Louis Alexandre Berthier
| Louis-Alexandre Berthier | |
|---|---|
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Marshal Louis-Alexandre Berthier.
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| 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 France, Légion d'honneur (Grand Cross), Order of Saint Louis (Commander), Name inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, Prince of Neuchâtel and Wagram, Duke of Valangin, Constable of France |
| Relations |
Jean Baptiste Berthier (father), César Berthier (brother), Victor Léopold Berthier (brother), Joseph-Alexandre Berthier (brother), Napoléon Alexandre Berthier (son) |
| Other work |
Peer of France, Minister of Defence |
Louis Alexandre Berthier, 1st Prince de Wagram, 1st Duc de Valangin, 1st Sovereign Prince of Neuchâtel (20 November 1753 – 1 June 1815), was a Marshal and Vice-Constable of France beginning in 1808, and Chief of Staff (Major général) under Napoleon.
Alexandre 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 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), and at the age of seventeen he entered the army, serving successively in the staff, the engineers and the prince de 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 sisters 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; and in this capacity he was Napoleon's most valued assistant for the rest of his career.
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