François Etienne de Kellermann
| François Etienne de Kellermann | |
|---|---|
General Kellermann, 2nd Duke of Valmy
|
|
| Born |
4 August 1770 Metz, France |
| Died |
2 June 1835 (aged 64) Paris, France |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of France French First Republic First French Empire
|
| Service/branch | French Army |
| Years of service | 1785– 1795–1815 |
| Rank | General of Division |
| Commands held |
IV Cavalry Corps III Cavalry Corps VI Cavalry Corps |
| Awards | Legion of Honour (Grand Cross) |
| Other work | politician |
François Étienne de Kellermann, 2nd Duc de Valmy (4 August 1770 – 2 June 1835) was a French cavalry general noted for his daring and skillful exploits during the Napoleonic Wars. He was the son of François Christophe de Kellermann and the father of the diplomat François Christophe Edmond de Kellermann.
Born in Metz, Kellermann served for a short time in his father's regiment of Hussars before entering the diplomatic service in 1791. In 1793 he again joined the army, serving chiefly under his father's command in the Alps, and rising in 1796 to the rank of chef de brigade. In the latter part of Bonaparte's celebrated Italian campaign of 1796-1797 the younger Kellermann attracted the future emperor's notice by his brilliant conduct at the forcing of the Tagliamento. He was made general of brigade immediately, and continued in Italy after the Peace of Campo Formio, being employed successively in the armies of Rome and Naples under Macdonald and Championnet.
At the Battle of Marengo (1800), he commanded a heavy cavalry brigade under the First Consul and he initiated and implemented one of the most famous cavalry charges of history, which, with Desaix's infantry attack, decided the issue of the battle. On this occasion, Kellermann's depleted cavalry brigade, joined by a few squadrons of dragoons and other elements, in a perfectly timed charge, rode down three Austrian grenadier battalions. Then, he rapidly reformed his troopers, charged and routed an Austrian dragoon regiment. The dragoons stampeded through the Austrian array, causing a general rout.
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