Jean Gabriel Marchand

General Jean Gabriel Marchand, Comte (1765-1851) led a division in Napoleon's armies during many of the key battles of the Napoleonic Wars.

Revolution

Trained as a lawyer, Marchand joined the French army in 1791 and fought in the Wars of the French Revolution. During the years 1792-1799, he served in Italy. He fought at the battle of Loano in 1795 and the battles of Ceva and Caldiero in 1796. At the Battle of Novi in 1799, he served as General Barthelemy Joubert's aide. When Joubert was killed, Marchand was at his side. That autumn, he was promoted to general of brigade.

Empire

In the 1805 Ulm Campaign, Marchand commanded a brigade in Pierre Dupont's division of Marshal Michel Ney's VI Corps. He fought at the remarkable Battle of Haslach-Jungingen, where Dupont's command held off an Austrian army four times its size. Marchand was also present at the Battle of Elchingen, the action at Neresheim, the Battle of Dürenstein and in Ney's campaign in the Tyrol. He won promotion to general of division in December.

In 1806, Marchand commanded the 1st Division in Ney's VI Corps during the Battle of Jena and at the siege of Magdeburg. In 1807, his division fought at the Battle of Eylau, the action at Guttstadt and the Battle of Friedland.

Still commanding Ney's 1st Division, he participated in Napoleon's 1808 invasion of Spain and the pursuit of Sir John Moore's British force. Arriving too late for the Battle of Corunna, Ney's corps turned aside to occupy Leon. Commanding VI Corps in Ney's absence, Marchand suffered a stinging defeat at the Battle of Tamamés on October 18, 1809, when he recklessly took on a Spanish Army twice the size of his own force. Reinforced by François Kellermann's dragoon division, he gained revenge when his cavalry vanguard overran the Duke del Parque's withdrawing Spanish army at the Battle of Alba de Tormes on November 26.

Marchand served under Ney again in Marshal André Masséna's third invasion of Portugal in 1810. He fought at the sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida. At the Battle of Bussaco, one of his brigades was mauled during the abortive attack on the British-held ridge. In March 1811, he fought in the actions of Pombal, Redinha and Foz do Arouce during the retreat from Portugal. On March 14, he gave the Duke of Wellington's famous Light Division a bloody nose in a clash at Casal Novo. In May, he led his division at the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro.

The start of Napoleon's invasion of Russia found Marchand working as Jérôme Bonaparte's Chief-of-Staff. Later, he led the 25th Division in Ney's III Corps and fought at the battles of Smolensk and the Borodino.

In 1813, Marchand commanded the 39th Division, a unit made up of Badeners from southern Germany. He fought in Ney's III Corps at the Battle of Lützen and in Marshal Étienne Macdonald's XI Corps at the Battle of Leipzig. After his Baden troops defected to the Allies, he was responsible for defending the Department of Isère in the 1814 campaign.

Bourbon Restoration

In 1815 he tried unsuccessfully to stop Napoleon's return at Grenoble. After Napoleon's final defeat, the Bourbons had him court-martialed, but he was acquitted. He retired from the army in 1825.

References

* Chandler, David. "The Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars." Macmillan, 1979.
* Smith, Digby. "The Napoleonic Wars Data Book." Greenhill, 1998.