Claude-Victor Perrin

Marshal of the Empire Claude-Victor Perrin Duke of Belluno
Portrait byAntoine-Jean Gros,1812
Minister of War
In office 14 December 1821 – 19 October 1823
Preceded by	Victor de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg
Succeeded by	Ange Hyacinthe Maxence de Damas
Personal details
Born	(1764-12-07)7 December 1764 Lamarche,France
Died	1 March 1841(1841-03-01)(aged 76) Paris,France
Resting place	Père Lachaise Cemetery
Awards	Grand Cross of theLegion of Honour
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of France Kingdom of France First French Republic First French Empire Bourbon Restoration
Branch/service	Army
Years of service	1781–1830
Rank	Marshal of the Empire
Commands	X Corps I Corps IX Corps II Corps
Battles/wars	French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars

Claude-Victor Perrin,Duke ofBelluno(French pronunciation:[klodviktɔʁpɛʁɛ̃];7 December 1764 – 1 March 1841) was a French military commander who served during theFrench Revolutionary Warsand theNapoleonic Wars.He was made aMarshal of the Empirein 1807 by EmperorNapoleon I.

Early life

Victor was born inLamarcheon 7 December 1764 to Charles Perrin and Marie Anne Floriot.In 1781, he enlisted in an artillery regiment inGrenobleas adrummer,and after ten years' service he applied for and received his discharge.InValence,on 16 May 1791 he married Jeanne Josephine Muguet, by whom he had issue which was extinct in the male line by 1917.

French Revolutionary Wars

War of the First Coalition

Victor as a lieutenant-colonel of 5th Bouches-du-Rhône Battalion in 1792, byGeorges Rouget(1835)

In February 1792, Victor joined his hometown'sNational Guardas agrenadier.He then enlisted in the 1stDrômeBattalion, and later passed to the 5thBouches-du-RhôneBattalion. In September 1792 he was made chief of battalion and deployed with theArmy of Italy,distinguishing himself at the Battle ofCoaraze.During theSiege of Toulonin late 1793, Victor distinguished himself in the capture of Fort Mont Faron, and was seriously wounded in the stomach during the capture of Fort de l'Eguillette at the end of the siege.

For his actions at Toulon, Victor received a provisional promotion to brigade general. Afterwards, he was sent to theArmy of the Eastern Pyreneesand fought in theWar of the Pyreneesfrom 1794 to 1795, where he served in the sieges ofCollioure,Roses,and fought with distinction at theBattle of the Black Mountainin November 1794. Confirmed in his rank in June 1795, he returned to the Army of Italy, fighting at theBattle of Loanoin November 1795.

Victor served brilliantly in theItalian campaignof 1796 under GeneralNapoleon Bonaparte.He took part in thecapture of Cosseria Castle(April 14) and the battles ofDego(April 15), Peschiera (August 6), andRovereto(September 4). Soon after his promotion to general of division, in January 1797, he capturedImolaandAncona(which would later become theAnconine Republic) in thePapal States,seizing 120 artillery pieces and 4,000 rifles. In April 1797, his troops took part in the suppression of theVeronese Easter.

War of the Second Coalition

Victor then returned to France and was made commander of the 2nd military division in Nantes in March 1798, but was soon back in the Army of Italy. He served in the Italian campaign of 1799, and was present at the defeats ofTrebbia(June 17–19), where he was injured, andGenola(November 4). The following year, he led his division atMontebelloand distinguished himself at theBattle of Marengo.

Appointed general-in-chief of theArmy of Bataviain July 1800, Victor held this command until August 1802, when he was named commander of a planned expedition toLouisiana.However, due to the disaster ofthat of Saint-Domingue,the expedition was cancelled and Victor returned to his previous command in June 1803. In that year he married for a second time in June at's-Hertogenboschto Julie Vosch van Avesaat (1781–1831), by whom he had an only daughter who died unmarried and without issue. In February 1805, he was appointed Ambassador toDenmark.

Napoleonic Wars

War of the Fourth Coalition

On the outbreak of hostilities withPrussia,Victor became Chief of Staff of the5th Army Corpsunder MarshalJean Lannes,and fought at the battles ofSaalfeldandJenain October 1806, where he was wounded. He received the capitulation ofSpandauon October 25, served at theBattle of Pultuskon December 26, and was placed at the head of the10th Army Corpsupon its formation.

In March 1807, Victor laid siege toKolbergthenDanzigbefore being captured by partisans ofFerdinand von Schill.He was soon exchanged for Prussian generalGebhard Leberecht von Blücherand immediately sent to theSiege of Graudenz.After replacing the wounded MarshalJean Bernadotteas commander of the1st Army Corps,in June 1807, Victor broke the center of the Russian army at theBattle of Friedlandon June 14, for which he was madeMarshal of the Empireby Napoleon on 13 July.

Peninsular War

Heraldic achievement of Claude-Victor Perrin, Duke of Belluno

After thepeace of Tilsit,Victor became governor ofBerlin,and was created Duke ofBelluno(Duc de Bellune) in September 1808, shortly before departing for thePeninsular War.He was victorious over the Spanish generalJoaquín Blake y Joyesat theBattle of Espinosaon November 10–11, and took part in theBattle of Somosierraon November 30, subsequently marching onToledo.He was again victorious atUclèsin January 1809, and as commander of the 1st Army Corps, he participated in the battles of Ybor (17 March),Valdecañas de Tajo(18 March), and finallyMedellín(28 March), where he inflicted a disastrous defeat on the Spanish army of GeneralGregorio García de la Cuesta.He won the Battle of Alcabon on July 26, but over the next two days was repulsed by an Anglo-Spanish army atTalavera.

After the French victory at theBattle of Ocaña,Victor entered Cordoba in November 1809 and Seville in February 1810, thenlaid siege to Cadiz.Lacking sufficient siege artillery, and with the city being supplied by sea, his troops could not seize the important Spanish port and the siege was abandoned after 30 months. During this period he fought at theBattle of Chiclana.

Russian campaign and War of the Sixth Coalition

In 1812, Victor was recalled to France to head the9th Army Corpsin theinvasion of Russia.At the head of 30,000 men, he served in the reserve ensuring the lines of communication. At first his corps was posted in east Prussia, but it was later moved up toSmolenskto serve as the rearguard of the invading forces.From here his most important service was in protecting the retreating army at thecrossing of the Berezina River.He was appointed commander of the2nd Army Corpsin March 1813, and over the following months fought at the battles ofDresden,Leipzig,Wachau,and finally atHanauon 30 October.

During theFrench campaignof 1814, Victor was one of the generals who distinguished himself alongside Napoleon. Initially stationed with his 2nd Army Corps inStrasbourg,his outnumbered troops withdrew until late January before the advancing Coalition armies. He took part in the battles ofBrienneandLa Rothière,and on February 17 his troops routedPahlen's Russian corps at theBattle of Mormant,taking 3,000 prisoners and seizing 16 artillery pieces.

On 18 February 1814, Victor arrived too late at theBattle of Montereau.The result was a scene of violent recrimination and his supersession by the emperor,who transferred his command to GeneralÉtienne Maurice Gérard.Nevertheless, he was put at the head of two divisions of theYoung Guardthe same day. He was wounded by a gunshot at theBattle of Craonneon 7 March, which forced him to walk on crutches for three months.

Bourbon Restoration and later life

Upon Napoleon's defeat in April 1814, Victor transferred his allegiance to the restoredHouse of Bourbon.He was made aChevalier de Saint-Louis,and in December 1814 received fromLouis XVIIIthe command of the 2nd military division. In 1815, on the return of Napoleon from exile inElbaduring theHundred Days,Victor accompanied the king toGhent.

When the second restoration followed theBattle of Waterloo,Victor returned to Paris with Louis XVIII and was made apeer of Franceand major-general of the Royal Guard. In October, he was appointed chairman of a commission which inquired into the conduct of the officers who joined Napoleon during the Hundred Days. As a member of theChamber of Peers,he voted in favor of the death penalty for MarshalMichel Ney,a vote he bitterly regretted, and Victor made the day of Ney's execution (7 December) a day of penance until the end of his life.

In 1821, Victor was appointedMinister of Warand held this office for two years. In this capacity, he prepared the 1823French invasion of Spainbut was dismissed byLouis Antoine, Duke of Angoulêmeand resumed his ministerial portfolio. After theJuly Revolutionin 1830, he refused to swear allegiance to the government of KingLouis Philippe,was expelled from the Chamber of Peers, and retired altogether into private life. He died in Paris on 1 March 1841 and was buried at thePère-Lachaise Cemetery.His papers for the period 1793–1800 have been published (Paris, 1846).

Personal life

Victor first married Jeanne-Josephine Muguet in May 1791 and had four children:

• Victorine (1792–1822)
• Charles (1795–1827)
• Napoléon-Victor (1796–1853)
• Eugène (1799–1852)

His second marriage was to Julie Vosch van Avesaet in June 1803 (1781–1831), with whom he had a daughter:

• Stephanie-Josephine (1805–1832)

Evaluation

Victor had mixed military talents. He was an excellent organizer and tactician. During his time in Spain he destroyed entire Spanish armies with Cannae-like envelopments and even fought Wellington to a virtual tactical draw at Talavera. However he was a timid strategist often afraid of taking risks. Nevertheless, he recognized new developments in warfare and implemented them throughout his career. At the Beresina River in 1812, he made excellent use of reverse slope defenses showing that he learned something from Wellington.

References

Attribution:

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Victor-Perrin, Claude".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 46–47.

External links

• Claude Perrin Victor PapersArchived2020-04-06 at theWayback MachineatThe Historic New Orleans Collection