1. Charles-Pierre Augereau fought in all of Bonaparte's battles of 1796 with great distinction.
23 Facts About Charles-Pierre Augereau
1. 2.
Charles-Pierre Augereau's life ended under a cloud because of his poor timing in switching sides between Napoleon and Louis XVIII.
3.
Charles-Pierre Augereau is generally counted as one of the most capable generals of the Napoleonic Wars.
4.
Charles-Pierre Augereau was born in Faubourg Saint-Marceau, Paris, as the son of a Parisian fruit seller.
5.
Charles-Pierre Augereau enlisted in the army at the age of seventeen in the Clare Infantry Regiment, but was discharged.
6.
Charles-Pierre Augereau became a noted swordsman and duellist, but he had to flee France after killing an officer in a quarrel.
7.
Charles-Pierre Augereau claimed to have served in the Russian Army against the Ottoman Empire, being present at the Siege of Izmail as a sergeant before deserting afterwards.
8.
Charles-Pierre Augereau later enlisted in the infantry regiment of Prince Henry of Prussia and claimed he served in the Prussian Foot Guards as well.
9.
Charles-Pierre Augereau deserted by masterminding a mass escape and reached Saxony, where he taught fencing.
10.
In 1781, King Louis XVI proclaimed an amnesty for deserters, so Charles-Pierre Augereau returned to his native land.
11.
Charles-Pierre Augereau joined the cavalry in 1784, and after serving in the carabiniers he was sent to the Kingdom of Naples as part of a military mission.
12.
Charles-Pierre Augereau was then assigned to train recruits for General Jean-Antoine Marbot at Toulouse.
13.
Marbot liked his work and Charles-Pierre Augereau soon became a close friend of the Marbot family.
14.
Charles-Pierre Augereau was then sent to command French forces in Germany.
15.
Nevertheless, owing to his final adhesion to Bonaparte's fortunes, Charles-Pierre Augereau received a Marshal's baton at the beginning of the First French Empire on 19 May 1804.
16.
Charles-Pierre Augereau commanded a camp in Brest, Brittany, during preparations for the invasion of Britain.
17.
Charles-Pierre Augereau's corps was charged with protecting the army's lines of communications during the Ulm campaign.
18.
Charles-Pierre Augereau fought in the battles of Konstanz and Bregenz, before tracking down and destroying General Franz Jellacic's Austrian division at Dornbirn in Vorarlberg on 13 November 1805.
19.
Charles-Pierre Augereau distinguished himself at the Battle of Jena on 14 October 1806 where his corps made up the left flank.
20.
Charles-Pierre Augereau sat out the German campaign in spring 1813 due to illness.
21.
In 1814, Charles-Pierre Augereau was given command of the army of Lyon, and his slackness exposed him to the charge of having come to an understanding with the Allies.
22.
The emperor repulsed Charles-Pierre Augereau and charged him with being a traitor to France in 1814.
23.
Charles-Pierre Augereau died at his estate of La Houssaye only a year later.