casement window with a sill 4 ft (1.2 m) from the floor, making an accident seem unlikely.[7] According to some accounts, he was assassinated by members of a secret society, while others say he threw himself from the window, maddened at the sight of Russian troops marching to invade France. It remains unclear whether his defenestration was suicide or murder.[1]
His loss was keenly felt by Napoleon, who wished he had his former Chief of Staff at Waterloo:
If Berthier had been there, I would not have met this misfortune.[8]
Character assessment
Berthier was an immensely skilled chief of staff, but he was not a great field commander. When he was in temporary command in 1809, the French army in Bavaria underwent a series of reverses. Despite the fact that his merit as a general was completely overshadowed by the genius of Napoleon, Berthier was nevertheless renowned for his excellent organising skills and being able to understand and carry out the emperor's directions to the minutest detail.[1] General Paul Thiébault wrote of him:
No one could have better suited General Bonaparte, who wanted a man capable of relieving him of all detailed work, to understand him instantly and to foresee what he would need.[8]
Marriage and issue
In 1796, Berthier fell in love with Giuseppa Carcano, marquise Visconti di Borgorato, who was to be his mistress for the duration of the First French Empire, despite the emperor's disapproval. Even when Napoleon forced him to marry a Bavarian princess, the Duchess Maria Elisabeth, in 1808, Berthier managed to keep his mistress and his wife together under the same roof, a state of affairs which infuriated the emperor.[9]
On 9 March 1808, Berthier married Elisabeth who was the only daughter of Duke Wilhelm in Bavaria and Countess Palatine Maria Anna of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Rappoltstein,[10] the sister of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, and a relative of the Russian emperor through the Wittelsbach line on the Bavarian side and Prussian (Mecklenburg) side of her lineage.
They had one son and two daughters :[11][12]
- Napoléon-Alexandre, 2nd Duke and 2nd Prince of Wagram (11 September 1810 – 10 February 1887), married on 29 June 1831 to Zénaïde Françoise Clary (25 November 1812 – 27 April 1884). They had two daughters, Malcy Louise Caroline Frédérique Berthier Princess of Walgram (1832-1884), Elisabeth Alexandrine Maria Berthier Princess of Wagram (1849–1932) and a son, Louis Philippe Marie Alexandre Berthier, 3rd Prince of Wagram(1836–1911)
- Caroline-Joséphine, Princess of Wagram (22 August 1812 – 1905), married on 9 October 1832 to Alphonse Napoléon, Baron d'Hautpoul (29 May 1806 – 25 April 1889)
- Marie Anne Wilhelmine Alexandrine Elisabeth, Princess of Wagram (19 February 1816 – 23 July 1878). Born shortly after her father's death. Married on 24 June 1834 to Jules Lebrun, 3rd Duke of Plaisance (19 April 1811 – 15 January 1872)
In literature
Berthier is mentioned and/or appears in several of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Brigadier Gerard stories, including How the Brigadier Was Tempted by the Devil (1895), and in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace.
In video games
Berthier is prominently featured in the 2010 video game Napoleon: Total War, where he serves as the narrator of the campaign/story mode. He is also featured prominently in the three tutorial missions in the game, and also appears in two of the game's historical battles. The game is slightly inaccurate in Berthier's life, in that Berthier gives the narration about the Battle of Waterloo, regardless of a win or a loss, while in real life, Berthier died shortly before the battle from a fall in his home.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Chisholm 1911, p. 812.
- ^ Éditions Fayard.
- ^ Watson 1957, p. 13.
- ^ Watson 1957, p. 92
- ^ a b c Pedrazzini, Dominic: Louis-Alexandre Berthier in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ISBN 9781612515588.
- ^ "BERTHIER, Louis-Alexandre". www.napoleon.org. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Berthier, The Indispensable Marshal". www.napoleon-series.org.
- ^ "FRANCK FAVIER: "Berthier the Marshal existed well before and without Napoleon" (November 2015)". napoleon.org.
- ^ "PORTRAIT DE MARIE-ELISABETH, PRINCESS DE WAGRAM, NÉE DUCHESS EN BAVIÈRE (1785-1849)". Sothebys.
- ISBN 2-901138-04-7.
- ISBN 2-901138-05-5.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Berthier, Louis Alexandre". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 812.
Bibliography
- Watson, S.J. (1957), By Command of the Emperor: A Life of Marshal Berthier, London: The Bodley Head
Further reading
- Bukhari, Emir Napoleon's Marshals Osprey Publishing, 1979, ISBN 0-85045-305-4.
- Chandler, David Napoleon's Marshals Macmillan Pub Co, 1987, ISBN 0-02-905930-5.
- Connelly, Owen, Blundering to Glory: Napoleon's Military Campaigns SR Books, 1999, ISBN 0-8420-2780-7.
- Elting, John R. Swords around a Throne: Napoleon's Grande Armée Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1997, ISBN 0-02-909501-8.
- ISBN 1-84176-345-4.
- Hittle, James Donald the Military Staff: Its History and Development Military Service Publishing, 1952.
- Macdonell, A. G. Napoleon and His Marshals Prion, 1997, ISBN 1-85375-222-3.
- Pawly, Ronald Napoleon's Imperial Headquarters (1): Organization and Personnel Osprey Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-84176-793-X.
- Pawly, Ronald Napoleon's Imperial Headquarters (2): On campaign Osprey Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-84176-794-8.
- Watson, S.J. By Command of the Emperor: A Life of Marshal Berthier. Ken Trotman Ltd, ISBN 0-946879-46-X.
Archive sources
The Berthier collection is conserved in the archives of the State of Neuchâtel. It contains more than 2'000 items inventoried in 1895–1896 by Albert Dufourcq. The collection contains correspondence sent and received by the prince in connection with the general affairs of the Principality or particular affairs.
- Berthier Alexandre, Fonds: Alexandre Berthier (1789–1816). Archives de l'État de Neuchâtel.
External links
- Alex. Berthier, Relation of the Battle of Marengo
- Spencer Napoleonica Collection at Newberry Library
- Works by Alexandre Berthier at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Louis Alexandre Berthier at Internet Archive
- Louis-Alexandre Berthier Collection Handcolored, topographical, manuscript maps (111 of them), created by Louis-Alexandre Berthier
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