Napoleon's Marshals Part 1

[Music] terror in war ornament in peace the words inscribed on every french marshall's baton [Music] in france the title of marshall or mareshall goes back at least to the 13th century it represents the highest possible position of military authority authority symbolized by a marshall's battle the title was abolished during the french revolution as incompatible with the egalitarian spirit of the age but in 1804 napoleon founded a new empire and restored the ancient rank that year he picked 18 of france's best generals and made them marshals of the empire eight more were created in the years that followed the marshals outranked everyone in the new empire apart from napoleon's family princes and ministers of state they came from every background sons of aristocrats and innkeepers professional soldiers and those who'd learned on the job old-school republicans and bonaparte loyalists the youngest just half the age of the oldest and though marshall was a civil title not strictly a military rank the men known to the army as les grobonei the big hats were arguably the most extraordinary diverse brilliant and flawed group of military commanders in history the most favored were showered with titles and wealth but the price too was high half were wounded three were killed or died of wounds two were executed this is epic history tv's guide to napoleon's marshals all 26 have been ranked according to our own evaluation of their achievements as marshals with expert guidance from retired lieutenant colonel remy port former chief historian of the french army first a thank you to our sponsor call of war [Music] call of war is a free online pvp strategy game played by millions of users worldwide that gives you the chance to rewrite world war ii history choose your country join the war and fight other players in epic real-time campaigns that unfold over the course of weeks get to know the strengths of multiple unit types and use them to come up with a strategy to crush your enemies by 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one of napoleon's best core commanders by 1814 made a marshal by king louis philippe in 1830 gudang whose infantry division bore the brunt of the fighting at arshted in 1806 died of wounds near smolensk in 1812. juno who first served with napoleon at toulon in 1793 probably committed suicide after his fall from favor in 1813 lasal the hussar general among the best light cavalry commanders of the napoleonic wars killed at vagram aged 34. meson who told his division on the morning of leipzig that they must win that day or all be killed made martial by king charles the tenth in 1829 non [ __ ] the heavy cavalry commander who died of wounds and exhaustion aged 46 santillaire hero of austerlitz died of wounds received at aspern in 1809. van dam of whom napoleon once said if i had to invade hell i'd want him commanding the vanguard and now napoleon's 26 marshals ranked in order of merit 26. marshall perignon when napoleon created the first 18 marshals four were honorary marshals recognized for past service to france perignon was one of these a former officer in the royal army he'd won fame in the revolutionary wars fighting the spanish on the pyrenees front he later served as ambassador to spain after a brief retirement he was sent to italy and commanded the french left wing at the disastrous battle of novi where the army was routed by suvorov's russians and perignon was badly wounded and captured his appointment as honorary martial in 1804 was a political move by napoleon a way to win acceptance for his new empire by emphasizing continuity with the revolution by rewarding its military heroes perignon never held active command as a marshal but served as governor of palmer and later naples his eldest son pierre was a cavalry officer killed at friedland in 1807. perignon retired in 1813 but refused to support napoleon when he returned from exile in 1815 and was stripped of his marshall's baton his rank was later restored by king louis xviii [Music] 25 marshall broome roon was another marshal whose appointment owed much to politics as a fiery republican and former close ally of revolutionary leader georges danton his support was politically useful for napoleon broon joined the army during the terror the most extreme period of the revolution his political connections ensured rapid promotion and he was sent to help put down a counter-revolutionary revolt in bordeaux in 1795 as a 30-year-old brigadier general he helped napoleon disperse a royalist mob in paris with the famous whiff of grapeshot broon then served with napoleon in italy fighting in several of his famous early victories he won a reputation as a fierce divisional commander and enthusiastic plunderer of italian towns and churches in 1798 he commanded the french occupation of switzerland while extorting 200 000 francs from the wealthy swiss communes the equivalent of several million dollars today it was said that brune's personal carriage was so laden with gold when it left switzerland that it immediately broke down the next year he won his most important victory while commanding french forces in holland defeating an anglo-russian army at the battle of castrikom and saving france from invasion but a short calamitous spell commanding the army of italy convinced napoleon that brune was not fit for high command instead he sent him to be ambassador to the ottoman empire where in 1804 he learned that he'd been made a marshal but brune's lack of delicacy combined with a towering sense of self-importance did not make him a successful diplomat he was recalled to france but as governor of the hanseatic ports blundered again drafting a treaty with sweden that failed to make any mention of the french emperor whether a deliberate insult or act of incompetence napoleon was furious and brune was sacked brune spent the next seven years at his country estate he bitterly opposed the return of the bobon monarchy in 1814 and rallied to napoleon when he returned from exile the next year but in the tumult following napoleon's defeat at waterloo brune was cornered by a royalist mob in avignon murdered and tossed into the river rhone 24 marshall sergey [Music] was another of the four honorary marshals whom napoleon wished to recognize for past service in contrast to brun sergei was a professional soldier of the old school a veteran of the seven years war and a stern disciplinarian this background was not necessarily an asset during the french revolution when any officer who'd served in the royal army was viewed with suspicion but colonel sergei's training and diligence were soon recognized as assets to the new french republic by 1795 he was a general serving with napoleon in italy where his stand against corruption and looting won him the nickname the virgin of italy sergey was a reliable if unspectacular commander who won an important victory at mondovi at a crucial moment in napoleon's rise to fame the following year he accepted the austrian surrender at the end of the long siege of mantua [Music] two years later fighting under general moreau's command sergey and his division were cut off by the russians and forced to surrender released on parole he was back in paris in time to support napoleon's coup d'etat of eighteen brumeir cerullier then retired from active command but napoleon remembering his past service made him an honorary marshal and governor of lisa valid the retirement home and hospital for old soldiers there shortly before the fall of paris in 1814 sergei oversaw the burning of more than a thousand captured flags and standards to prevent them falling into allied hands 23 marshall kellermann kellerman was another honorary marshal the oldest at 68 and famed throughout france as the savior of the revolution a career soldier from a middle-class background he'd seen distinguished service as a cavalry officer in the seven years war at the beginning of the revolutionary wars he was a general commanding a frontier army at the moment of greatest crisis when it seemed foreign invasion was about to stamp out the revolution and restore the asean regime but at valmie in september 1792 kellerman's army of the center stood its ground and with a ferocious artillery barrage persuaded the prussian army to withdraw valmie was not a stunning tactical victory but it was a turning point of history that saved the infant french republic when the revolution took a more radical turn even a war hero like kellerman became suspected of royalist links and spent a year in prison under the threat of the guillotine acquitted and restored to command he was poised to launch a new offensive in italy when he was sidelined first by general schreier then in favor of a rising new talent general bonaparte kellermann later specialized in army administration and training a role he continued to perform under napoleon whilst also entering politics and serving as president of the senate his son general francois etienne kellerman followed in his father's footsteps serving as one of napoleon's best cavalry commanders [Music] 22 marshal grushi when napoleon returned from his first exile in 1815 he created one last martial for the upcoming campaign emmanuel de grushi although now infamous for failing to march to napoleon's aid during the battle of waterloo up to that moment gurushi had had a long and distinguished military career an aristocrat who embraced the french revolution grushi served with distinction throughout the revolutionary wars fighting counter-revolutionaries in the vonde and serving in italy where he was wounded and captured at the battle of novi under the empire grushi excelled as commander of a dragoon division in marshall murad's cavalry reserve he was praised by the emperor for his part in the great french charge at a low played an important role buying time for napoleon and friedland and expertly covered the french right wing at vagrant for the invasion of russia he commanded third cavalry corps and was wounded at borodino he survived the horrors of the retreat but was left so exhausted it took him several months to recover he returned for napoleon's 1814 campaign in france and was wounded twice more grushi was made a martial at the start of the hundred days campaign and commanded napoleon's right wing at linny after the battle was won he was ordered to pursue the retreating prussians to prevent them joining up with wellington's anglo-allied army two days later as the battle of waterloo raged 10 miles to the west grushi made the fateful decision to follow his written orders rather than march to join napoleon and has been widely blamed for the french emperor's defeat ever since grushi's vilification is not wholly fair not least because napoleon rarely encouraged his marshals to show initiative and often flew into rages if they deviated from his written orders nor should one blunder obscure the distinguished record of one of the contami's best cavalry generals grushi fled to america after napoleon's defeat to escape royalist reprisals but was pardoned and returned to france in 1820 21. marshall monsae [Music] bonsai ran away from home to join the army at the age of 15. after 20 years of uneventful service he'd risen no higher than the rank of captain but then came the french revolution most french officers were aristocrats who if they did not actively oppose the revolution were nevertheless regarded as politically suspect the result was that three-quarters of them either fled the country or were dismissed from the army monsei a middle-class officer with no strong political views reaped the benefit with meteoric promotion by 1794 general monsieur was leading the army of the western pyrenees to victory over the spanish on what was admittedly a relative backwater of the revolutionary wars in 1797 he was dismissed for alleged royalist sympathies but reinstated in time to support napoleon's coup of 18 brumer by his own admission monsei was a sensitive officer honest honorable but lacking a ruthless streak or iron will to succeed napoleon was aware of his limitations as a general but made him a marshal in 1804 as part of his emphasis on continuity between the republic and his new empire monsei was appointed inspector general of the jean armory france's militarized police force and spent most of the rest of his career commanding reserve troops he only held one field command again in light of his victorious record against the spanish he was given command of a corps for the 1808 invasion of spain operating in the south of the country with mixed success in 1809 he was replaced by general juno and returned to france monsei's finest hour came in the dying days of the empire leading the national guard of paris in a courageous but doomed defense of the french capital in 1815 the restored king of france louis xviii ordered marshall monse to preside at the trial of marshal nay for treason monsei regarded nay as a hero for having saved so many french lives in russia and refused declaring if i am not allowed to save my country nor my own life then at least i will save my honor after a short spell in prison monsei was allowed to resume his military career becoming governor of lisa valid in which role he presided over the repatriation of napoleon's remains from saint helena in 1840 at the end of the ceremony the 86 year old marshall monse announced and now let us go home to die 20. marshall pognatovsky [Music] prince joseph pognatovsky was the king of poland's nephew but his military career began as a cavalry officer in the austrian army even serving as ed decon to emperor joseph ii himself in 1789 he transferred to the polish army with the rank of major general but could not save poland from partition by its rapacious neighbors russia prussia and austria by 1795 poland had vanished from the map swallowed up by its rivals after napoleon's defeat of prussia in 1806 ronyatovsky decided loyal service to the french emperor was the best way to win poland's restoration although he never fully trusted napoleon's aims somber serious and brave ponjatovsky proved an able commander of duchy of warsaw forces in napoleon's service when war broke out with austria in 1809 while napoleon advanced on vienna ponjatovsky waged a brilliant supporting campaign against a larger austrian army in galicia for the invasion of russia he commanded the polish fifth corps he and his troops distinguish themselves first at smolensk and again at borodino leading the attack on the right wing ponyatovsky and his corps performed heroically throughout the campaign motivated in part by their old animosity towards russia but by the end of the retreat fifth corps had been virtually destroyed bonyatovsky remained loyal to napoleon even though the disaster in russia paved the way for the russian reoccupation of poland he rejoined napoleon in germany in 1813 and was given command of the polish eighth corps on the eve of the battle of leipzig he was made a marshal by napoleon in recognition of his service and to inspire his polish troops was the only non-frenchman to receive this honor he and his troops fought with their usual tenacity and skill at leipzig holding key villages on the southern front against the austrian and prussian onslaught at the end of the battle ponjatovsky commanded part of the rear guard but their only escape route a bridge over the elster river was blown up too soon badly wounded ponjatovsky tried to escape by riding his horse across the river but he was swept from his saddle and drowned he had been a marshal for just four days in the short term ponjatovsky's loyalty to france achieved nothing as following napoleon's defeat russia occupied poland for the next century but ponjatovsky's legend lived on a model of polish patriotism that inspired future generations nineteen martial jota [Music] as a young french private jourdan saw combat in georgia during the american revolutionary war but he then caught a fever that led to his discharge and plagued him for the rest of his life when the french revolution began he was elected captain of his local national guard unit fought at the battles of zemap and han shouter and was rapidly promoted to general in 1794 he made his name defeating coalition forces at the battle of florus this was a crucial victory of the revolutionary war which handed france control of belgium for 20 years it was also notable for the french army's use of balloon reconnaissance the first effective use of an aircraft in military sure don became a prominent politician under the directory lending his name to a law that formalized france's policy of mass conscription as a committed republican jourdan refused to support napoleon's coup of 18 brumeir but his fame as the victor of florus was enough to ensure he became a marshal in 1804 jordan was on good terms with napoleon's elder brother joseph when joseph became king of spain in 1808 jordan went with him as his military advisor but the situation in spain would prove beyond jordan's military skills to solve he faced stubborn resistance from the spanish and portuguese supported by the british and an equally stubborn refusal to cooperate from other french marshals in spain theoretically under jourdan's command but who repeatedly ignored his orders and openly questioned his competence martial sult in andalusia was a prime offender while marshall victor's insubordination at the battle of talavera contributed directly to the french defeat struck by another bout of ill health jourdan went home to recover two years later he returned to spain but at the battle of victoria in 1813 he and king joseph were outmaneuvered and decisively beaten by wellington leading to the collapse of the bonapartist kingdom of spain jordan never held a major command again but his 20 years of service and evident patriotism were widely recognized and respected he was made appear by napoleon a count by louis the 18th and died in 1833 while serving as governor of lazava lead perignon brune serrarier kellerman grushi monsei ponyatovsky jordan eight down 18 to go join us for part two when we'll continue the countdown coming soon thank you to call of war for sponsoring this video click the link in the video description for your starter pack then dive into the action with this free to play epic strategy game you'll face up to 100 real players per map in a historically accurate setup then it's up to you to dictate strategy set research priorities and launch your own offensives as you rewrite world war ii history thank you to all our patreon supporters for making epic history tv possible visit our patreon page to find out how you can support the channel get ad-free early access and help to choose future topics you can also follow us on facebook instagram or twitter for extra epic history content and regular updates you

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Views: 423,496

Rating: 4.9640121 out of 5

Keywords: epic history tv, history, epic history, napoleon, napoleonic, marshals, davout, lannes, marshal, military history, french history

Id: HZSdYk3KJFc

Length: 27min 23sec (1643 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 30 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/FarAwayFellow]

The general who’s name I changed into Poop Sullivan - 10/10 conquered England

[u/Empty-Mind]

Well it's a review of some of the marshals.

And the best marshall is Davout, there's not really an argument