Abel Douay
Encyclopedia
Charles Abel Douay was a general
in the French
army during the reign of the Emperor
Napoleon III. He commanded troops in numerous French campaigns in Europe and overseas. He was killed in battle at the age of sixty-one, near Wissembourg
during the Franco-Prussian War
.
on 2 March 1809. He became a well-known and well-respected military officer, described roundly as an "able" and "intrepid" soldier. He served in Algeria
, in the Crimean War
, and in Italy
in 1859.
He was the elder brother of General Félix Charles Douay (1816–1879), who was also a distinguished career officer. (Because of their similar names and overlapping careers, the elder Douay is most frequently referred to as "Abel Douay".) At the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War, Abel Douay had already settled into his position as president of the military academy
at Saint-Cyr
.
under Marshal
Patrice de Mac-Mahon at the frontline, and on the first day of the first battle of the war, Abel Douay was killed in combat, hit by an artillery
explosion. The subsequent Battle of Wissembourg (4 August 1870) proved a disaster for the French. Demoralized by the loss of their commander, Douay's outnumbered division fell back. By the end of the month, a crushing loss at the Battle of Sedan
eliminated Mac-Mahon's entire army and, with it, the Second French Empire
.
, the border region between the two combatant nations. Faulty intelligence had characterized the Prussia
ns' border positions as weak and unready, and Abel Douay's superiors felt confident that he could repulse any enemy probes while making use of the town's badly needed food and resources. Though the logistical benefit of the seizure of Wissembourg's stores was keenly appreciated at first, the tactical and strategic drawbacks quickly became known: the town, a flat lowland place with antiquated seventeenth-century fortifications, faced thickly wooded countryside which would help cover the advance of the attackers. At 8:30am the next day, batteries of undetected Prussian artillery began pummelling the French position, and though Abel Douay attempted a rapid defensive posture, the advantage of surprise had been devastatingly complete. The massive scale of the attack quickly became apparent: total Prussian forces are estimated between 50,000 to 80,000. By mid-morning Abel Douay was already organizing for a withdrawal when he was killed by a burst of artillery. Some writers have mistakenly reported that he was hit by gunfire, but most historians concur that he died from a shell which exploded in the nearby ammunition magazine of one of the French grapeshot cannon
. The withdrawal turned into a rout, with over a thousand French soldiers dead and a thousand more taken prisoner.
General Félix Douay was stationed along the same front as his older brother and fought at Sedan until the final surrender; he too served as a field commander, leader of the French 7th Corps.
Twenty years after the battle, an apocryphal story was published in Germany proffering a different end for Abel Douay: a German "eyewitness" claimed that the general had been shot by one of his own men, allegedly for ordering the French retreat. This story perhaps derived from the reported words of Frederick III
who, advancing through the battlefield, had come upon Abel Douay's corpse and made the bald observation that the general had died beyond the range of German rifle fire. A solemn portrayal of this scene was later created by the Prussian history painter Anton von Werner.
General Abel Douay is buried in a stately tomb just outside Wissembourg together with many of his fallen soldiers. A large monument to the battle was erected near his tomb at the end of the First World War.
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
in the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
army during the reign of the Emperor
Emperor of the French
The Emperor of the French was the title used by the Bonaparte Dynasty starting when Napoleon Bonaparte was given the title Emperor on 18 May 1804 by the French Senate and was crowned emperor of the French on 02 December 1804 at the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, in Paris with the Crown of...
Napoleon III. He commanded troops in numerous French campaigns in Europe and overseas. He was killed in battle at the age of sixty-one, near Wissembourg
Wissembourg
Wissembourg is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in northeastern France.It is situated on the little River Lauter close to the border between France and Germany approximately north of Strasbourg and west of Karlsruhe. Wissembourg is a sub-prefecture of the department...
during the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
.
Early life and career
Charles Abel Douay was born in the city of DraguignanDraguignan
Draguignan is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in southeastern France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of Artillery" and "Porte du Verdon".The city is only from St...
on 2 March 1809. He became a well-known and well-respected military officer, described roundly as an "able" and "intrepid" soldier. He served in Algeria
French Algeria
French Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems. From 1848 until independence, the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria was administered as an integral part of France, much like Corsica and Réunion are to this day. The vast arid interior of Algeria, like the rest...
, in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, and in Italy
Second Italian War of Independence
The Second War of Italian Independence, Franco-Austrian War, Austro-Sardinian War, or Austro-Piedmontese War , was fought by Napoleon III of France and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia against the Austrian Empire in 1859...
in 1859.
He was the elder brother of General Félix Charles Douay (1816–1879), who was also a distinguished career officer. (Because of their similar names and overlapping careers, the elder Douay is most frequently referred to as "Abel Douay".) At the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War, Abel Douay had already settled into his position as president of the military academy
Military academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the army, the navy, air force or coast guard, which normally provides education in a service environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.Three...
at Saint-Cyr
École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr
The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr is the foremost French military academy. Its official name is . It is often referred to as Saint-Cyr . Its motto is "Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre": literally "They study to vanquish" or "Training for victory"...
.
Death
Recalled to active duty at the outbreak of war in 1870, the academy president was given command of a divisionDivision (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
under Marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
Patrice de Mac-Mahon at the frontline, and on the first day of the first battle of the war, Abel Douay was killed in combat, hit by an artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
explosion. The subsequent Battle of Wissembourg (4 August 1870) proved a disaster for the French. Demoralized by the loss of their commander, Douay's outnumbered division fell back. By the end of the month, a crushing loss at the Battle of Sedan
Battle of Sedan
The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War on 1 September 1870. It resulted in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and large numbers of his troops and for all intents and purposes decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, though fighting continued under a new French...
eliminated Mac-Mahon's entire army and, with it, the Second French Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
.
Battle of Wissembourg
On 3 August 1870, the 61-year-old Abel Douay led the forward division of Mac-Mahon's army group, a force of approximately 8,600, into the frontier town of Wissembourg in AlsaceAlsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, the border region between the two combatant nations. Faulty intelligence had characterized the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
ns' border positions as weak and unready, and Abel Douay's superiors felt confident that he could repulse any enemy probes while making use of the town's badly needed food and resources. Though the logistical benefit of the seizure of Wissembourg's stores was keenly appreciated at first, the tactical and strategic drawbacks quickly became known: the town, a flat lowland place with antiquated seventeenth-century fortifications, faced thickly wooded countryside which would help cover the advance of the attackers. At 8:30am the next day, batteries of undetected Prussian artillery began pummelling the French position, and though Abel Douay attempted a rapid defensive posture, the advantage of surprise had been devastatingly complete. The massive scale of the attack quickly became apparent: total Prussian forces are estimated between 50,000 to 80,000. By mid-morning Abel Douay was already organizing for a withdrawal when he was killed by a burst of artillery. Some writers have mistakenly reported that he was hit by gunfire, but most historians concur that he died from a shell which exploded in the nearby ammunition magazine of one of the French grapeshot cannon
Mitrailleuse
Mitrailleuse is the French word used to describe all rapid-firing weapons of rifle caliber. Therefore the word mitrailleuse, when used in the French language, applies to all machine guns including modern full automatic weapons. However in the English language the word mitrailleuse applies to...
. The withdrawal turned into a rout, with over a thousand French soldiers dead and a thousand more taken prisoner.
Aftermath
The death of Abel Douay was a deeply demoralizing blow to the French army and gave a profound shock to the nation at large. Few, however, were as shocked as Napoleon III, who immediately issued a flurry of new orders reconstituting the army's command structure and strategic guidelines.General Félix Douay was stationed along the same front as his older brother and fought at Sedan until the final surrender; he too served as a field commander, leader of the French 7th Corps.
Twenty years after the battle, an apocryphal story was published in Germany proffering a different end for Abel Douay: a German "eyewitness" claimed that the general had been shot by one of his own men, allegedly for ordering the French retreat. This story perhaps derived from the reported words of Frederick III
Frederick III, German Emperor
Frederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor William I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service...
who, advancing through the battlefield, had come upon Abel Douay's corpse and made the bald observation that the general had died beyond the range of German rifle fire. A solemn portrayal of this scene was later created by the Prussian history painter Anton von Werner.
General Abel Douay is buried in a stately tomb just outside Wissembourg together with many of his fallen soldiers. A large monument to the battle was erected near his tomb at the end of the First World War.
Further reading
- Service historique de la défense : File of General Charles Abel Douay (7 Yd 1428)