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Lazare Hoche

Louis Lazare Hoche
Louis Lazare Hoche1.jpg
General Hoche
Born 24 June 1768
Versailles, Kingdom of France
Died 19 September 1797 (age 29)
Wetzlar, Holy Roman Empire
Allegiance  Kingdom of France
Flag of France (1790-1794).svg Kingdom of France
Flag of France.svg French Republic
Service/branch Infantry
Years of service 1784–1797
Rank General
Commands held Armée de la Moselle
Armée des côtes de Brest
Armée des côtes de Cherbourg
Armée de Sambre-et-Meuse
Battles/wars French Revolutionary Wars
Expédition d'Irlande
War in the Vendée
Chouannerie
Awards Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
Other work Minister of War

Louis Lazare Hoche (24 June 1768 – 19 September 1797) was a French soldier who rose to be general of the Revolutionary army. He is best known for his victory over Royalist forces in Brittany. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Column 3. Richard Holmes says he was, "quick-thinking, stern, and ruthless...a general of real talent whose early death was a loss to France."

Born of poor parents near Versailles, he enlisted at sixteen as a private soldier in the Gardes Françaises. He spent his entire leisure in earning extra pay by civil work, his object being to provide himself with books, and this love of study, which was combined with a strong sense of duty and personal courage, soon led to his promotion.

When the Gardes françaises disbanded in 1789 he had reached the rank of corporal, and thereafter he served in various line regiments up to the time of his receiving a commission in 1792. In the defence of Thionville in that year Hoche earned further promotion, and he served with credit in the operations of 1792 - 1793 on the northern frontier of France, including serving as aide-de-camp to General le Veneur. When Charles Dumouriez deserted to the Austrians, Hoche, along with le Veneur and others, fell under suspicion of treason. But after being kept under arrest and unemployed for some months he took part in the defence of Dunkirk, and in the same year (1793) he was promoted successively chef de brigade, general of brigade, and general of division. In October 1793 he was provisionally appointed to command the Army of the Moselle, and within a few weeks he was in the field at the head of his army in Lorraine. He lost his first battle at Kaiserslautern on 28–30 November 1793 against the Prussians, but even in the midst of the Reign of Terror the Committee of Public Safety retained Hoche in his command. Pertinacity and fiery energy, in their eyes, outweighed everything else, and Hoche soon showed that he possessed these qualities.


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