Nicolas Oudinot
| Nicolas Charles Oudinot | |
|---|---|
Nicolas Charles Oudinot
|
|
| Born |
25 April 1767 Bar-le-Duc, France |
| Died |
13 September 1848 (aged 81) Paris, France |
| Allegiance |
 France
|
| Rank | Marshal of France |
Nicolas Charles Oudinot, 1st Comte Oudinot, 1st Duc de Reggio (25 April 1767 in Bar-le-Duc – 13 September 1848 in Paris), was a Marshal of France. He is known to have been wounded 34 times in battle (by artillery shells, bullets [at least 12], saber slashes and thrusts).
Nicolas Charles Oudinot was the son of Nicolas Oudinot and Marie Anne Adam, the only one of their nine children to live to adulthood. His father was brewer, farmer and distiller of brandy in Bar-le-Duc, Lorraine. He decided upon a military career, and served in the regiment of Medoc from 1784 to 1787, when, having no hope of promotion on account of his non-noble birth, he retired with the rank of sergeant.
The French Revolution changed his fortunes, and in 1792, on the outbreak of war, he was elected lieutenant-colonel of the 3rd battalion of the volunteers of the Meuse. His gallant defense of the little fort of Bitsch in the Vosges in 1792 drew attention to him; he was transferred to the regular army in November 1793, and after serving in numerous actions on the Belgian frontier he was promoted general of brigade, in June 1794 for his conduct at the Battle of Kaiserslautern.
He continued to serve with distinction on the German frontier under Louis Lazare Hoche, Charles Pichegru and Jean Victor Marie Moreau, was repeatedly wounded and once (in 1795) taken prisoner after having been wounded again. He was André Masséna's right hand all through the Swiss campaign of 1799, first as a general of division, then as chief of staff, and won extraordinary distinction at the Second Battle of Zurich. He was present under Massena at the Siege of Genoa, and so distinguished himself at the Battle of Monzambano that Napoleon presented him with a sword of honour (an especially uncommon award replaced later by the Légion d'Honneur). He was made inspector-general of infantry, and, on the establishment of the empire, given the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, but was not included in the first creation of marshals.
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