Antoine François Brenier de Montmorand
Encyclopedia
Antoine-François Brenier de Montmorand (12 November 1767 at Saint-Marcellin, Isère
- 8 October 1832) served as a French
general of division
during the period of the First French Empire
and became an officer of the Légion d'honneur
.
, becoming an aide-de-camp
in 1792 and in 1793 a Chef de brigade
(colonel) in the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees (Armée des Pyrénées orientales). He served with distinction in various campaigns of the Revolutionary Wars
, in Italy and in Holland. In 1799 he became Général de brigade. From 1801 to 1807 he served in administrative posts.
during the Peninsular War
in 1807. During the Battle of Vimeiro
on 20 August 1808, Brenier's brigade surprised and drove back two British battalions, but it was soon defeated. Wounded and captured by the British, he returned (exchanged) to France from captivity in 1809.
In 1810 he again went to Portugal, serving under Marshal
André Masséna
. After the first Siege of Almeida
, Brenier became its governor and held the post during Massena's unsuccessful third French invasion of Portugal in 1810-1811. After the French army's retreat from Portugal, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
's British army blockaded Almeida. While marching to Brenier's relief, Massena failed to fight his way past Wellington in the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro
.
During the night of 10 May 1811 Brenier threaded his 1,400-man garrison through the lines of the 13,000-strong British investment force in the second Siege of Almeida
. His engineers set explosives which demolished the fortifications after his men got away. During the pursuit he lost 360 men, but the pursuing British ran into an ambush set by some troops of Jean Reynier
's II Corps and the rest of Brenier's soldiers safely reached French lines. Wellington wrote, "I have never been so much distressed by any military event as by the escape of even a man of them." This brilliant exploit earned Brenier promotion to general of division.
During the Battle of Salamanca
, Brenier's 4,300-man 6th Division arrived inopportunely at the unfolding disaster on the left flank. Wellington's forces had just crushed the divisions of Jean Guillaume Barthélemy Thomières and Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune
when Brenier's men came up, winded from a rapid march. Still in battalion columns, the division was first swamped with fleeing troops from Maucune's division, then beset by a brigade of British heavy dragoons led by John Le Marchant. Attacked before they could form square, Brenier's battalions were overrun and routed. However, some troops managed to rally in a forest and emerged from the woods in battle order. The heavy dragoons attacked again, this time breaking the division for good, but Le Marchant was killed in the action.
's III Corps, he was severely wounded at the Battle of Lützen
in Saxony on 2 May 1813. In 1814 he became commander of the 16th military district and supervised the fortification of Lille
. Afterwards he took over the command of the city of Brest
, where his actions during the Hundred Days
earned him a sword of honour voted him by the municipal council. Brenier became a Count, the Inspector General
of the Infantry from 1816 to 1818, and the supreme commander in Corsica
from 1820 to 1823. He retired in 1827 and died on 8 October 1832.
His name appears on the west side of the Arc de Triomphe
in Paris, on Column 35.
Saint-Marcellin, Isère
Saint-Marcellin is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.-References:*...
- 8 October 1832) served as a 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...
general of division
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
during the period of the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
and became an officer of the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
.
Early career
Brenier enlisted in 1786 and gained rapid promotion during the period of the French Revolutionary WarsFrench Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, becoming an aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
in 1792 and in 1793 a Chef de brigade
Chef de brigade
Chef de brigade was a military rank, equivalent to colonel, in the French Revolutionary army, in command of a demi-brigade. Both that unit and that rank were created at the same time, in 1793. The two designations disappeared just before the institution of the French Empire, in 1803, with the...
(colonel) in the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees (Armée des Pyrénées orientales). He served with distinction in various campaigns of the Revolutionary Wars
Revolutionary Wars
Revolutionary Wars may relate to:*American Revolutionary War*French Revolutionary Wars...
, in Italy and in Holland. In 1799 he became Général de brigade. From 1801 to 1807 he served in administrative posts.
Peninsular War
Brenier was assigned to Jean Andoche Junot's army for the invasion of PortugalPortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
during the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
in 1807. During the Battle of Vimeiro
Battle of Vimeiro
In the Battle of Vimeiro the British under General Arthur Wellesley defeated the French under Major-General Jean-Andoche Junot near the village of Vimeiro , near Lisbon, Portugal during the Peninsular War...
on 20 August 1808, Brenier's brigade surprised and drove back two British battalions, but it was soon defeated. Wounded and captured by the British, he returned (exchanged) to France from captivity in 1809.
In 1810 he again went to Portugal, serving 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...
André Masséna
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
. After the first Siege of Almeida
Siege of Almeida (1810)
In the Siege of Almeida, the French corps of Marshal Michel Ney captured the border fortress from Brigadier General William Cox's Portuguese garrison. This action was fought in the summer of 1810 during the Peninsular War portion of the Napoleonic Wars...
, Brenier became its governor and held the post during Massena's unsuccessful third French invasion of Portugal in 1810-1811. After the French army's retreat from Portugal, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
's British army blockaded Almeida. While marching to Brenier's relief, Massena failed to fight his way past Wellington in the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro
Battle of Fuentes de Onoro
In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro , the British-Portuguese Army under Viscount Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida.-Background:...
.
During the night of 10 May 1811 Brenier threaded his 1,400-man garrison through the lines of the 13,000-strong British investment force in the second Siege of Almeida
Siege of Almeida (1811)
The Siege of Almeida took place during the Peninsular War portion of the Napoleonic Wars. After a month-long blockade, the French garrison under Brigadier-General Antoine Brenier escaped, leaving the fortress in Anglo-Portuguese hands.Almeida is located in eastern Portugal, near the border with...
. His engineers set explosives which demolished the fortifications after his men got away. During the pursuit he lost 360 men, but the pursuing British ran into an ambush set by some troops of Jean Reynier
Jean Reynier
Jean Louis Ebénézer Reynier rose in rank to become a French army general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars. He led a division under Napoleon Bonaparte in the French Campaign in Egypt and Syria...
's II Corps and the rest of Brenier's soldiers safely reached French lines. Wellington wrote, "I have never been so much distressed by any military event as by the escape of even a man of them." This brilliant exploit earned Brenier promotion to general of division.
During the Battle of Salamanca
Battle of Salamanca
The Battle of Salamanca saw Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish armies under the Duke of Wellington defeat Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces among the hills around Arapiles south of Salamanca, Spain on July 22, 1812 during the Peninsular War....
, Brenier's 4,300-man 6th Division arrived inopportunely at the unfolding disaster on the left flank. Wellington's forces had just crushed the divisions of Jean Guillaume Barthélemy Thomières and Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune
Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune
Antoine Louis Popon de Maucune joined the pioneer corps of the French army in 1786 and was a lieutenant by the time the French Revolutionary Wars broke out. He fought in the north in 1792 and in the Alps in 1793. Afterward he served in Italy through 1801. During this period, he fought at Arcole in...
when Brenier's men came up, winded from a rapid march. Still in battalion columns, the division was first swamped with fleeing troops from Maucune's division, then beset by a brigade of British heavy dragoons led by John Le Marchant. Attacked before they could form square, Brenier's battalions were overrun and routed. However, some troops managed to rally in a forest and emerged from the woods in battle order. The heavy dragoons attacked again, this time breaking the division for good, but Le Marchant was killed in the action.
Later career
Brenier played an honorable part in the campaign of 1813. Leading the 9th Division in Marshal Michel NeyMichel Ney
Michel Ney , 1st Duc d'Elchingen, 1st Prince de la Moskowa was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original 18 Marshals of France created by Napoleon I...
's III Corps, he was severely wounded at the Battle of Lützen
Battle of Lützen (1813)
In the Battle of Lützen , Napoleon I of France lured a combined Prussian and Russian force into a trap, halting the advances of the Sixth Coalition after his devastating losses in Russia. The Russian commander, Prince Peter Wittgenstein, attempting to undo Napoleon's capture of Leipzig, attacked...
in Saxony on 2 May 1813. In 1814 he became commander of the 16th military district and supervised the fortification of Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
. Afterwards he took over the command of the city of Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
, where his actions during the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
earned him a sword of honour voted him by the municipal council. Brenier became a Count, the Inspector General
Inspector General
An Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...
of the Infantry from 1816 to 1818, and the supreme commander in Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
from 1820 to 1823. He retired in 1827 and died on 8 October 1832.
His name appears on the west side of the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
in Paris, on Column 35.
Promotions
- 1 September 1795 : Chef de brigadeChef de brigadeChef de brigade was a military rank, equivalent to colonel, in the French Revolutionary army, in command of a demi-brigade. Both that unit and that rank were created at the same time, in 1793. The two designations disappeared just before the institution of the French Empire, in 1803, with the...
of the 14th Regiment (14th half-brigade) of Line InfantryLine infantryLine infantry is a type of infantry which composed the basis of European land armies from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century.... - 1 January 1797 : Chef de brigade of the 63rd Regiment (63rd half-brigade) of Line Infantry
- 15 June 1799 : Général de brigade
- 26 March 1811 : Général de division
Honours
- 12 February 1812 : Baron of the Empire
- 18 December 1813 : Officer of the Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
External references
- Brief biography (in Portuguese)