General Berthier
| Louis-Alexandre Berthier | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
Portrait of Berthier, painted in 1808
|
|
| Born |
20 November 1753 Versailles, France |
| Died | 1 June 1815 (aged 61) Bamberg, Bavaria |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of France, Kingdom of France (1791-1792), French First Republic, First French Empire, Bourbon Restoration
|
| Years of service | 1764–1815 |
| Rank | General of Division |
| Battles/wars |
American Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary Wars, Napoleonic Wars |
| Awards |
Marshal of the Empire, Légion d'honneur (Grand Cross), Order of Saint Louis (Commander), Prince of Neuchâtel and Wagram, Vice-Constable of the Empire, Named on the Arc de Triomphe |
| Relations |
Jean Baptiste Berthier (father), César Berthier (brother), Victor Léopold Berthier (brother), Joseph-Alexandre Berthier (brother), Napoléon Alexandre Berthier (son) |
Louis-Alexandre Berthier (20 November 1753 – 1 June 1815), 1st Prince of Wagram, Sovereign Prince of Neuchâtel, was a French Marshal and Vice-Constable of the Empire, and Chief of Staff under Napoleon.
He was born on 20 November 1753 at Versailles to Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Baptiste Berthier (1721 – 1804), an officer in the Corps of Topographical Engineers, and his first wife (married in 1746) Marie Françoise L'Huillier de La Serre. He was the eldest of five children, with the three brothers also serving in the French Army, two becoming generals during the Napoleonic Wars.
As a boy, he was instructed in the military art by his father, an officer of the Corps de genie (Engineer Corps). At the age of seventeen, he entered the army, serving successively in the staff, the engineers and the Prince of Lambesq's dragoons. In 1780, he went to North America with Rochambeau, and on his return, having attained the rank of colonel, he was employed in various staff posts and in a military mission to Prussia. During the Revolution, as Chief of Staff of the Versailles National Guard, he protected the aunts of Louis XVI from popular violence, and aided their escape (1791).
In the war of 1792, he was at once made Chief of Staff to Marshal Lückner, and he bore a distinguished part in the Argonne campaign of Dumouriez and Kellermann. He served with great credit in the Vendéan War of 1793–1795, and was in the next year made a general of division and chief of staff (major-général) to the army of Italy, which Bonaparte had recently been appointed to command. He played an important role in the Battle of Rivoli, relieving Barthélemy Joubert when the latter was attacked by the Austrian general Jozsef Alvinczi. His power of work, accuracy and quick comprehension, combined with his long and varied experience and his complete mastery of detail, made him the ideal chief of staff to a great soldier. In this capacity, he was Napoleon's most valued assistant for the rest of his career.
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