Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, Laurent, marquis de

Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, Laurent, marquis de

▪ French soldier and statesman

born April 13, 1764, Toul, Fr.
died March 17, 1830, Hyères
 French soldier and statesman who distinguished himself in the Napoleonic Wars (1800–15). As minister of war in 1817–19 he was responsible for reorganizing recruitment procedures in the French army.

      An artist as a young man, Gouvion in 1792 enthusiastically joined the French Revolutionary armies. His heroic performance in Germany at the battles of Mainz and Mannheim (1795) won him promotion to the rank of general, and he subsequently served in Egypt and Italy. In 1801 Napoleon Bonaparte appointed him ambassador to Spain, where he played an important role in Napoleon's extended but inconclusive campaign in the Iberian Peninsula. Gouvion participated in the Russian campaign (1812), and his victory at the Battle of Polotsk gained him a marshal's baton. In 1813 he commanded an unsuccessful defense of Dresden and then voluntarily withdrew from military and political affairs for almost two years.

      In 1815 and then again in 1817 King Louis XVIII appointed Gouvion minister of war. Although his past service to the republic and the empire undermined his credibility with the reactionary-royalist “ultra” party, Gouvion proceeded with a substantial reform program that included a recall to service of former Napoleonic officers, inducements for enlistment, a rationalization of promotion procedures, and the introduction of a lottery to fill quotas. Forced into retirement when the liberal ministry fell to “ultra” pressures, Gouvion wrote several historical works, notably Mémoires sur les campagnes des armées du Rhin et de Rhin-et-Moselle . . . (1829; “Memoirs of the Campaigns of the Armies of the Rhine and of Rhine-et-Moselle”).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, Laurent, marquis de — (1764 1830)    military and political figure, marshal of France    Born in Toul, Laurent, marquis de Gouvion Saint Cyr, after studying design and painting in Rome and Paris, joined the revolutionary army as a volunteer (1792). Ambassador to Spain …   France. A reference guide from Renaissance to the Present

  • Laurent, Marquis de Gouvion Saint-Cyr — Laurent de Gouvion Saint Cyr Laurent de Gouvion Saint Cyr Naissance 13 mai 1764 Toul, Meurthe et Moselle, France Décès 17  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Laurent De Gouvion-Saint-Cyr — Naissance 13 mai 1764 Toul, Meurthe et Moselle, France Décès 17  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr — Naissance 13 mai 1764 Toul, Meurthe et Moselle, France Décès 17  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Laurent de gouvion-saint-cyr — Naissance 13 mai 1764 Toul, Meurthe et Moselle, France Décès 17  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gouvion-Saint-Cyr — Laurent de Gouvion Saint Cyr Laurent de Gouvion Saint Cyr Naissance 13 mai 1764 Toul, Meurthe et Moselle, France Décès 17  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gouvion Saint-Cyr — Laurent, marquis de Gouvion Saint Cyr (* 13. April 1764 in Toul, Frankreich; † 17. März 1830 in Hyères, Frankreich) war Marschall und Pair von Frankreich, sowie Kriegs und Marineminister von Frankreich. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 1.1 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Laurent de Gouvion-Saint-Cyr — Laurent de Gouvion Saint Cyr, 1st Marquis de Gouvion Saint Cyr (Toul, May 13, 1764 ndash; Hyères, March 17, 1830) was a French commander in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars who rose to Marshal of France and Marquis. His nickname was… …   Wikipedia

  • Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr — Laurent, marquis de Gouvion Saint Cyr (* 13. April 1764 in Toul, Frankreich; † 17. März 1830 in Hyères, Frankreich) war Marschall und Pair von Frankreich, sowie Kriegs und Marineminister von Frankreich. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 1.1 Die Anfänge …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Laurent de Gouvion-Saint-Cyr — Laurent, Marquis de Gouvion Saint Cyr. Laurent de Gouvion Saint Cyr (Toul, Lorena, 13 de mayo de 1764 – Hyères, Var, 17 de marzo de 1830) fue un militar francés, ascendido a mariscal del Imperio en …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”