Dominique Joseph Rene Vandamme
Comte d'Unsebourg (1770 - 1830)
Part 1: 1770 - 1807
By Tony Linck
Published by kind permission of Tony Linck
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The rough, tough, hardfighting Vandamme, the bete noir of many an unfortunate marshal, was born the in the market town of Cassel (Nord) on 5 November 1770. The son of a surgeon he fell under the patronage of the duc de Biron, who briefly commanded the Army of the North, he enrolled as a pupil at the Ecole de Militaire de Paris. A very intelligent student, his rebellious and quarrelsome nature however resulted in him failing to gain a commission. Undeterred he enlisted as a private with the Martinique Colonial Regiment and joined its depot battalion at Lorient on 27 July 1788. His background, education and forceful nature soon enabled him to rise through the ranks and when he arrived in Martinique at the end of March 1789 he had risen to sergeant. With events in France rapidly gathering momentum and garrison duty in the colonies not exactly to his liking he deserted in April 1790. He found his way back to France and next appeared in July 1790 as grenadier captain with the Cassel National Guard. On 7th June 1791 he enlisted with the Brie Infantry Regiment (later the 24th Line) as a private. After a short period he moved on after obtaining an honourable discharge due to ill health on 25th August 1792. He immediately set about raising a volunteer company of light infantry known as the Chasseurs de Vandamme with himself as capitaine and commanding officer on 13 September 1792. It later became the Chasseurs du Mont-de-Cassel with him still as captain and commanding officer and was with the Army of the North in Dumouriez's campaign in Holland. When the unit amalgamated with others to form the light battalion of Mont-de-Cassel his men on 1st August 1793 elected him their colonel. Meanwhile the Army of the North having been driven from Belgium into Vandamme's home district gave him a unique opportunity as he knew the countryside well. Houchard on 5 September 1794 to break the deadlock and relieve Dunkirk gave Vandamme command of a column sent to its relief. With this a dvance guard of 4,000 men he played a key role in drawing Freytag's covering army away from the port and its defeat at Hondschoote on 8 September. Then turning on the Duke of York's force exposed around Dunkirk pursued it across the Belgian frontier breaking off contact once he reached Furnes on 12 September. Colonel As a colonel he had commanded a division sized formation with great success. Matters were soon put right when on 27 September 1793 he received promotion to g‚n‚ral de brigade and placed in command of the camp at Cassel to prepare for a new offensive into Belgium. Hardly had he settled in his new post when on 8 October he moved to Dunkirk and replaced Souham as commander of the garrison. Renewing the offensive he advanced up the coast and recaptured Furnes on 22 October and then laid siege to Nieuport. At his young age, totally lacking the experience required, and under estimating the difficulty of the task at hand, his preparations were totally inadequate. Without a siege train and adequate means of transport he tried to reduce the walls with just field artillery. Then when the enemy breached the dykes on 29 October and flooded the area his troops fell back to Furnes in great disarray. As a result he lost his command and the Commissioners ordered his arrest on 1 November 1793. For a time his life was in very real danger since Houchard, who he admired had recently run afoul of the Deputies, been arrested, tried and executed. He managed to talk his way out and on 11 November obtained reinstatement and command of a brigade with Ferrand's division. When Moreau took command of the division at Cassel on 14 April 1794 a very active year followed for Vandamme. On 28 April he relieved Werwicq. Two days later after taking Menin he again nearly lost his command for allowing the enemy to break out of the town. He fought at Courtrai on 11 May with mixed results and then received praise for the way he drove back Clairfayt's assaults from Tourcoing on 18 May. From 4 to 18 June he covered the French forces that concluded the siege of Ypres and then advancing deep into Belgium he took Bruges on 29 June and Ostend the next day. The reduction of Nieuport again proved a problem for the Army of the North, however Vandamme in the second siege did not allow it to jeopardise his career. He arrived before the lines on 4 July then seized overall command of the operations amidst great protests and successfully oncluded the siege on 19 July. He then crossed into Holland and completed the capture o f the Isle of Cadzand on 28 July. He then took time to reduce Venlo on the Maas, which held out till 26 October 1794. Finally he established a bridgehead over the Rhine at Buderich on 9 November 1794. On 24 December 1794 he took over Moreau's division on the latter's promotion to deputy commander of the Army. Campaigning in the Lower Rhine region he captured Arnhiem on 17 January. He then served with Macdonald's right wing clearing the north eastern provinces of Holland and Hanover of the Duke of York's forces, finally concluding the campaign with the occupation of Bremen on 14 April 1795. Recalled Recalled to Paris by the Directory after a brief period of leave he rejoined the Army of the North in Holland on 7 June 1795. Ordered by Moreau to lead a large detachment of reinforcements to join the Army of the Sambre Meuse he raised objections. Moreau, keen to be rid of a former confidant who had become a rather quarrelsome high handed subordinate, dismissed him for insubordination and looting. Guilty he undoubtedly was, as were many others who were not brought to book, but it left a stain on his career that others were to profit from when they needed him removed. He returned to his home at Cassel, then on 29 September 1795 the Directory in need of hard headed generals, who were not afraid to put the Vendee to fire and sword, gave him a posting to the Army of the West. Hardly had he arrived when he was posted to the Army of the Rhine Moselle joining Gouvion Saint Cyr's 11th Division on 22 Novmber 1795. Then with the continual reorganisation of that army, he passed to Duhesme's 7th Division on 6 May 1796. With Duhesme during Moreau's advance deep into Germany he avoided the controversy that surrounded Duhesme hen his division failed to appear at Neresheim on 11 August when Archduke Charles soundly defeated Moreau. He took command of the division after Duhesme's suspension and won fresh laurels as he covered the retreat at Freiburg on 24 August and Biberach on 20 October. The army once more behind the Rhine he then conducted a stubborn defence of Kehl during November maintaining a tenuous foothold on the right bank. Ill health in December 1796 forced him to take leave till the following April. Duhesme meanwhile rehabilitated, Vandamme resumed his post under him and headed the division's advance guard when Moreau's army crossed the Rhine on 20 April 1797. With brigades led by Davout and Lecourbe in support he crossed downstream at Diersheim and established a bridgehead that enabled the rest of the army to pour across. A rapid advance followed as news of General Bonaparte's spectacular advances with the Army of Italy spurred the Army of the Rhine into action. When news of the Armistice of Leoben concluded by Bonaparte on 23 April 1797 reached him five days later he had reached Gengenbach. In 1798, with attention focused on an invasion of England, he passed to the Army of England and had his first taste of serving under Napoleon. Neither his demeanour nor reputation failed to impress, and as a result he never received an approach to join the expedition to Egypt and instead found himself as local commander at Cherbourg. As relations deteriorated with Austria, in September 1798 he moved to the Army of Mayence as commander of a brigade with Saint Suzanne's division. When Jourdan took charge of the army he persuaded Vandamme to accept promotion to g‚n‚ral de division on 5 February 1799 and gave him command of the advance guard of the army. Crossing the Rhine When hostilities started on 12 March 1799, the army since renamed the Army of the Danube, his force served with Saint Cyr's left wing. Crossing the Rhine he advanced through the Black Forest and reached Freudenstadt on 5 March. Continually at loggerheads with Saint Cyr, the latter replaced him with Lefebvre, who a more senior commander had just returned to duty after a spell of illness. He joined Jordan's staff till a small independent command was found for him to get him from under his chief's feet. Detached him with a small force of two infantry regiments and three squadrons of cavalry he was given the task to maintain contact with Bernadotte's army of the Lower Rhine as a result of reports that Archduke Charles threatened to counter the French offensive by cutting between the armies and crossing the Rhine at Kehl. His troops pushed as far as Esslingen near Stuttgart, tried to locate the enemy to no avail, and his 3,000 men were sorely missed when Charles fell on Jourdan at Ostrach and defeated him on 21 March 1799. At the time Vandamme was then at Friedingen on the left bank of the Danube way from his original objectives. He rejoined Jourdan's army at Stockach on 25 March and took part in Saint Cyr's assaults against the Austrian right. With Soult's division in support he drove the enemy back and took over 3,000 prisoners, but when Jourdan's assaults faltered elsewhere, he had little option but to retire. As the army retreated towards the Rhine he was in charge of the rearguard. At Muhlingen on 28 March he turned on the overconfident Austrians and nearly captured Charles in the sharp action that followed, and in the process took a further 1,000 prisoners before joining the rest of the army at Moeskirch. Charges Critical of the way the campaign was handled he soon ran into trouble with Jourdan, who keen to be rid of this troublesome subordinate brought charges of extortion, looting and embezzlement against him. Recalled on 27 April 1799 by the Council of War to face charges he spent three months in Paris waiting for his case to be heard. Fortunately as the situation deteriorated on all fronts, rather than let an able but at times insubordinate general languish in Paris the Directory posted him to Brune's Army of Batavia as commander of its 1st Division. Arriving in Holland on 6 September he was soon in action at Zyp four days later. He then fought at Bergen on 19 September inflicting over 4,000 casualties on the Anglo Russian force and was largely responsible for the victory that halted the Allied advance in northern Holland. He was with Brune at Alkmaar on 2 October and Castricum on 6 October where he again distinguished himself. With the Allies abandoning their plans he took part in the negotiations securing their evacuation from Holland on 21 October and then returned to Cassel on leave. On 26 January 1800 he was recalled and after a short period in Paris joined Moreau's Army of the Rhine at Basel on 30 March. He fought at Moeskirsh on 5 May, and Memmingen five days later. He was soon in trouble again when he showed his resentment towards Moreau for not pursuing the Austrians vigorously enough after the army's initial successes. Moreau, quick to take advantage, managed to bring charges of looting and other various administrative irregularities against him and had him recalled to France on 23 May 1800. After a hearing on 17 August 1800 he was cleared, but the stigma stuck and he was offered no post. He secured an interview with Napoleon and convinced him of his unfair treatment and as a result received command of a division with the Army of the Reserve on 6 September 1800. He was with the Army of the Reserve till 19 September 1801 when he took up the appointment as commander of the 16th Military Division based at Lille. With the build up of forces for the invasion of England he was posted to the Camp of Saint Omer on 30 August 1803 where he took over a division stationed there. He spent the next two years bringing his troops to a high state of efficiency and with the formation of the Grande Army on 25 August 1805 his division became the 2nd Division of Soult's II Corps. Marching across France he crossed the Rhine at Speyer on 25 September. Pushing on through Baden and Wurttemberg he reached the Danube at Donnauworth on 6 October. Temporarily foiled by the Austrians, who had burnt the bridge over the river he seized another at nearby Munster that enabled II Corps to pour across. Forming the advance guard he reached Augsburg on 9 October, cutting Mack's communications with Vienna. Pushing on through Landsberg he then cut west through Memmingen and Biberach and reached Ulm from the south west on 16 October completing the encirclement of Mack's Austrians, which resulted in their capitulation on 20 October 1805. Austerlitz At Austerlitz on 2 December 1805 he played a leading role in the defeat of the combined Austrian and Russian armies. In the morning concealed by the mist he surprised Miloradovich's division and drove it from the Pratzen Heights, splitting the Allied front in two. Counter attacked by Kutuzov's guard infantry he drove them off, however his flank was in the air due to Bernadotte failing to come up in support and one of his brigades was badly mauled by enemy cavalry. Bessires' timely intervention with the Guard cavalry saved the situation. Vandamme then wheeled southwards taking part in the final destruction of the Allies caught against the Satschen pond. After the campaign he was at continual loggerheads with Soult, who replaced him with Leval on 16 July 1806. Temporarily attached to the general staff of the Grand Army, energetic leaders were needed to exploit the defeat of the Prussians after Jena. Mahler as head of the 3rd Division of Ney's III Corps didn't show the necessary fire and Vandamme replaced him on 20 October. Engaged in the pursuit of the Prussians he joined the siege of Magdeburg. It ended on 11 November 1806 when the citizens were terrorised into submission by threats of what would happen when the French took the city by storm. On 27 November 1806 he was given command of IX Corps made up of Baverian and Wurttemberg troops under Jerome Bonaparte. His task was twofold, to occupy Silesia and teach Napoleon's youngest brother the art of generalship and warfare. The Prussians humiliated by Jena and its aftermath, the disgraceful submission of fortresses of the likes of Magdeburg, Custrin and Stettin, were prepared to sell themselves dearly for the honour of Prussia. The defences of cities like Breslau and Glogau, built by Frederick the Great to preserve the greatest conquest of his reign was in good order and well provisional. Siege For Vandamme the task was daunting since he had never directed a siege or possessed any knowledge of engineering. Undeterred, his lively instinct for war soon made short work of Glogau the first fortress he decided to crack. He adopted the tactics that had succeeded at Magedeburg. Terrorise the inhabitants, to persuade them to urge the garrison to surrender. He placed a battery of cannon and mortars of huge calibre before the walls and after some threats followed up with a bombardment. The place capitulated on 2 December with great quantities of stores, that enabled Vandamme to continue his remorseless campaign with renewed vigour. Breslau the capital of Silesia, thirty miles up the Oder was the next target. A city of 60,000 souls defended by a garrison of 6,000 men meant a lengthy siege which Vandamme wished to avoid. As at Glogau he intended to intimidate the population. He selected the suburb of Saint Nicholas to set up his batteries and from there he rained down incendiary devices into the interior of the city. The bombardment did not achieve the required results, the garrison commander was made of sterner stuff. Goaded on by Jerome he attempted a rash assault against a weak point on the outer walls on the night of 22-23 December. In darkness the Wurttembergers started to paddle silently across the moat on rafts. Suddenly after days of cloud the skies cleared and revealed a full moon with Vandamme's men crossing visible to all, the attempt failed. In the interim the prince of Anhalt Pless, who commanded all troops in Silesia raised a relieving force of some 12,000 men from other garrisons and local militia, which gave hope to the people of Breslau. Nothing worked better in Vandamme's favour than to settle in open country the question of the capture of Breslau. On 30 December with a mixed force of Bavarians and the 13th French Line he scattered the relieving force at Kleinberg. All hope of relief lost, morale in the city plummeted. At the same time a deep frost froze the moat and the walls of the city became vulnerable. The populace feared the consequences of a wealthy city taken by storm, the governor was forced to treat with Vandamme. On 7 January 1807 Breslau after a siege that lasted barely a month capitulated. This conquest was not only brilliant, but particularly useful in the resources it procured for the French army. But most important, it assured the French of Silesia, the richest province of Prussia, and one of the richest in Europe. Napoleon congratulated Vandamme, and after him Jerome, who had won his spurs. As an independent commander it was Vandamme's finest hour. There was still unfinished business in Silesia. Napoleon wanted all the fortresses that lay near the Bohemian border taken and destroyed, with the intent to leave Prussia's Bohemian border with Austria weak and unprotected. One by one XI Corps spent the remainder of the campaign reducing these fortresses. Schweidnitz held out from 10 January to 16 February, Neisse from 23 February till 16 June and Glatz from 21 June till 28 June 1807 when news of the armistice after Friedland caused the garrison to surrender. Published by kind permission of Tony Linck. Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #9 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1992 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |