Pierre Margaron
Pierre Margaron | |
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General of Division | |
Battles/wars |
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Awards | Baron of the Empire , 1809 |
Pierre Margaron (French pronunciation:
Revolution
Margaron was born on 1 May 1765
On 23 December 1798 Margaron became chef de brigade (
The 123-man 1st Cavalry was in François Étienne de Kellermann's brigade at the Battle of Marengo on 14 June 1800.[8] The regiment was part of Kellermann's famous charge late in the afternoon.[9] Another source does not mention Marengo, but tells about an incident that occurred later in the campaign when Guillaume Brune was in command of the Army of Italy. Margaron with only 200 horsemen and two artillery pieces was nearly surrounded by enemy cavalry that issued from the entrenched camp of Verona. He led two vigorous charges and retook the village of San Massimo, driving back and capturing 100 enemy horsemen.[2] According to its service record, the 1st Cavalry fought at the Battle of Pozzolo (Mozambano) on 25–26 December 1800 and at San Mossimo in 1801.[3]
Empire
1803–1806
Margaron received promotion to
At the
Portugal
In 1807 Margaron was assigned to the 1st Corps of Observation of the Gironde under Jean-Andoche Junot. Margaron and Antoine Maurin led brigades in the 1,754-man cavalry division under François Étienne de Kellermann. The mounted troops included one squadron each from the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 9th and 15th Dragoon and 26th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiments. All squadrons counted between 236 and 262 troopers.[14] With Spain's permission, Junot's force crossed the Bidasoa River on 18 October 1807 and was in Salamanca by 12 November, prepared to invade Portugal. Little did the Spanish know that Napoleon soon planned to overthrow their kingdom as well.[15] Soon after Junot's corps launched the 1807 invasion of Portugal, logistical arrangements broke down and half the army's horses died. Nevertheless, on 30 November 1807, a 1,500-man French vanguard occupied Lisbon, having faced no military opposition. Then cavalrymen then remounted themselves with confiscated horses.[16]
Soon afterward, Napoleon overthrew the
On 5 July, Junot sent Margaron with 3,000 troops on an expedition to Tomar and Leiria where he successfully stamped out the revolt. On 25 July, Junot ordered Louis Henri Loison to lead an expedition east toward Elvas.[24] On 29 July, Loison's 8,800 soldiers and eight field guns encountered 2,900 Spanish and Portuguese regulars in the Battle of Évora.[25] Margaron personally led the 86th Line Infantry Regiment in smashing through the Allied center and capturing three cannons.[2] The defeated Allied infantry retreated to Évora which they and some poorly-armed townspeople tried to hold, but the French broke into the town and massacred 2,000 defenders. French casualties were 90 killed and 200 wounded, which they revenged by brutally sacking the town. Three days later, Loison received orders to return to Lisbon to repel a British invasion.[26]
On 2 August 1808 Sir Arthur Wellesley landed in Mondego Bay with 13,536 British troops.[27] These were joined by 2,300 Portuguese soldiers.[28] The expedition was soon reinforced by an additional 4,000 British troops.[29] Wellesley beat 4,765 French troops under Henri François Delaborde on 17 August in the Battle of Roliça. This was followed by the Battle of Vimeiro on 21 August where Wellesley lost 719 casualties out of a strength of 18,669 men. The defeated Junot suffered 1,800 casualties out of a total 16,622 men and lost 12 guns out of 23.[30] Another source estimated Junot's total force at 10,300 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and 700 artillery. Margaron commanded the cavalry, which were all organized as provisional regiments. They were the 3rd, 4th and 5th Dragoons and the 1st Chasseurs à Cheval, plus 100 volunteers.[31]
At Vimeiro, Junot sent the 3rd Dragoons with one of his flanking brigades, leaving Margaron with three cavalry regiments.[32] After his first three frontal attacks failed, Junot sent Kellermann with his grenadier reserve to strike at Vimeiro village. After a hand-to-hand struggle, the grenadiers were beaten and Margaron sent one regiment to cover their retreat. At this moment, 240 troopers of the British 20th Light Dragoons charged, broke through the French cavalry and began cutting down the grenadiers. Excited by their success, the British horsemen got out of control and pressed their charge too far. When Margaron unleashed his last two regiments, the light dragoons were lucky to get away with only 21 killed, including Colonel Taylor, 24 wounded and 11 captured.[33]
1809–1814
In return for surrendering Portugal, the British repatriated Junot and his troops to France.
Margaron was transferred to the army in Germany
Later career
In 1814 after the
Notes
- ^ a b c Broughton 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Mullié 1852, p. 263.
- ^ a b c Broughton 2000.
- ^ Duffy 1999, p. 97.
- ^ Duffy 1999, p. 109.
- ^ Duffy 1999, p. 137.
- ^ Duffy 1999, pp. 139–142.
- ^ Arnold 2005, p. 271.
- ^ Arnold 2005, p. 179.
- ^ Smith 1998, p. 216.
- ^ Chandler 2005, p. 35.
- ^ Chandler 1966, pp. 481–483.
- ^ Smith 1998, p. 231.
- ^ Oman 2010, p. 612.
- ^ Oman 2010, p. 26.
- ^ Oman 2010, pp. 27–29.
- ^ Chandler 1966, p. 601.
- ^ Chandler 1966, p. 605.
- ^ Chandler 1966, p. 608.
- ^ Chandler 1966, pp. 610–611.
- ^ Oman 2010, p. 208.
- ^ Oman 2010, p. 210.
- ^ Oman 2010, p. 212.
- ^ Oman 2010, p. 217.
- ^ Smith 1998, p. 264.
- ^ Oman 2010, p. 218.
- ^ Oman 2010, pp. 230–231.
- ^ Oman 2010, p. 234.
- ^ Oman 2010, p. 241.
- ^ Smith 1998, pp. 266–267.
- ^ Oman 2010, pp. 246–247.
- ^ Oman 2010, p. 253.
- ^ Oman 2010, pp. 255–257.
- ^ Chandler 1966, p. 619.
- ^ Oman 2010, p. 644.
- ^ a b c Mullié 1852, p. 264.
- ^ Smith 1998, p. 464.
References
- Arnold, James R. (2005). Marengo & Hohenlinden: Napoleon's Rise to Power. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen and Sword. ISBN 1-84415-279-0.
- Broughton, Tony (2000). "French Cuirassier Regiments and the Colonels Who Led Them 1789-1815". The Napoleon Series. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
- Broughton, Tony (2007). "Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815: MacDonald to Mayer". The Napoleon Series. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
- Chandler, David G. (1966). The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York, N.Y.: Macmillan.
- ISBN 0-275-98612-8.
- ISBN 1-883476-18-6.
- 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) - ISBN 978-1432636821.
- ISBN 1-85367-276-9.