The Fighting Marshals
Pierre Francois Charles Augereau
Duc de Castiglione
Ian Barstow, U.K.
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Augereau as a youth is described as being tall and muscular, as well as quite handsome. By the time he enlisted the French Army in 1774 at the age of 17 he had a reputation as a swordsman and brawler; one that was to follow him over much of his adult life. Augereau initially joined the Clare Infantry Regiment but did not settle and according to his own version he bought his own discharge the following year. Indeed, throughout his life much of the evidence comes from Augereau alone. Dubious as this may be I leave it to the reader to determine what is plausible and what is not.
Dragoons
He then joined the Dragoons being promoted to NCO rank before in 1777 killing an officer who had struck him. Following the inci-dent Augereau promptly deserted and for the next dozen years sold his sword across Europe. His travels were so varied that even he appears uncertain exactly what he did, but his list of claims include the following. Enlisting in the Russian army and fighting against the Turks under Suvorov from whom he eventually he de-serted before moving west into Prussia joining Prince Henry's Infantry Regiment. Later he joined the Prussian Foot Guards where he developed a respect for iron discipline which became part of his trademark during the Marshalate. On hearing that Frederick the Great intended that no Frenchmen were to receive promotions in his army Augereau once more jumped ship achieving what only 2% of deserters from the Prussian army accomplished - namely getting away. He made his way to Dresden where he began a new career teaching dancing and fencing!
The 1781 amnesty for all French deserters saw Augereau return home to Paris where in 1784 he joined the Royal Bourgogne Cavalry Regiment; in a similar pattern to his initial enlistment he then moved on a year later to the Carabiniers de Monsieur, a regiment of some status. During this period Augereau put his fencing practice in Dresden to good use by drawing much blood as a duel-ist. In 1786 he next appears in Naples initially as an NCO in-structor and subsequently once more teaching fencing. He doubled up his next desertion with an elopement. He had met one Gabrielle Grach, of Greek extraction, in Naples and having been refused her hand Augereau whisked Gabrielle off to Lisbon in Portugal where they lived until 1790.
During political tension between France and Portugal in 1790 Augereau was arrested and imprisoned for several months until a merchant captain negotiated his release whereupon he fled back to Paris with Gabrielle. On his return he hovered around the Nation-al Guard formations before joining the German Legion in 1792 as a Cuirassier. These were one of the many novel volunteer units and he went with them to the Vendee in April 1793 as the regimental adjutant. Within a month most of the unit had either deserted to the rebels or taken up a life of uniformed crime - looting. Augereau soon found himself once more behind bars on suspicion of having Royalist sympathies.
However on his release in June he was transferred to the 11th Hussars with the rank of captain. Through another period of ducking and diving Augereau became an ADC to General Rossignol before moving on to a staff colonelcy with the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees where he trained recruits for General Charles Marbot, father of the more famous literary Marcelin. The young Marbot described Augereau as being always immaculately turned out. This helped boost Augereau's reputation, helped no doubt by his own bragging and tall stories.
General de Brigade
In December 1793 Augereau was promoted to the rank of General de Brigade and given a command numbering 6,000 men. He did well for himself combining his strict "Prussian" style with a hands-on lead from the front style that the Frenchmen loved; although he has been criticised for being over-aggressive to the point of sedition. Nevertheless Augereau achieved much against the Spanish and in 1785 when they sued for peace he moved his troops to the Army of Italy with whom he fought at Loano on November 24th, 1795. On March 26th of the following year Augereau met his new commander, a shortish Corsican who made quite an impact on him.
General Bonaparte's initial reports were highly complimentary as to Augereau's tactical ability and Napoleon spotted that he had that most essential of Napoleonic qualities - luck. Desaix de-scribes him as a "Fine, big man with a handsome face and a big nose who has served in many countries has few equals and is always bragging." A fairly accurate assessment to date.
On August 3rd, 1796 Augereau was given the assignment of delaying the eastern column of Wurmser's Austrian army which to his credit he succeeded in doing. Neither he nor Napoleon were to forget the battle - Castiglione. However following the victory it irked Augereau to see that Massena was getting the favouritism at his expense and at about this time Augereau slipped back into one of his more unpleasant habits - looting. He soon gained an unenviable reputation for removing anything shiny that was not nailed down. He was also suffering with chronic piles and rheumatism. Despite all these problems he fought well at Arcola but given a semi-autonomous command was outmanoeuvred before Rivoli. It seems likely that his novelty in Napoleon's eyes had worn off and following the capture of Mantua, Augereau was sent to Paris on a diplomatic mission where he promptly started shouting off his mouth about who was the real brains behind the successful campaign. Nobody believed him then, either.
During the peace negotiations Augereau's utter political ineptness showed itself in an unparalleled incident of bad judgment. Bonaparte was en route to the said negotiations and passing through Augereau's camp decided to call on him. Augereau sent word that he was "engaged at his toilette" upon which rebuttal his future Emperor drove off subsequently receiving a written apology from Augereau which he threw away. Hearing this and not learning his lesson, Augereau ordered the Napoleon should receive no military honours whatsoever whilst in the Army of Germany's military bounds!
Whether or not Bonaparte personally intervened, Augereau's army was steadily shrunk until in February 1798 it was abrogated. He was however elected to the Council of Five Hundred where he was able to shout his mouth off to his heart's content. He thus found himself in Paris during Bonaparte's coup in 1799. He dithered undecided until Napoleon won whereupon he did the wise thing and signed up for the duration. Well almost. He was given command of the French corps in Holland and during the 1800 campaign his Franco-Dutch troops were uninspiring following the victory at Marengo. In 1802 following the Treaty of Amiens the now affluent Augereau purchased a large property at Houssaye-en-Brie in which he ensconced all his aides-de-camp. He became quite generous and even loaned Lannes 300,000 Francs to get him off the hook as a result of overspending with regards to the Consular Guard.
When the British declared war in 1803 Augereau went to Bayonne recruiting and training for an invasion of Portugal. When Portu-gal made peace he was given command of the newly formed VII Corps around Brest preparing for the invasion of Ireland. It appears that during this time Augereau heard of and opposed Napoleon's plans to become full-blown Emperor. This is in doubt, but would be in keeping with his character. He is alleged to have tried to leave the coronation procession early and to have talked loudly during the ceremony! Regardless of this, on May 19th, 1804 his name appeared on the list of Marshals, sixth in seniority.
This elevation marks something of a transition in Augereau's life and in his character. The fact that he was very wealthy with an adoring wife and high position probably did no harm. He made another loan, this time of 200,000 francs interest-free to Bernadotte. He even gave up looting. The behaviour of VII Corps as rearguard in the Austerlitz campaign of 1805 is described as exemplary - by a German priest! Quite a change for Augereau. Unfortunately for Augereau this appears not to have been penance enough and his beloved Gabrielle died whilst he was away.
During the 1806 campaign Augereau captured a number of Prussian prisoners, including his old regiment, Prince Henry. He must have been surprised to find the same captain and sergeant commanding his old company. He dined with the officer, giving him a loan and letters of introduction, whilst he gave the sergeant 500 francs and each of his old comrades 40 francs. The following morning at Jena, Augereau's VII Corps was unimpressive against the Saxons although he performed well in the mopping up operations.
On February 8th, 1807 Augereau led VII Corps at the battle of Eylau. Once more partially debilitated by illness, he was strapped into his saddle and led his men into a snowstorm and one of the worst canister barrages in history. VII Corps was wrecked by artillery fire. The Marshal was hit in the arm and his horse collapsed on him, crushing his sword hilt on his left thigh and hip. Following the battle he was sent home to recover and al-though he missed the 1808 Spanish foray, two peaces of good fortune came his way. The Emperor made him Duc de Castiglione as part of his new scheme of creating a fresh nobility and he fell in love with a 19 year old aristocratic girl Adelaide-Josephine de Chavange.
In 1809 Augereau married her and was recalled to duty commanding VIII Corps covering Napoleon's line of communications. Having done well enough in an undemanding role Augereau was given command of the Army of Catalonia but he appeared sluggish and was soon replaced. During 1812 he commanded in Northern Germany recruiting and training and at the beginning of 1813 he was on the sick list once more. However in October he was ordered to Leipzig beating the Austrians at Naumberg on the way. His last great day came at Leipzig where his corps held the French right in fine style and eventually pulled off in good order.
Unfortunately, this led Napoleon to believe Augereau was back on form and for the 1814 campaign in France he was entrusted with an independent command, the Army of the Rhone at Lyons. His beha-viour during the campaign would surely have cost him his head had Napoleon survived in power. It can certainly be deemed treason-ous. He failed to follow any orders or support other commanders, and when things got a trifle hot he even abandoned Lyons. On hearing of Napoleon's abdication he committed the unpardonable sin in the eyes of all of the little Corsican's afficianadoes - he publicly denounced his Emperor and urged allegiance to Louis XVIII.
His thirty pieces of silver were his confirmation in rank by Louis and a fresh peerage. He was still denouncing Napoleon in 1815 when news of Napoleon's escape arrived. Augereau immediately turned coat again but Napoleon had tolerated enough. Augereau was struck from the list of Marshals. On June 12th 1816 he died of dropsy on his estate at Houssaye.
To sum up Augereau one must come to the inevitable conclusion that he was an essentially disappointing character. He was a rogue without the appeal of a Murat and a looter without the style of a Massena. His career can be easily split up into three sections. The first, up until his elevation to Marshal is one disgraceful episode after another; yet upon his receiving the baton he underwent a remarkable transformation and until 1814 he was always honourable, if not always able. His behaviour in 1814 is unpardonable and must tar him in the eyes of many. His best days were at Castiglione, Eylau and Leipzig; in its way quite surprising as all three were in different decades. If nothing else this fact alone leaves one interested in such a character, if not enamoured.
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Pierre Francois Charles Augereau was born in Paris on October 21st, 1757 to a French father and German mother who were both in the fruit and vegetable business. His father had at some stage in his life served in the army and the parents provided the young Augereau with a relatively decent education for the time. By his teens Augereau was also fluent in both French and the dialect of German spoken around his mother's home of Munich.
Whilst in Paris, Augereau was called upon by the Directorate to step into the political crisis on behalf of the military at Napoleon's suggestion. It was a good choice. Augereau was a firm believer in the revolution but a political dimwit. In the streets of the capital Augereau's bragging was best served, and he blus-tered his way around threatening one and all in the name of The Revolution. Unfortunately for Augereau, once control had been gained, he became something of an embarrassment to the politicos and he was transferred with his entourage of revolutionary lack-eys to a command on the Rhine. One ensconced there his rabble began stripping the local churches of their gold and silver to the detriment of things military.