Jean-Jacques Germain Pelet-Clozeau
Encyclopedia
Jean-Jacques Germain Pelet-Clozeau (15 July 1777 – 20 December 1858) joined the French army in 1800 and soon became a topographic engineer. He saw much service during the Napoleonic Wars
. Asked to serve on the staff of Marshal
André Masséna
in 1805, he fought in Italy where he was wounded. He accompanied Masséna to southern Italy in 1806 and Poland in 1807. The 1809 campaign saw him at Ebelsberg where he was wounded, and at Aspern-Essling
and Wagram
.
When Emperor Napoleon ordered Masséna to Spain where he was to take command of the Army of Portugal, Pelet went with him as his first aide-de-camp
. Though Pelet was a relatively low-ranking officer, the marshal relied heavily on his advice during the unsuccessful 1810-1811 invasion of Portugal. Pelet fought in the French invasion of Russia
, including during Marshal Michel Ney
's epic retreat at Krasnoi
where he was wounded again. Promoted to general officer, he led troops in the 1813 and 1814 campaigns, including a brief stint as acting division commander. He led a regiment of the Old Guard
at Waterloo
.
Placed on the army's inactive list, Pelet nevertheless worked in the military archives while publishing books and articles about the wars. In 1830, he was appointed director of the army staff school. Though nearly killed in an assassination attempt in 1835, he continued to publish military histories. Under the Second French Empire
he engaged in diplomacy and politics. Pelet is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
, on Column 19.
, the Prussians succeeded in driving the Young Guard and the corps of Georges Mouton, Count de Lobau from Plancenoit
. In this crisis, Napoleon sent Pelet with the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Guard Grenadier Regiment and Charles Antoine Morand
with the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Guard Chasseur Regiment to recapture the village. As these elite troops advanced with leveled bayonets, the Prussian defenders panicked. Historian David Hamilton-Williams explained that the Prussians were accustomed to seeing the Imperial Guard committed in mass and assumed that many thousands of French guardsmen must be following in the wake of the first two battalions. The Old Guard battalions, joined by the survivors of Lobau's command and the Young Guard, swept their enemies out of Plancenoit with 3,000 casualties. Later that evening, the Prussian reconquered the village house by house against desperate resistance.
In their published works, both Pelet and Marshal Jacques MacDonald criticized Napoleon's choice of Eugène de Beauharnais
as commander of the Army of Italy in 1809. Their low opinion of Eugène influenced later writers such as Francis Loraine Petre
and J. F. C. Fuller. Historian Frederick C. Schneid believed that Pelet and MacDonald were "extremely biased" against Eugène for political and personal reasons.
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. Asked to serve on the staff of Marshal
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
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....
in 1805, he fought in Italy where he was wounded. He accompanied Masséna to southern Italy in 1806 and Poland in 1807. The 1809 campaign saw him at Ebelsberg where he was wounded, and at Aspern-Essling
Battle of Aspern-Essling
In the Battle of Aspern-Essling , Napoleon attempted a forced crossing of the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were driven back by the Austrians under Archduke Charles...
and Wagram
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram was the decisive military engagement of the War of the Fifth Coalition. It took place on the Marchfeld plain, on the north bank of the Danube. An important site of the battle was the village of Deutsch-Wagram, 10 kilometres northeast of Vienna, which would give its name to the...
.
When Emperor Napoleon ordered Masséna to Spain where he was to take command of the Army of Portugal, Pelet went with him as his first 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...
. Though Pelet was a relatively low-ranking officer, the marshal relied heavily on his advice during the unsuccessful 1810-1811 invasion of Portugal. Pelet fought in the French invasion of Russia
French invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
, including during Marshal Michel Ney
Michel 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 epic retreat at Krasnoi
Battle of Krasnoi
The Battle of Krasnoi was a series of skirmishes fought in the final stage of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. This encounter was noteworthy because of the heavy losses inflicted on the remnants of the Grande Armée by the Russians under General Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov...
where he was wounded again. Promoted to general officer, he led troops in the 1813 and 1814 campaigns, including a brief stint as acting division commander. He led a regiment of the Old Guard
Old Guard
The Old Guard were the elite veteran elements of theEmperor Napoleon's Imperial Guard. As such it was the most prestigious formation in Napoleon's Grande Armée....
at Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
.
Placed on the army's inactive list, Pelet nevertheless worked in the military archives while publishing books and articles about the wars. In 1830, he was appointed director of the army staff school. Though nearly killed in an assassination attempt in 1835, he continued to publish military histories. Under 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:...
he engaged in diplomacy and politics. Pelet is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
The following is the list of the names of the 660 persons inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris. Most of them are generals who served during the First French Empire with additional figures from the French Revolution ....
, on Column 19.
Career
Late in the Battle of WaterlooBattle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, the Prussians succeeded in driving the Young Guard and the corps of Georges Mouton, Count de Lobau from Plancenoit
Plancenoit
Placenoit is a village in the commune of Lasne, Walloon Brabant, Belgium. The village was a key strategic point during the Battle of Waterloo as it was the main focal point of the Prussians' flank attack on Napoleon's army....
. In this crisis, Napoleon sent Pelet with the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Guard Grenadier Regiment and Charles Antoine Morand
Charles Antoine Morand
Charles Antoine Louis Alexis Morand Comte de l'Empire, was a general of the French army army during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars...
with the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Guard Chasseur Regiment to recapture the village. As these elite troops advanced with leveled bayonets, the Prussian defenders panicked. Historian David Hamilton-Williams explained that the Prussians were accustomed to seeing the Imperial Guard committed in mass and assumed that many thousands of French guardsmen must be following in the wake of the first two battalions. The Old Guard battalions, joined by the survivors of Lobau's command and the Young Guard, swept their enemies out of Plancenoit with 3,000 casualties. Later that evening, the Prussian reconquered the village house by house against desperate resistance.
In their published works, both Pelet and Marshal Jacques MacDonald criticized Napoleon's choice of Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Prince Français, Prince of Venice, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy, Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfurt, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg and 1st Prince of Eichstätt ad personam was the first child and only son of Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la...
as commander of the Army of Italy in 1809. Their low opinion of Eugène influenced later writers such as Francis Loraine Petre
Francis Loraine Petre
Francis Loraine Petre OBE was a British civil servant in India and a military historian upon his retirement. He wrote a two-volume regimental history of the Norfolk Regiment, but is best known for his works on the Napoleonic Wars. The grandson of the 11th Baron Petre, he was educated at Oscott...
and J. F. C. Fuller. Historian Frederick C. Schneid believed that Pelet and MacDonald were "extremely biased" against Eugène for political and personal reasons.