The Fighting Marshals
Auguste Frederic Louis Viesse
de Marmont, duc de Raguse
by Ian Barstow, UK
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The son of a Royalist officer, Marmont was born at Chatillon-sur-Seine on July 20, 1774, and unlike many of the future marshals, a military career was always in the offing, and aged sixteen, he duly took his place in the Chartres battalion, waiting a further two years before being commissioned as a lieutenant out of the Chalons artillery school in the Premier Artillerie a Pied, following another soon-to-be-famous Frenchman. At first posted to Italy, he auspiciously fell under Bonaparte's gaze at the Siege of Toulon in 1793, where Marmont was promoted to captain. It was their similar interests which attracted Bonaparte. Both were advocates of the influence of artillery in warfare, and following service under Desaix at Mainz in 1795, Bonaparte, looking for new aides the following February, thought of young Marmont.
Good Fortune
Like so many others, this good fortune opened up his career. Bumped up to major, Marmont fought at Lodi, Castiglione and Arcola, performing well in all cases. In between the latter two, he was despatched to Paris escorting the already captured colours, a post of some honour. The fact that he hurried back for Arcola, rather than dally in Paris, pleased his commander and future Emperor even more, and his reward was promotion to senior ADC and command of the 2eme Artillerie a Cheval.
With the coming of Bonaparte's ill-advised jaunt to Egypt in '98, Marmont's berth was a gimme, and once more he took the opportunity to shine. On Malta he captured the banner of the Knights of St John, earning himself a provisional promotion to General de Brigade. He then fought at Alexandria and the Battle of the Pyramids, commanding a brigade under General Bon. He did so well in attempting to cut off the Mameluke army that Bonaparte made him commandant of Alexandria before the invasion of Syria. Here he got a bit of practice in for working in Spain, using a carrot and stick approach with the locals, although it has been suggested that his stick was a touch bigger than his carrot.
It was good to be pals with the boss, particularly when he makes a mess of things and seats for the return trip are somewhat limited. Needless to say, Marmont caught the last boat home, and there was never any doubt in Bonaparte's mind that he could be relied upon in the coup of November 1799. The new First Consul was suitably grateful, making Marmont a councillor of state for his efforts, and then adding the post of artillery commander for the 1800 campaign in Italy. This was perhaps Marmont's finest hour. He excelled in the logistical nightmare of crossing the Alps, and on June 14, he commanded the artillery brilliantly at Marengo. On September 9, 1800, aged 26, he was rewarded with the rank of General de Division. After Bonaparte's departure, it was General Marmont who signed the Armistice of Treviso in the January of 1801.
Indeed, it seemed that Marmont's star was in the ascendancy, and unremitting at that. September 1802 saw him first made Inspector-General of Artillery, and then a year later full-blown artillery commander for the burgeoning Grand Army. Together with the First Consul, it was Marmont who developed the artillery into the lethal weapon which it became under the future Emperor. Surely when the marshalate came into being, the Emperor would place his good friend high on the list?
Non.
Napoleon pointed out that he was still young, and there would be a myriad opportunities for glory and promotion. This did little to appease Marmont's trauma. Neither did promotion to Colonel-General of light cavalry and the award of the Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honour. Only in August 1805, with his appointment to command II Corps, did Marmont's mood noticeably improve. It went downhill once more following an extremely limited role during the Ulm campaign, and a fed-up Marmont was posted to the Army of Italy commanding its I Corps. Missing Austerlitz, he was not a happy bunny.
Salvation
Then, out of the impending ashes of a once-promising career, Marmont tugged an unexpected branch of salvation. Appointed governor-general of Dalmatia on July 7, 1806, Marmont cut a swathe through the Balkans, that playground of the martially-inclined, driving the Russians back, and lifting the Siege of Ragusa, a feat commemorated in April 1808, when he was created the Duke of Ragusa. In between fighting, the Dalmatians also got a taste of Marmont's harshly efficient carrot and stick government, although they were rather more ready for it than the Alexandrians had been.
The 1809 campaign once more gave Marmont an opportunity to shine. Still commanding the Army of Dalmatia, now designated XI Corps, he found himself in reserve at Wagram. Frustrated once more, he nearly botched his share of the pursuit, having a close run thing with the Austrian rearguard at Znaim. Napoleon was in a difficult position. He had decided to elevate Marmont to the marshalate, yet he still had reservations about his ability. For once, friendship overcame common sense, and on July 12, 1809, Marmont became the twenty-second Frenchman with an Imperial baton in his knapsack.
In April 1811 Marmont must have thought that everything had come good. Firstly, he was posted to Spain to replace a disgraced Ney in command of VI Corps under Massena, and within a month he had stepped into Massena's shoes, commanding the Army of Portugal. How many of the marshals thought that a posting to Spain and a crack at the British would be the making of them?
Takes Command
It was following Massena's defeat at Fuentes d'Onoro that Marmont took command, and he withdraw the beaten army to Salamanca, to afford his troops time to recover their spirits. Unfortunately this period allowed Wellington to take the key fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, the latter marking his year in the Peninsula. In June, 1812, Wellington at last determined to bring Marmont to battle, advancing into Castile.
In fact, to start with, Marmont did rather better than might be expected. Grasping that being over-stretched in the Peninsula meant certain disaster, Marmont garrisoned the fortresses at Salamanca and withdrew to concentrate his troops (who had been out and about Spaniard-worrying) whilst Wellington pondered the fortresses before him. It was Marmont's idea to now probe forward, drawing Wellington into battle whilst the British were committed to diverting troops to screen the fortress garrisons. Seeing what Marmont was about, Wellington boldly abandoned his siege lines and occupied a prepared position at San Cristobal, but Marmont in turn wisely chose not to attack him, retiring instead on his own preferred ground along the Duero. Wellington followed cautiously, but did not like what he saw, and he too refused to attack.
To this point, Marmont can be said to have had the better of Wellington during the month's manoeuvering, and it was the British who were now close to being over-extended. It was all going so well, and then like so many, both before and after, Marmont made the foolish mistake of treating Wellington as already beaten. He decided to go on the offensive, and a series of manoeuvre and counter-manoeuvre began between the two armies, but whilst Wellington kept a tight rein on his troops, Marmont's cohesion began to slip, and at the decisive moment the British struck at Salamanca, catching Marmont's forces strung out and decisively defeating them. Marmont himself took shell fragments in his arm early in the battle, effectively removing him from what little influence he had left. It was a debacle, and earned the wrath of the Emperor.
One bonus was that he missed the nightmare of Russia, but any thoughts of retirement were removed in 1813. It was all hands to the pumps in Germany, and the Emperor needed field officers urgently. Given VI Corps in March, Marmont fought in all of the Emperor's major battles in the campaign, managing well enough at Lützen, Bautzen and Dresden. Later he advised sagely against the advance on Berlin, and fought capably at Leipzig, facing against Blucher's Prussians. It was following the mauling at the Battle of Nations that Marmont began coming apart at the seams.
Much has been made elsewhere of his injured arm, how it had not healed properly, and the like. This is flagrant poppycock. Marmont was a soldier, not an estate agent. How many of the French generals had not been wounded at some point? They were all battered and scarred, but not all behaved as poorly as Marmont.
Sluggish
Throughout January and February of 1814 he managed well enough, but the strain of rapid marches and multiple engagements on French soil began to show. At Laon he was extremely sluggish, showing an obvious lack of enthusiasm, and before nightfall, thinking the battle done, he left the field for a quiet evening at a local chateau, thus making himself unavailable when Blucher counter-attacked in the fading light, wrecking VI Corps in the process. Napoleon was driven off, and he blamed Marmont. Actually, he should have shot Marmont, who deserved no better, but a last vestige of friendship appeared to hang over his head, and the deserter was spared.
From this time on, Marmont's actions were nearly wholly treasonous, and on March 31, 1814, he negotiated a truce enabling the Allies to take Paris. Then within the week he deserted with his entire corps. It was shameful beyond comprehension, and it broke his former friend's back, and led to the first abdication. After that, he was never again welcomed by the French army, all of whom knew a rat when they saw one. He refused to turn out in 1815, and the Emperor struck his name from the list of marshals. Then, perhaps most heinous crime of all, he volunteered as one of the judges who condemned Ney.
Louis XVIII conferred a peerage on Marmont as some form of thirty pieces of silver, and in 1830 he followed the king into exile, never returning to France. He died on March 3, 1852 in Venice, having spent his latter years travelling and writing.
So, what does one make of Marmont? Not half bad as a soldier in his early days, but heavily deficient in the personality department. His portrait shows a weak-chinned slimy individual, and one cannot imagine him to have been particularly popular with his colleagues, regardless of reports. Undoubtedly his main chance came before Salamanca in 1812, and had he taken it we might be reading of a far different Marmont, for surely a crown would have followed a defeat of Wellington. However that was not to be, and thus as a general we must consider him at best second rate, for the top flight commanders take their chances.
As for his memory, Marmont's undying contribution to France is a single word. The verb raguser, derived from his Imperial title, which means 'to betray.'
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On the face of it Marmont can be accused of being shallow and insubstantial, much the same accusation as has from time-to-time been pitched at this series on the marshals, at least from certain nasally-upturned quarters. However, like this series - and take the editor's word for it, not mine - he bears closer examination. For those who have forgotten the whole raison d'etre behind the 'Fighting Marshals' series, it is to give a thumb-nail portrait of the field marshals of Napoleon, as well as to provide a personal opinion. Who was it who said that a little knowledge was a dangerous thing?