General Alexi-Joseph Delzons
Biography
by Terry J. Senior, UK
 |
Copy of an original painting of General Alexi-Joseph Delzons by Guy Berryman.
Such was the description of General de Division Alexis-Joseph Baron Delzons as he
lead his battalions in action in the little Russian town of Maloyaroslavets on the morning of the 24th October 1812.
It was a morning that was to see the end of not only an already illustrious
yet still promising military career, but also his life. His 26 year old wife of
eleven years Julie-Anne was to lose an affectionate, loyal and loving husband,
and their four children a doting father. I say four children for although there
were only three at the time he was killed, Julie-Anne, was heavily pregnant
with their fourth child, a daughter the General did not get to see.
Alexis-Joseph Delzons was the fifth child of seventeen born to Antoine
Delzons and his wife Marie-Anne Crispine Hebrard. Delzons senior born
in January 1743 was to become an extremely capable and very well
known local civic dignitary who enjoyed a career in high office including
those of lawyer and magistrate. He was a product of Toulouse University
where he obtained a degree in law and became an Alderman of the town of
Aurillac, an elected member of the Council of Elders and a member of the
Legislative Corps for a period of seven years.
Aurillac is a town of medium size and the capital of the Cantal. The
population today is some 34,000. In the first census carried out in 1769 the
population was just 6,268. The town is located in central France approximately
545km almost directly south of Paris, some 160km to the southwest of Clermont Ferrand and 100 km southeast of Brive la Gaillarde.
The origins of the town date back to pre mediaeval times and there are a
number of attractions for the modern day tourist. Recreational facilities
abound and although it has a thriving commercial activity, tourism also
seems to feature high in the local economy.
Alexis Joseph was born on the 25th March 1775 in the large family
house located in the rue de la Bride where all seventeen of the Delzons
children are understood to have been born. His mother, Marie-Anne seems
to have been in an almost constant state of pregnancy from 1770 when
Pierre the first child arrived, until 1790 when the 17th and final child, another
boy Jacques Decime, made his appearance. Ten of the children were boys.
At least two of the General’s nine brothers were to follow his example and take up military careers. Alexis-Octave was some eleven years younger than the General while Jean-Antoine-Baptiste-Geraud, was born just another year later than Alexis-Octave. Jean-Antoine aged 25
at the time became a Chef de Bataillon, and ADC to his elder brother, the General.
Alexis-Joseph had enlisted on the 30th June 1791 at the age of 16 years as a volunteer in a compagnie de la
garde nationale d’Aurillac. He then became a lieutenant de grenadiers au 1er bataillon de volontaires de Cantal
on the 8th July the following year. It was at this point that he was joined by three members of the Destaing family,
who were cousins, on his mother’s side. It is also stated that two more of his brothers enlisted but at the time of
writing, this information is still being researched.
The other fourteen siblings are
If that were true that two more brothers enlisted around the same time as Alexis, it would seem that all
except Pierre and Charles-Pierre would have been too young. Research on this aspect continues.
The future General suffered his first combat wound at Junquera in Spain on the 21st September 1794 when a musket ball damaged his left thigh. He remained in the Peninsular and was later present at the siege of Roses.
By 1796 he was serving in the 4e regiment legere in l’Armee d’Italie. He served at Montenotte on the 12th April then two days later at Dego he suffered a very painful and embarrassing wound when he took a pistol shot in his private parts. He soon returned to action however and was present at Lodi on the 11th May and then Borghetto on the 30th of the same month. He suffered the indignity of being taken prisoner close to Mantua on the 14th September but was exchanged eight days later.
He was present at Rivoli on the 15th November and two days later, on the 17th, he suffered yet another wound, this time to his left shoulder.
During this period he had caught the eye of the General en Chef Bonaparte who on the 21st December provisionally nominated him chef de bataillon a la 4e legere. Following brief periods first in the Tyrol and then in Corsica he was chosen to go with l’Armee d’Orient for the expedition to Egypt in May of 1798. He sailed from Toulon with the main fleet in the 80 gun ship “Aquilon” which was commanded by Capitaine Thevenard.
He was present at the capture of Alexandria on the 2nd July and then, in the division of the eccentric and heavily overweight General Louis-Andre Bon, took part in the battle of the Pyramids after which, on the 21st July, Bonaparte again provisionally nominated him this time chef de brigade de la 4e legere on the field of battle.
He remained in Egypt when Bonaparte, with a handful of carefully chosen senior officers including, Lannes, Bessieres, Berthier, Murat, and Andreossy had returned to France in the frigate “La Muiron”. Bonaparte had left the highly capable General Jean-Baptiste Kleber in overall command without really giving the likeable Alsatian born General any prior notice of his intentions. Kleber himself only survived a few short months before being assassinated while walking in the grounds of a house occupied by his Chef d’Etat Major, General Francois-Etienne Damas. The assassin, a teenaged fanatical Turk called (according to which account you read) Sulieman-el-Halepi had stabbed the unfortunate Kleber six times. He was captured and executed,
the process of which was barbaric to say the least, but that is another story.
A little prior to this assassination, Kleber had written to le Ministre de Guerre in Paris speaking very highly of the achievements of the young Delzons.
Kleber was succeeded in command by the eccentric, and balding 49 year old General en Chef Jacques-Francois de Boussay Menou, who had married the daughter of a Rosetta bath-keeper, adopted the Muslim faith and changed his name to Abdullah.
For all his eccentricities, Menou, like Bonaparte and the late General Kleber continued to be impressed by Delzons actions and deeds and after serving at the defence of Alexandria from 21st March through to the 31st August 1801 he had provisionally appointed Delzons General de Brigade, an appointment the newly nominated Premier Consul was perfectly happy to ratify in Paris on the 30th November.
While serving in Egypt, Delzons had made the acquaintance of Anne-Julie Varzy, the 15 year old daughter of Marseilles born merchant Joseph Varzy and his Italian born wife Elizabeth Dermet who although having been born in Tuscany was of Irish blood. The marriage took place at Rosetta on the 7th November 1799 when Delzons was 24, and their first child, a boy they called Alexis-Alexandre was born just over one year later, on the 18th November 1800.
Having received promotion to General de Brigade, Delzons wrote to Menou stating that he was unworthy of such a promotion, and lacked the qualities necessary for so important a post. This kind of response was fairly typical at the time and seems common-place by those appointed to high office.
It was about this time that Delzons was complaining of having
trouble with his sight, a problem with which a large percentage of the army
had suffered. He had in fact contracted ophthalmia, and within a relatively
short space of time, Delzons too, with his new wife and child was on his way
back to France arriving in Paris in early 1802.
After a few short weeks in the capital, Delzons was appointed to
command in the Cantal and by the 8th April he was back in his hometown of
Aurillac where he was to remain for the next seventeen months. During this
period, his second child, another boy, Antoine-Napoleon-Auguste was born
on the 10th January 1803.
During the early part of 1804 Delzons was appointed to l’Armee de Holland based, (after a brief period at Utrecht), at the camp of Zeist on the unhealthy island of Walcheren, one of the locations where the preparations were being made for the planned invasion of England.
On the 14th June 1804 Delzons was decorated as Commandant de la Legion d’Honneur and ten days later, on the 24th Delzons’ third child, another boy, Charles-Cezar-Adolphe was born at Aurillac.
In August 1805 the project for the invasion of England was abandoned following the formation of the Third Coalition and l’Armee de Holland became the II Corps de la Grande Armee under the command of 31 year old artillery expert le Marechal Auguste-Frederic-Louis Viesse de Marmont.
Subsequently Marmont, was replaced by Grouchy and Delzons was given the 2e brigade in the 1er division commanded by General de Division Jean Boudet.
In early 1806 Delzons was posted to serve in Dalmatia under the command of General de Division Gabriel-Jean-Joseph Molitor, then, after the Treaty of Pressbourg he was sent to serve in the Illyrian Provinces where, except for hostilities against Austria in 1809, he was to remain for the next seven years. His commander during much of this period was le Marechal de l’Empire Marmont, the eventual duc de Ragusa.
Delzons first task, with part of the force commanded by Molitor, was to bring relief to the besieged forces of
General de Division Jacques-Andre-Bernard-Law Lauriston at that time blockaded in Ragusa by Russian forces superior in number. Delzons part in this action was observed and reported on in glowing terms by Molitor. Following further successful actions at Castel Nuovo, while commanding a brigade consisting of the 8e regiment legere and the 23e regiment de ligne, again against significant Russian opposition, Marmont himself, in his own report gave Delzons unqualified recognition of his achievements.
Baron
On the 23rd September 1807 Delzons was decorated as Chevalier de la Couronne de Fer and on the 19th March 1808, he was elevated to the Imperial nobility being made Baron de l’Empire which was accompanied by an annual pension of 8,000 francs drawn on the kingdom of Westphalia.
Having successfully quelled yet another insurrection, Marmont, instead of giving Delzons the credit he deserved, this time chose to criticise him and in fact, blame him for causing the unrest in the first place. It can only be assumed that Marmont was beginning to fear the reputation that Delzons was creating and began to feel that it might undermine his own position of power if allowed to go unchecked. Delzons himself was mortified at Marmont’s accusations as he had always given of his best. He had fostered and cemented good relations with the local populace
as he had done in Egypt where he was often referred to as “le juste Sultan” for the sensitive and delicate way he handled the problems that had arisen.
For these comments Delzons felt that he was in elite company for “le juste Sultan” was the same title the local populace in Upper Egypt had bestowed on General Louis-Charles-Antoine Desaix for the fair, uncomplicated way he dealt with potentially dangerous and tricky situations. There followed a whole series of incidents of unrest each of which was successfully and relatively peacefully put down and calmly dealt with by the diminutive little General with a
growing reputation for success.
He was appointed Governor of the territories at the mouth of the Cattaro where unrest breaks out, but again, with little fuss, calm is restored on the second day (19th March 1809) L’Armee de Dalmatie is then dispatched to Croatia and camps at the foot of Mount Kitta, which is occupied by an Austrian force of some 18 battalions. By 3 o’clock on the 4 th May the French attack is commenced lead by the 8e regiment legere under Delzons. The swiftness and surprise of the attack soon sent the Austrians tumbling into a ravine and order is quickly restored with minimal casualties on the French side.
Following an attack on Ottochatz during which Delzons suffered a slight head wound, after having rebuilt the previously destroyed bridge over the river Drave, l’Armee d’Dalmatie rejoined la Grande Armee on the banks of the Danube on the 2nd July 1809.
Delzons command for Wagram on 6th July consisted of a brigade made up of the 79e and 81e regiments de ligne in General de Division Michel-Marie Claparede’s 1er Division of le Marechal Marmont’s XI Corps de l’Armee de Dalmatie which was for much of the time to remain in Reserve, and saw little action.
After the battle, having pursued the Austrians into Moravia, Delzons and his command seized the heights above the town of Znaim on the 11th July but in doing so he sustained a wound to his left elbow.
Marmont returned to his previous pro Delzons stance and again extolled his virtues writing in his report to the Emperor referring in glowing terms to the little Generals ever increasing record of success.
During all this time, one aspect of his life clearly worried the usually
unflappable Delzons, and this was his relatively poor financial position. He
wrote a number of very affectionate letters to his wife continually drawing
attention to his parlous financial circumstances but nevertheless insisting
that his beloved Julie continue to attend the opera and numerous social
functions stating that while he was away on military service there was no
reason at all why she should not continue to be seen at such events. The
fact that Delzons’ financial circumstances were in such dire straits was
for the most part, due to the fact that payment was often as much as four months in arrears.
After Wagram, Delzons again found himself in the Illyrian Provinces and on the 12th February 1811, in Marmont's absence, he was given the very responsible post as provisional Governor General of the Illyrian Provinces (seven Provinces in all) and made commandant de l’Armee d’Illyrie. It was here that his previous experiences in Egypt stood him in good stead. He had an administrative gift and proved himself a very able deputy. On the 29th May 1811 he handed command over to the highly experienced General de Division Henri-Gatien Bertrand who later succeeded the unfortunate General Geraud-Christophe Duroc as Grand Marechal du Palais following that officers death at Niedermackersdorff close to Goerlitz, in Silesia on 23rd May 1813.
General de Division
Delzons’ promotion to General de Division was received on 15th February 1811. He held intermittent appointments in Illyria and Italy alternatively until the end of the year. He was then appointed Commandant la 13e Division du Corps d’Observation d’Italie on the 2nd January 1812. This formation later became the 13e Division in Prince Eugene’s IV Corps de la Grande Armee on 1st April of that same year.
Bertrand was yet another senior figure to recognise Delzons all round ability as a first class commander, but still the little Generals finances remained in a poor state. The fact that it continued to worry him was borne out by the tone of the letters that he wrote to his father at the time.
Delzons’ division for the Russian Campaign comprised five regiments in three brigades totaling approximately 11,300 men and 34 guns. The commanders were: 1er Brigade, General de Brigade Leonard Baron Huard de Saint-Aubin (8e regiment legere and 84e regiment de ligne). Huard de Saint Aubin was killed during the battle of Borodino on 7th September.
2e Brigade, General de Brigade Louis-Auguste-Marchand Baron Plauzonne (92e regiment de ligne and 1er Provisional Regiment Croatie) Plauzonne had replaced General Jean-Claude Roussel who had been accidentally killed by a French marksman at 10 o’clock in the evening while touring his advanced posts at Ostrovno on the night of the 26th July. Plauzonne himself was killed during the battle of Borodino on 7th September.
3e Brigade General de Brigade Claude-Raymond baron Guyon (106e regiment de ligne)
The Artillery commander was 35 year old Colonel Francois Demay who was also to meet his death at Borodino. The Division saw service at Ostrovno on the 26th and 27th July and it was about this time that Delzons younger brother Jean-Antoine was promoted to Chef de Bataillon.
When the advance continued deeper into Russian territory, the Emperor ordered that Delzons division march at the rear of Prince Eugene’s Corps as Napoleon correctly believed that Delzons, possessing a keen sense of responsibility and duty would round up stragglers from the two preceding Divisions of General Jean-Baptiste Broussier and the Italians of General Dominic Pino.
On 7th September at Borodino, Delzons and Broussier of Eugene’s IV Corps were among those ordered to take the Grand Redoubt. There is still much confusion as to which regiment or regiments actually secured the Redoubt but most sources seem to credit the 9e regiment de ligne of Prince Eugene’s IV Corps with that honour, lead by their Colonel the 42 year old Victor Vautre. The Colonel was made a Baron in September 1817. However, many units were involved including elements of cavalry, one such being the 5e regiment de Cuirassiers lead by General Auguste-Jean-Gabriel Caulaincourt, younger brother of the duc de Vicence.
Auguste-Jean was of course killed during the attack that day. The Redoubt having been secured by the French was then
assailed by eight Russian heavy cavalry regiments in 28 squadrons comprising the 1st Cavalry Corps including the Russian Guard Cavalry under the command of General Uvarov. They were supported by 8,000 Cossacks commanded by Hetman Platov. After more, fierce fighting the French held firm but Delzons took a wound to the shoulder and casualties were very heavy on both sides. Some seven weeks later, after the retreat from Moscow had been commenced, Napoleon instructed Prince Eugene to take the town of Maloyaroslavets.
Maloyaroslavets
Located in Kaluga Province it was roughly 100 km to the south west of Moscow and was a small town built entirely of timber structures except for the low wall around the perimeter of the local cemetery. It was situated onthe side and at the top of a small hill. Delzons, on arrival, finding no opposition achieves his objective and secures the town. The talented soldier then committed the one major error of judgment of his entire career when he withdrew all but two battalions from the town for the night. While the bulk of his command were camped on the banks of the river Lusha, that same night, under the cover of darkness the Russian General Dmitri Sergeivich
Dokhturov lead his substantial command quietly into the town. They easily pushed aside the two battalions of defenders and secured the place once more for the Russians.
As Prince Eugene draws nearer to Maloyaroslavets he hears the sound of artillery fire, increasing in intensity and is soon appraised of the situation With the little town ablaze from the artillery bombardment Delzons personally led the counter attack in an attempt to re-take the town from the Russians but is repulsed with heavy losses.
At 8 o’clock in the morning, leading the 84e regiment de ligne personally, sword in hand Delzons again attacks and advances into the town. This time he succeeds in driving the enemy back as far as the boundary of the cemetery. The Russians protected by the walls of the cemetery perimeter, continue to fire on the advancing Frenchmen and Delzons is struck in the forehead. As the stricken General fell, his brother and ADC Jean-Antoine threw his own body across that of his brother in order to protect the General from further injury. As well as the head wound, serious though that was, Delzons had also taken a musket ball, which had entered his left lung and also pierced his heart. The famous surgeon Dominique Larrey was close at hand and
immediately attended Delzons, but it was to no avail. The General was dead.
Jean-Antoine had also suffered terrible wounds and was carried to the nearby village of Giat where he died from the effect of his injuries on the 31st October. (Not on the battlefield the same day as claimed by many historians) That news is confirmed in a copy of the Acte de Deces obtained from the archives of Vincennes. Alexis-Octave survived both the battle and the rigours of the ensuing and infamous Retreat and went on to serve at Waterloo in June 1815 where he sustained a very serious wound to his thigh.
After Delzons had been killed Prince Eugene immediately ordered Broussiers’ 14e Division as well as Pino’s 15e Division made up of Italians - (now down to less than 4,000 men from the original 13,000) - and the Grenadiers and Chasseurs of the Royal Guard to bolster the struggling 13e Division. They were supported by General Maurice-Etienne Gerards 3e Division and the 5e Division commanded by General Jean Dominique Compans, the latter two divisions coming from le Marechal Louis-Nicolas Davouts 1er Corps. Gerard had succeeded the brilliant General Charles-Etienne Gudin de Sablonniere who had died from wounds received at
Valutina Gora on the 19th August.
Prince Eugene was greatly affected by the loss of Delzons but quickly called upon the experienced 37 year old Dunkirk born General de Division Armand-Charles Comte Guilleminot who until that time had been the Princes Chef d’Etat Major to replace him. There exists today in the facade of the Hotel de Ville at Dunkirk, a statue of General Guilleminot.
The French army especially regretted the loss of Delzons. For the funeral the next day, they accorded him full military honours. The entire division was drawn up and remained in total silence during the burial except for the crashing of an artillery salute as a mark of respect to their gallant and talented commander. Le Marechal Michel Ney, duc d’Elchingen expressed his regrets at the loss of a fine officer.
General de Division Henri-Gatien Bertrand extolled his virtues and spoke of his achievements. A
distressed Prince Eugene was also in attendance, as were Dominique Larrey, le Marechal Marmont and General de Division Pierre Berthezene who considered him an officer of great merit. The site chosen for the burial was close to the battlefield, which was still strewn with the dead of both friend and foe. The remaining ruins of the timber buildings were still smoldering and in amongst the rubble could be seen the charred bodies of yet more casualties of the encounter.
Maloyaroslavets proved to be one of the major incidents during the Retreat with both sides suffering heavy casualties - apart from Delzons and his brother Jean-Antoine, the French also lost the Italian officer J M Levie who had been a General for only eight days, the very brave 45 year old Jean-Baptiste Penant Colonel of the 35 regiment de ligne from Broussiers 14e Division, the Piedmontese born General, Alexandre de Rege Gifflenga had to leave the field after taking a ball in the throat, the Savoyard Colonel Francois-Louis Forestier Chef d’Etat major of 14e infantry division was also carried from the field having suffered a wound to his left leg.
He was the younger of two brothers - he survived to become a General in November 1813 but died from wounds received at Brienne on 29th January 1814. The Montpellier born General Jacques Fontana, commander of the 1er brigade in Pino’s 15e Division who had suffered a serious wound to his left breast was yet another high ranking casualty . Pino himself was covered with blood from his own wounds and had seen his brother killed by his side.
Hardly had Delzons’ wife heard of his death when a few days later on 2 nd November she gave birth to their fourth child, a girl Hortence-Eugenie-Zoe but sadly the baby lived for only 10 months.
According to Henri Delmont in “Sous l’Etendard fleurdelyse et le Drapeau Tricolore” Napoleon said of Delzons “He was an officer I got to know too late.”
Sometime later, Napoleon was introduced to Delzons’ father and told him “Monsieur Delzons, our loss is equal, you have lost an excellent son, and me, one of my best Generals.” To infer that their loss was equal was rather an insensitive comment for Napoleon to make. After all, he had lost a commander but that cannot be considered “equal” to the loss of a beloved son.
The Emperor also confided that he had one regret, the loss of an opportunity to create Delzons Comte de Maloyaroslavets.
Napoleon had realised that it had been an error of huge proportions to leave such a talented officer in Dalmatia and the Illyrian Provinces for seven years. The General is not forgotten, his name is inscribed on the east face of l’Arc de Tromphe l’Etoile in Paris. In his home town of Aurillac there are two fitting tributes to probably the towns most famous son. On the 24th June 1883, almost 61 years after the gallant death of the General, a statue of the soldier in bronze by the celebrated sculptor Vital Dubray was unveiled before a great gathering of military and civic dignitaries.
It is located in the town centre and depicts the General, sword in hand, urging on the men of the 84e regiment de ligne as he had done on that fateful morning so many years before. The statue was funded by public subscription.
The other tribute to a fine soldier is a painting by an unknown artist showing the future General as a Chef de Bataillon although some claim that the painting was done in Verona by Auguste Garnier. It is oval in shape, oil on canvas and measures 0.725 metres x 0.545 metres. There also exists a bust of the General.
Of his children, Alexis-Alexandre, as a young boy of 13 became a Page to the Emperor, and subsequently enjoyed a successful career. Antoine-Napoleon-Auguste born in 1803, like his father before him, took a successful military career and in April 1848 accepted a staff appointment in l’Armee des Alpes.
The third son, Charles-Cezar-Adolphe believed to be the only one to marry was a mathematician of some note and eventually became Maire of La Cappelle-en-Vezie and then Judge of the Peace for the canton of Montsalvy. He passed away in 1882 at the age of 78 - his wife Marguerite-Emilie Deconquans born in June 1800 survived her husband by nine years. The couple had five children.
There is no doubt that Alexis-Joseph was a fine and brave soldier with a natural talent for command. He was a man with a keen sense of responsibility, a strict disciplinarian and was meticulous about the appearance of both himself and the men under his command.
Descendants exist today both in the name of Delzons and others.
I am indebted to Clyde Berryman of the US Embassy in Paris for his very kind assistance and to his wife Gulay Berryman for permission to illustrate this article with her fine painting of the General as a young officer. Clyde is descended from the Generals brother Charles-Pierre. Thanks also as always to Miss Jean Lucas of Romford for her invaluable assistance with translations and to Brigitte Lepine of the Musee d’Art et d’Archeologie, Aurillac, M. J-E Iung of the Archives Departmentales de Cantal at Aurillac.
Les Etoiles de Napoleon by Alain Pigeard.
|
This officer was an athletic looking man, 35 years of age
and diminutive in stature being no more than 1.66m (5’5”) tall. He possessed a good head of flowing medium dark brown hair with long sideburns, piercing blue eyes, a high forehead, a high cheek bone structure, slightly aquiline nose, a smallish mouth, a somewhat oval face and a determined chin. His complexion was fine and slightly tanned and he was clean-shaven. Altogether he possessed a very pleasant appearance.