Louis Henri Loison
Encyclopedia
Louis Henri Loison briefly joined the French Army
in 1787 and after the French Revolution
became a junior officer. Blessed with military talent and courage, he rapidly rose to general officer rank during the French Revolutionary Wars
. He also got into difficulties because of his fondness for plundering. In late 1795 he helped Napoleon Bonaparte crush a revolt against the government. After a hiatus, he returned in 1799 to fight in Switzerland
where he earned another promotion. In 1800 he commanded a division under Napoleon in the Marengo Campaign.
In 1805 Loison led a division in Napoleon's Grande Armée during the Ulm Campaign
and served in the War of the Fourth Coalition
in 1806 and 1807. He saw much action in the Peninsular War
including all three invasions of Portugal
, though not always with distinction. For a brief period, he commanded Michel Ney
's famous VI Corps. During the French invasion of Russia
he assembled a reserve division, which was later destroyed by the extreme cold weather. He served in the War of the Sixth Coalition
before a harsh rebuke from the emperor effectively ended his military career. Loison is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
.
, France
in what later became the department of Meuse
, Loison briefly enlisted in a colonial battalion on 29 June 1787. However, he left the unit in September and when he returned on 25 January 1788, he was immediately granted leave. After the outbreak of the French Revolution
, his father served as a Deputy in the Constituent Assembly
. He was appointed sous-lieutenant in the Meuse Volunteer Battalion on 15 September 1791 and became lieutenant
in 1792. Several months later, he emerged as captain of hussars in the Légion du Nord. In May 1793, the Representative-on-mission of the Army of the North (France) promoted him to adjutant general (a rank equivalent to colonel
) for bravery. This appointment was later confirmed.
French historian Charles Mullié noted that while Loison was a talented soldier who exhibited extreme bravery, he also had a dark side. Mullié suggested that Loison was an avid plunderer. Notorious for the sacking and destruction of the Orval Abbey
in the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg and other acts, Loison was arrested by agents of the government. However, he escaped trial when one of the commissioners allowed him to return to military service.
On 26 August 1795 he was elevated in rank to general of brigade in the Army of Rhin-et-Moselle
. When royalist sympathizers tried to overthrow the Directory
on 13 Vendémiaire
(5 October 1795) and Napoleon Bonaparte dispersed them with his cannon, Loison supported his colleague. After the revolt was put down, he served on the court convened to try the rebel leaders. He was unemployed for a few years then re-entered military service in January 1799. Serving under André Masséna
and Claude Lecourbe
, Loison commanded a brigade in numerous small actions in Switzerland
.
He led a brigade at Maienfeld
on 6 March 1799, Chur
on 7 March, La Punt
on 12 March, Martinsbruck
on 14 and 17 March, Nauders
on 25 March, Ramosch
on 30 April, and Susch
on 2 May. In independent command of his brigade, he received a drubbing at the hands of Franz Xaver Saint-Julien
's numerically superior Austrian division at the Urserental
on 29 May. The defeat was avenged by Lecourbe and Loison two days later at Wasen. After two months of inaction, Loison again led his command in actions at Schwyz
on 14 August, Silenen (Amsteg)
on 15–16 August, and the Saint Gotthard Pass on 23–27 September. His temporary appointment as general of division was confirmed in October 1799.
In 1800, Loison was posted to the Army of the Reserve to command a 5,300-man division and crossed the Great St Bernard Pass with Napoleon. He was wounded leading a failed assault on Fort Bard
on 25 May 1800. Quickly recovering, he led his division in Guillaume Philibert Duhesme
's corps in driving back Josef Philipp Vukassovich
's command. He missed the Battle of Marengo because his men were busy capturing Milan
and Cremona
, while pursuing the Austrians eastward.
on 14 June 1804. During the Ulm campaign in 1805, he served in the VI Corps under Marshal Michel Ney
at the Battle of Elchingen
. Austrian general Johann Sigismund Riesch
held Elchingen
with a force numbering 8,000 soldiers, including 14 battalions, 11 squadrons, and 12 guns.
The Austrians deployed on a ridge on the north bank of the Danube
River, overlooking a partially destroyed bridge. At 8:00 AM, Ney sent Loison's division into the attack from the south bank. Loison ordered the elite companies of Eugene-Casimir Villatte
's brigade to seize the span, which was quickly accomplished. An Austrian attempt to drive back the French with two battalions and four guns failed. After the engineers repaired the bridge, three French battalions from Loison's division rushed across and hurled themselves at Riesch's defenses, supported by ten guns. The 6th Light Infantry Regiment captured the abbey and Ober-Elchingen, but the 1st Battalion of the 39th Line Infantry Regiment was defeated by Austrian cavalry. The French light cavalry entered the fray, charging the enemy cavalry and infantry, and allowing Loison to bring up his second brigade, which was led by François Roguet.
Loison's 69th Line Infantry Regiment attacked the Austrian right flank, driving the Austrians back into the woods and seizing some cannons. Meanwhile, the 76th Line Infantry and 18th Dragoon Regiments crushed an Austrian square and captured two guns. Riesch threw all his remaining cavalry into a grand charge, but it was repulsed by Roguet's brigade. The remnants of Riesch's wrecked corps fled back to Ulm
after sustaining losses of 6,000 men killed, wounded, or captured. The French casualties totalled 54 officers and 800 rank and file.
After destroying the Austrian army of Karl Mack von Leiberich
, Emperor Napoleon directed the VI Corps south to prevent Archduke Charles
from crossing from Italy to the Danube valley. Accordingly, Ney attempted to fight his way through the mountain passes on 4 November. At Scharnitz
the Austrian defenders repelled the French with 800 casualties. However, Loison's 69th Line redeemed the situation at Leutasch
, capturing 600 enemies and outflanking the position at Scharnitz. The VI Corps reached Innsbruck
on 7 May. Together with Auguste Marmont
's II Corps at Leoben
, Ney's position dissuaded Archduke Charles from attempting to push northward.
During the War of the Fourth Coalition
, Loison assumed command of a division in Marshal Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier
's VIII Corps. Napoleon planned for Mortier and his brother King Louis Bonaparte
of Holland
to wipe out the small state of Hesse-Kassel
because he knew its ruler was hostile to France. Mortier advanced from the south with Loison's three French light infantry regiments which numbered 5,500 men. On 1 November 1806, the French seized the city of Kassel
without resistance and were soon joined by Louis' troops. Leaving Louis' Dutch division to undertake the Siege of Hameln
, Mortier went on to occupy the city of Hanover
. In 1807 Loison participated in the unsuccessful Siege of Kolberg
. During the siege he commanded the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Light Infantry Regiment, five battalions divided between the 19th, 72nd, and 93rd Line Infantry Regiments, eight squadrons of the 3rd and 15th Chasseurs a Cheval, one Dragoon squadron, and two companies of Gensdarmes.
in 1808. After Spain rose in revolt, the position of the 26,000 French troops occupying Portugal became difficult. Loison, holding the north, was withdrawn as Junot ordered a concentration at Lisbon
in June. Later, Junot sent Loison and a force to tamp down the insurgency east of Lisbon. On 29 July he routed the defenders of Évora
and sacked the city. The 2,900 Spanish and Portuguese defenders under General Leite were crushed and an estimated 2,000 to 8,000 persons were killed and wounded, including many residents who tried to defend their town. Leite's force included one and a half battalions each of Spanish and Portuguese infantry, the Spanish Maria Luisa Hussar Regiment, and seven guns. Loison's force was made up of the 3rd Battalions of the 12th Light, 15th Light, and 58th Line Infantry Regiments, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 86th Line Infantry Regiment, the 1st Battalion of the Hanoverian Legion, and the 4th and 5th Provisional Dragoon Regiments. The French reported losing 90 killed and 200 wounded. According to one account, the French massacred the town's entire population. Whatever the exact truth, the atrocity made it easier for the Portuguese to accept British aid in their struggle. Loison continued east to drive the Portuguese away from Elvas
before being ordered back to Lisbon.
Arthur Wellesley
landed with a British army at Figueira da Foz
near the end of July and pressed south. On 21 August 1808, Junot attacked Wellesley's numerically superior army in the Battle of Vimeiro
. Loison's division included three battalions of Jean Baptiste Solignac's brigade and two battalions of Hugues Charlot's brigade, a total of 4,140 bayonets. The French commander planned to hurl Loison's division and Jean Guillaume Barthélémy Thomières' brigade of Henri Delaborde
's division at Vimeiro
village while sending Delaborde's second brigade under Antoine François Brenier de Montmorand
to envelop the British left flank. After reconsidering, Junot detached Solignac's men from Loison and also sent them against the British left, without bothering to inform Brenier. The French attacks were defeated one after another. Junot even committed his grenadier reserve and saw it repulsed as well. In the subsequent Convention of Sintra
, the French agreed to evacuate Portugal if the British transported them back to France.
During Marshal Nicolas Soult's second invasion of Portugal, Loison was detached to the east to make contact with Pierre Belon Lapisse
's command in the west of Spain. He soon encountered 10,000 Portuguese under Francisco Silveira
in the Tâmega River valley. Loison attacked, but after the Portuguese fended him off, he demanded reinforcements. Soult soon sent him 9,000 troops from his small army of 21,000. Historian David Gates stated that Loison was "lacking in initiative and unsuited for independent command". Finally on 2 May 1809, covered by a heavy fog, French sappers crept across the bridge at Amarante
and cut the fuses on the demolition charges. Loison sent a brigade charging across the span and Silveira's troops were routed. The Portuguese force, which consisted of two battalions of the 12th Line Infantry Regiment and militia
, lost 1,600 casualties plus ten guns and five colors. Loison's force included Delaborde's division, three battalions each of the 17th Light, 70th Line, and 86th Line Infantry Regiments, and Jean Thomas Guillaume Lorge
's 4th Dragoon Division, four squadrons each of the 13th, 15th, 22nd, and 25th Dragoon Regiments. The French reported only two killed and seven wounded. However, Silveira had stalled Loison's force since 18 April.
After his belated victory, Loison heard about enemy movements to his south and decided to investigate. He bumped into an 11,000-strong Anglo-Portuguese column under William Carr Beresford and retreated back to Amarante, arriving there on 12 May. Taking counsel of his fears, Loison abandoned a very strong position and fell back toward Braga
. This represented a major strategic blunder, because on 12 May Wellesley defeated Soult at the Second Battle of Porto, forcing Soult to withdraw toward Amarante. When the French marshal found that he was trapped, he destroyed his vehicles and struck out across the mountains. By great exertions, he joined with Loison's force and managed to get away into Spain, but not before losing 4,000 men, his artillery, and all his equipment.
In January 1810, Loison led the enormous 3rd Division numbering 12,250 men in 19 battalions in Marshal Michel Ney
's VI Corps. He was ordered to capture the town of Astorga
, but without a siege train, his troops had to blockade the place. Junot finally appeared with the VIII Corps and secured the heavy artillery needed to breach the walls. The siege lasted from 21 March to 22 April, when Colonel José María Santocildes surrendered 2,500 troops. The Spanish garrison suffered 51 killed and 109 wounded while inflicting 160 killed and 400 wounded on the French. Junot's two divisions were led by Bertrand Clausel and Solignac. The surrender occurred one day after the 47th and Irish Line Infantry Regiments of Solignac's division effected a lodgement in the town.
Under Ney's command, Loison participated in the successful Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo
from 26 April through 9 July. When the VI Corps advanced into Portugal after its victory, it encountered Robert Craufurd
's Light Division near the small Portuguese fortress of Almeida
. Unwisely, Craufurd decided to resist the French with the Côa River
at his back. Seizing his chance, Ney hurled Loison's division at the British and Portuguese light infantry in the Battle of the Côa on 24 July 1810. The French foot soldiers, with help from the 3rd Hussar Regiment, quickly crumpled Craufurd's left flank. Part of the Light Division stampeded, but the troops quickly rallied and the division barely managed to escape across the lone bridge. Ney then tried to storm the span, but the attack failed with heavy losses. The Allies reported 308 casualties, while French losses numbered 531. The Siege of Almeida
lasted from 25 July to 27 August. On the latter day, a lucky hit blew up the main powder magazine, killing 600 Portuguese troops and wounding 300 more. The 4,000 surviving members of the garrison quickly surrendered.
On 15 September, Loison's 3rd Division counted 239 officers and 6,587 rank and file. The 1st Brigade under Édouard François Simon consisted of the 1st Battalion of the Legion du Midi, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Hanoverian Legion, and the 5th, 6th, and 7th Battalions of the 26th Line Infantry Regiment. The 2nd Brigade led by Claude François Ferey included the 2nd Battalion of the 32nd Light Infantry Regiment, the 4th, 5th, and 6th Battalions of the 66th Line Infantry Regiment, and the 4th and 6th Battalions of the 82nd Line Infantry Regiment. During Marshal Masséna's third invasion of Portugal, Loison's division led the unsuccessful VI Corps attack at the Battle of Bussaco. His troops battled their way forward against a heavy Allied skirmish line and the fire of 12 artillery pieces. But when Loison's columns neared the crest of Bussaco Ridge, they were ambushed by the Light Division and chased off the heights with heavy losses. After being held up at the Lines of Torres Vedras
all winter the French were compelled to retreat in March 1811 and Ney's corps formed the rear guard.
According to Jean Jacques Pelet, one of Masséna's staff officers, Loison was an intriguer. On at least one occasion Loison expressed his dissatisfaction with Ney, while another time the marshal unfairly blamed Loison for exposing his artillery to capture. On 22 March, when the army had nearly reached a safe position, Ney flatly refused to obey Masséna's orders and was dismissed. Command of the VI Corps passed to Loison, who led the corps at the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro
on 3 to 5 May 1811. During the battle he supervised 17,406 troops in three divisions led by Jean Gabriel Marchand
, Julien Augustin Joseph Mermet
, and Ferey. On 3 May Ferey battered at the village of Fuentes de Onoro in vain. After a day's pause in the action, Masséna ordered Ferey to attack the village again on the 5th, supported by IX Corps. Meanwhile, Loison's other two divisions, the bulk of the French cavalry, and a third infantry division attempted an envelopment of the Anglo-Portuguese right flank. After some tough fighting, the French attacks were stopped. Soon after the battle Marshal Auguste Marmont
replaced Masséna and did away with the corps organization, leaving Junot, Marchand, Mermet, and other generals without employment.
In 1812, Loison was sent with a reserve division of 10,000 newly-drafted German and Italian boys to help extricate the remnants of the Grand Army in its retreat from Russia
. The French governor of Vilnius
stupidly ordered him to defend a position outside the city. Camping on the ground when the night-time temperature dropped to minus 35 degrees Celsius proved catastrophic for his untried soldiers. Within a few days, his division was wiped out of existence without a battle.
Loison was assigned to guard the fortress of Wesel
in 1813. But Napoleon arrested him for not marching with his division to the front. After this severe reprimand, his military career was over except for a short-term assignment under Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout. Unemployed after January 1815, he retired in November of the same year. On 30 December 1816 he died at Chokier
near Liège
in present-day Belgium
. LOISON is inscribed on Column 35 of the Arc de Triomphe
.
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
in 1787 and after the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
became a junior officer. Blessed with military talent and courage, he rapidly rose to general officer rank during the French Revolutionary Wars
French 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...
. He also got into difficulties because of his fondness for plundering. In late 1795 he helped Napoleon Bonaparte crush a revolt against the government. After a hiatus, he returned in 1799 to fight in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
where he earned another promotion. In 1800 he commanded a division under Napoleon in the Marengo Campaign.
In 1805 Loison led a division in Napoleon's Grande Armée during the Ulm Campaign
Ulm Campaign
The Ulm Campaign consisted of a series of French and Bavarian military maneuvers and battles to outflank and capture an Austrian army in 1805 during the War of the Third Coalition. It took place in the vicinity of and inside the Swabian city of Ulm...
and served in the War of the Fourth Coalition
War of the Fourth Coalition
The Fourth Coalition against Napoleon's French Empire was defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. Coalition partners included Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and the United Kingdom....
in 1806 and 1807. He saw much action in 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...
including all three invasions of Portugal
Portugal
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...
, though not always with distinction. For a brief period, he commanded 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 famous VI Corps. During 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...
he assembled a reserve division, which was later destroyed by the extreme cold weather. He served in the War of the Sixth Coalition
War of the Sixth Coalition
In the War of the Sixth Coalition , a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and a number of German States finally defeated France and drove Napoleon Bonaparte into exile on Elba. After Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, the continental powers...
before a harsh rebuke from the emperor effectively ended his military career. Loison 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 ....
.
Revolution
Born on 16 May 1771 in DamvillersDamvillers
Damvillers is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
, France
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...
in what later became the department of Meuse
Meuse
Meuse is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse.-History:Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
, Loison briefly enlisted in a colonial battalion on 29 June 1787. However, he left the unit in September and when he returned on 25 January 1788, he was immediately granted leave. After the outbreak of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, his father served as a Deputy in the Constituent Assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
. He was appointed sous-lieutenant in the Meuse Volunteer Battalion on 15 September 1791 and became lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
in 1792. Several months later, he emerged as captain of hussars in the Légion du Nord. In May 1793, the Representative-on-mission of the Army of the North (France) promoted him to adjutant general (a rank equivalent to colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
) for bravery. This appointment was later confirmed.
French historian Charles Mullié noted that while Loison was a talented soldier who exhibited extreme bravery, he also had a dark side. Mullié suggested that Loison was an avid plunderer. Notorious for the sacking and destruction of the Orval Abbey
Orval Abbey
Orval Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1132 in the Gaume region of Belgium and is located in Villers-devant-Orval, part of Florenville in the province of Luxembourg...
in the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg and other acts, Loison was arrested by agents of the government. However, he escaped trial when one of the commissioners allowed him to return to military service.
Army of Rhin-et-Moselle
The Army of Rhin-et-Moselle was one of the field units of the French Revolutionary Army. It was formed on 20 April 1795 by merging the armée du Rhin and the armée de la Moselle. On 29 September 1797 it was merged with the armée de Sambre-et-Meuse to form the Armée d'Allemagne....
. When royalist sympathizers tried to overthrow the Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
on 13 Vendémiaire
13 Vendémiaire
13 Vendémiaire Year 4 is the name given to a battle between the French Revolutionary troops and Royalist forces in the streets of Paris...
(5 October 1795) and Napoleon Bonaparte dispersed them with his cannon, Loison supported his colleague. After the revolt was put down, he served on the court convened to try the rebel leaders. He was unemployed for a few years then re-entered military service in January 1799. Serving under 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....
and Claude Lecourbe
Claude Lecourbe
Claude Jacques Lecourbe , born in Besançon, was a French general during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars....
, Loison commanded a brigade in numerous small actions in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
He led a brigade at Maienfeld
Maienfeld
Maienfeld is a municipality in the district of Landquart in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It is a tourist destination in the Alps, both because of the local wine and because it was the setting of the story Heidi.- History :...
on 6 March 1799, Chur
Chur
Chur or Coire is the capital of the Swiss canton of Graubünden and lies in the northern part of the canton.-History:The name "chur" derives perhaps from the Celtic kora or koria, meaning "tribe", or from the Latin curia....
on 7 March, La Punt
La Punt-Chamues-ch
La Punt - Chamues-ch is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-History:La Punt-Chamues-ch is first mentioned around 1137-39 as Campolovasto. In 1244 it was mentioned as Ponte.-Geography:...
on 12 March, Martinsbruck
Martina, Switzerland
Martina is a village in the Lower Engadine valley, in Graubünden, Switzerland. Its border crossing leads to Nauders in Austria. The village is part of the municipality of Tschlin....
on 14 and 17 March, Nauders
Nauders
Nauders is a municipality in the district of Landeck in Tyrol, Austria. It can be found 29 km south of the city of Landeck. As it is near both the Italian and Swiss borders, at the end of World War II numerous Nazi officials fled through Nauders to escape arrest.-External links:...
on 25 March, Ramosch
Ramosch
Ramosch is a municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-History:In 1956-58, on the hill Mottata , a significant prehistoric site was discovered...
on 30 April, and Susch
Susch
Susch is a municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.The Flüela Pass connects Susch with Davos.-Demographics:Susch has a population of ....
on 2 May. In independent command of his brigade, he received a drubbing at the hands of Franz Xaver Saint-Julien
Franz Xaver Saint-Julien
Franz Xaver Johann Nepomuk Graf Saint-Julien und Walsee was an Austrian infantry commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the War of the Fifth Coalition.-Footnotes:...
's numerically superior Austrian division at the Urserental
Urserental
The Urserental is the valley of the upper Reuss River in Uri, Switzerland, running southwest to northeast, from Realp to Hospental and Andermatt....
on 29 May. The defeat was avenged by Lecourbe and Loison two days later at Wasen. After two months of inaction, Loison again led his command in actions at Schwyz
Schwyz
The town of is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.The Federal Charter of 1291 or Bundesbrief, the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the Bundesbriefmuseum.-History of the toponym:...
on 14 August, Silenen (Amsteg)
Silenen
Silenen is a municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland.-Geography:Silenen has an area, , of . Of this area, 12.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 18.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.7% is settled and the remainder is non-productive...
on 15–16 August, and the Saint Gotthard Pass on 23–27 September. His temporary appointment as general of division was confirmed in October 1799.
In 1800, Loison was posted to the Army of the Reserve to command a 5,300-man division and crossed the Great St Bernard Pass with Napoleon. He was wounded leading a failed assault on Fort Bard
Fort Bard
Fort Bard is a fortified complex built in the 19th century by the House of Savoy on a rocky prominence above Bard, a town and comune in the Aosta Valley region of northwestern Italy....
on 25 May 1800. Quickly recovering, he led his division in Guillaume Philibert Duhesme
Guillaume Philibert Duhesme
Guillaume Philibert, 1st Count Duhesme was a French general during the Napoleonic Wars.-Revolution:...
's corps in driving back Josef Philipp Vukassovich
Josef Philipp Vukassovich
Josef Philipp von Vukassovich , also Josef Wukassovitch, was a Croatian soldier who joined the army of Habsburg Monarchy and fought against both Ottoman Empire and the First French Republic. During the French Revolutionary Wars, he commanded a brigade in the 1796–1797 Italian campaign against...
's command. He missed the Battle of Marengo because his men were busy capturing Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
, while pursuing the Austrians eastward.
Early Empire
Loison became a Grand Officer of the Légion d'HonneurLégion 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...
on 14 June 1804. During the Ulm campaign in 1805, he served in the VI Corps under 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...
at the Battle of Elchingen
Battle of Elchingen
The Battle of Elchingen, fought on October 14, 1805, saw French forces under Michel Ney rout an Austrian corps led by Johann Sigismund Riesch. This defeat led to a large part of the Austrian army being invested in the fortress of Ulm by the army of Emperor Napoleon I of France while other...
. Austrian general Johann Sigismund Riesch
Johann Sigismund Riesch
Johann Sigismund Graf von Riesch joined the army of Habsburg Austria as a cavalry officer and, during his career, fought against the Kingdom of Prussia, Ottoman Turkey, Revolutionary France, and Napoleon's French Empire...
held Elchingen
Elchingen
Elchingen is a municipality about 7 km east of Ulm–Neu-Ulm in the district of Neu-Ulm in Bavaria, GermanyMunicipality parts:* Thalfingen: 4 211 residents, 8.83 km²* Oberelchingen: 3 024 residents, 7.31 km²...
with a force numbering 8,000 soldiers, including 14 battalions, 11 squadrons, and 12 guns.
The Austrians deployed on a ridge on the north bank of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
River, overlooking a partially destroyed bridge. At 8:00 AM, Ney sent Loison's division into the attack from the south bank. Loison ordered the elite companies of Eugene-Casimir Villatte
Eugene-Casimir Villatte
Eugène-Casimir Villatte, Comte d'Oultremont fought in the French army during the Wars of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. He rose to command a division at many of the important battles in the Peninsular War...
's brigade to seize the span, which was quickly accomplished. An Austrian attempt to drive back the French with two battalions and four guns failed. After the engineers repaired the bridge, three French battalions from Loison's division rushed across and hurled themselves at Riesch's defenses, supported by ten guns. The 6th Light Infantry Regiment captured the abbey and Ober-Elchingen, but the 1st Battalion of the 39th Line Infantry Regiment was defeated by Austrian cavalry. The French light cavalry entered the fray, charging the enemy cavalry and infantry, and allowing Loison to bring up his second brigade, which was led by François Roguet.
Loison's 69th Line Infantry Regiment attacked the Austrian right flank, driving the Austrians back into the woods and seizing some cannons. Meanwhile, the 76th Line Infantry and 18th Dragoon Regiments crushed an Austrian square and captured two guns. Riesch threw all his remaining cavalry into a grand charge, but it was repulsed by Roguet's brigade. The remnants of Riesch's wrecked corps fled back to Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
after sustaining losses of 6,000 men killed, wounded, or captured. The French casualties totalled 54 officers and 800 rank and file.
After destroying the Austrian army of Karl Mack von Leiberich
Karl Mack von Leiberich
Karl Mack von Leiberich, Freiherr was an Austrian soldier. He is best remembered as the commander of the Austrian forces that capitulated to Napoleon's Grande Armée in the Battle of Ulm in 1805. Historians of the late 20th century widely agree that he was among the poorest of the commanders of the...
, Emperor Napoleon directed the VI Corps south to prevent Archduke Charles
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Archduke Charles of Austria, Duke of Teschen was an Austrian field-marshal, the third son of emperor Leopold II and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain...
from crossing from Italy to the Danube valley. Accordingly, Ney attempted to fight his way through the mountain passes on 4 November. At Scharnitz
Scharnitz
Scharnitz is a municipality in the district of Innsbruck-Land and is located 16,40 km north of Innsbruck as well as 9 km above Seefeld in Tirol at the border to Germany. It has one of the biggest area size and possesses 12 parts. The village was founded in the early middle age and was once an...
the Austrian defenders repelled the French with 800 casualties. However, Loison's 69th Line redeemed the situation at Leutasch
Leutasch
Leutasch is a municipality in the northern part of the district Innsbruck-Land and is located approximately 30 km northwest of Innsbruck. The beautiful valley lies within a 16 km long high-lying valley and possesses 2073 inhabitants and 26 hamlets....
, capturing 600 enemies and outflanking the position at Scharnitz. The VI Corps reached Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
on 7 May. Together with Auguste Marmont
Auguste Marmont
Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, 1st Duke of Ragusa was a French General, nobleman and Marshal of France.-Biography:...
's II Corps at Leoben
Leoben
Leoben is a Styrian city in central Austria, located by the Mur river. With a population of about 25,000 it is a local industrial center and hosts the University of Leoben which specialises in mining...
, Ney's position dissuaded Archduke Charles from attempting to push northward.
During the War of the Fourth Coalition
War of the Fourth Coalition
The Fourth Coalition against Napoleon's French Empire was defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. Coalition partners included Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and the United Kingdom....
, Loison assumed command of a division in Marshal Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier
Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier
Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, 1st Duc de Trévise was a French general and Marshal of France under Napoleon I.-Biography:...
's VIII Corps. Napoleon planned for Mortier and his brother King Louis Bonaparte
Louis Bonaparte
Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, Prince Français, Comte de Saint-Leu , King of Holland , was the fifth surviving child and the fourth surviving son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino...
of Holland
Kingdom of Holland
The Kingdom of Holland 1806–1810 was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom for his third brother, Louis Bonaparte, in order to better control the Netherlands. The name of the leading province, Holland, was now taken for the whole country...
to wipe out the small state of Hesse-Kassel
Hesse-Kassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel was a state in the Holy Roman Empire under Imperial immediacy that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the...
because he knew its ruler was hostile to France. Mortier advanced from the south with Loison's three French light infantry regiments which numbered 5,500 men. On 1 November 1806, the French seized the city of Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
without resistance and were soon joined by Louis' troops. Leaving Louis' Dutch division to undertake the Siege of Hameln
Siege of Hameln
In the Siege of Hameln, which began around 7 November 1806 and ended 22 November 1806, First French Empire forces captured the fortress of Hamelin from its garrison composed of troops from the Kingdom of Prussia. The siege was begun by the French Marshal Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier....
, Mortier went on to occupy the city of Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. In 1807 Loison participated in the unsuccessful Siege of Kolberg
Siege of Kolberg (1807)
The Siege of Kolberg, also known as siege of Colberg took place from March to 2 July 1807 during the War of the Fourth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars. An army of the First French Empire and its client states besieged the Prussian fortified town of Kolberg, the only remaining Prussian-held...
. During the siege he commanded the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Light Infantry Regiment, five battalions divided between the 19th, 72nd, and 93rd Line Infantry Regiments, eight squadrons of the 3rd and 15th Chasseurs a Cheval, one Dragoon squadron, and two companies of Gensdarmes.
Later Empire
Loison commanded a division in Jean Andoche Junot's first 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...
in 1808. After Spain rose in revolt, the position of the 26,000 French troops occupying Portugal became difficult. Loison, holding the north, was withdrawn as Junot ordered a concentration at Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
in June. Later, Junot sent Loison and a force to tamp down the insurgency east of Lisbon. On 29 July he routed the defenders of Évora
Évora
Évora is a municipality in Portugal. It has total area of with a population of 55,619 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Évora District and capital of the Alentejo region. The municipality is composed of 19 civil parishes, and is located in Évora District....
and sacked the city. The 2,900 Spanish and Portuguese defenders under General Leite were crushed and an estimated 2,000 to 8,000 persons were killed and wounded, including many residents who tried to defend their town. Leite's force included one and a half battalions each of Spanish and Portuguese infantry, the Spanish Maria Luisa Hussar Regiment, and seven guns. Loison's force was made up of the 3rd Battalions of the 12th Light, 15th Light, and 58th Line Infantry Regiments, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 86th Line Infantry Regiment, the 1st Battalion of the Hanoverian Legion, and the 4th and 5th Provisional Dragoon Regiments. The French reported losing 90 killed and 200 wounded. According to one account, the French massacred the town's entire population. Whatever the exact truth, the atrocity made it easier for the Portuguese to accept British aid in their struggle. Loison continued east to drive the Portuguese away from Elvas
Elvas
Elvas is a Portuguese municipality, an episcopal city and frontier fortress of Portugal, located in the district of Portalegre in Alentejo. It is situated about 230 km east of Lisbon, and about 15 km west of the Spanish fortress of Badajoz, by the Madrid-Badajoz-Lisbon railway...
before being ordered back to Lisbon.
Arthur Wellesley
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...
landed with a British army at Figueira da Foz
Figueira da Foz
Figueira da Foz , also known as Figueira for short, is a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. It is located at the mouth of the Mondego River, 40 km west of Coimbra, and sheltered by hills ....
near the end of July and pressed south. On 21 August 1808, Junot attacked Wellesley's numerically superior army in 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...
. Loison's division included three battalions of Jean Baptiste Solignac's brigade and two battalions of Hugues Charlot's brigade, a total of 4,140 bayonets. The French commander planned to hurl Loison's division and Jean Guillaume Barthélémy Thomières' brigade of Henri Delaborde
Henri Delaborde
Henri François Delaborde was a French general in the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars.-Early career:He was the son of a baker of Dijon. In 1783, Delaborde joined the Regiment of Condé as a private...
's division at Vimeiro
Vimeiro
Vimeiro is a freguesia in the municipality of Lourinhã in west-central Portugal. It is in the District of Lisboa. It has an area of approximately 7 km2 and a population of 1,443 as of 2001....
village while sending Delaborde's second brigade under Antoine François Brenier de Montmorand
Antoine François Brenier de Montmorand
Antoine-François Brenier de Montmorand served as a French general of division during the period of the First French Empire and became an officer of the Légion d'honneur.-Early career:...
to envelop the British left flank. After reconsidering, Junot detached Solignac's men from Loison and also sent them against the British left, without bothering to inform Brenier. The French attacks were defeated one after another. Junot even committed his grenadier reserve and saw it repulsed as well. In the subsequent Convention of Sintra
Convention of Sintra
The Convention of Cintra was an agreement signed on August 30, 1808 during the Peninsular War. By the agreement, the defeated French were allowed to evacuate their troops from Portugal without further conflict...
, the French agreed to evacuate Portugal if the British transported them back to France.
Pierre Belon Lapisse
Pierre Belon Lapisse, Baron de Sainte-Hélène enlisted in the French Army during the reign of Louis XVI and fought in the American Revolutionary War. Appointed an officer at the start of the French Revolutionary Wars, he rose in rank to become a general officer by 1799...
's command in the west of Spain. He soon encountered 10,000 Portuguese under Francisco Silveira
Francisco Silveira, Count of Amarante
Francisco Silveira, Count of Amarante or Francisco Silveira, Conde de Amarante joined the Portuguese army and fought in the Napoleonic Wars. In March 1809 he led a force which carried out the successful Siege of Chaves from its French garrison...
in the Tâmega River valley. Loison attacked, but after the Portuguese fended him off, he demanded reinforcements. Soult soon sent him 9,000 troops from his small army of 21,000. Historian David Gates stated that Loison was "lacking in initiative and unsuited for independent command". Finally on 2 May 1809, covered by a heavy fog, French sappers crept across the bridge at Amarante
Amarante, Portugal
Amarante is a city in Amarante Municipality, Portugal.The city itself has a population of 11,261 inhabitants. It sits on the banks of the Tâmega River.It is a sister city of Wiesloch, Germany.- Culture :...
and cut the fuses on the demolition charges. Loison sent a brigade charging across the span and Silveira's troops were routed. The Portuguese force, which consisted of two battalions of the 12th Line Infantry Regiment and militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
, lost 1,600 casualties plus ten guns and five colors. Loison's force included Delaborde's division, three battalions each of the 17th Light, 70th Line, and 86th Line Infantry Regiments, and Jean Thomas Guillaume Lorge
Jean Thomas Guillaume Lorge
Jean Thomas Guillaume Lorge , was a French cavalry commander during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
's 4th Dragoon Division, four squadrons each of the 13th, 15th, 22nd, and 25th Dragoon Regiments. The French reported only two killed and seven wounded. However, Silveira had stalled Loison's force since 18 April.
After his belated victory, Loison heard about enemy movements to his south and decided to investigate. He bumped into an 11,000-strong Anglo-Portuguese column under William Carr Beresford and retreated back to Amarante, arriving there on 12 May. Taking counsel of his fears, Loison abandoned a very strong position and fell back toward Braga
Braga
Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...
. This represented a major strategic blunder, because on 12 May Wellesley defeated Soult at the Second Battle of Porto, forcing Soult to withdraw toward Amarante. When the French marshal found that he was trapped, he destroyed his vehicles and struck out across the mountains. By great exertions, he joined with Loison's force and managed to get away into Spain, but not before losing 4,000 men, his artillery, and all his equipment.
In January 1810, Loison led the enormous 3rd Division numbering 12,250 men in 19 battalions in 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 VI Corps. He was ordered to capture the town of Astorga
Astorga, Spain
Astorga is a town in the province of León, northern Spain. It lies southwest of the provincial capital of León, and is the head of the council of La Maragatería. The river Tuerto flows through it. , its population was about 12,100 people....
, but without a siege train, his troops had to blockade the place. Junot finally appeared with the VIII Corps and secured the heavy artillery needed to breach the walls. The siege lasted from 21 March to 22 April, when Colonel José María Santocildes surrendered 2,500 troops. The Spanish garrison suffered 51 killed and 109 wounded while inflicting 160 killed and 400 wounded on the French. Junot's two divisions were led by Bertrand Clausel and Solignac. The surrender occurred one day after the 47th and Irish Line Infantry Regiments of Solignac's division effected a lodgement in the town.
Under Ney's command, Loison participated in the successful Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo
Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810)
In the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, the French Marshal Michel Ney took the fortified city from Field Marshal Don Andrés Perez de Herrasti on 9 July 1810 after a siege that began on 26 April...
from 26 April through 9 July. When the VI Corps advanced into Portugal after its victory, it encountered Robert Craufurd
Robert Craufurd
Major-General Robert Craufurd was a Scottish soldier and Member of Parliament . After a military career which took him from India to the Netherlands, he was given command of the Light Division in the Napoleonic Peninsular War under the Duke of Wellington...
's Light Division near the small Portuguese fortress of Almeida
Almeida, Portugal
Almeida is a town in Almeida Municipality, Portugal. The fortress around the town guards an important cross-border road from Spain, and underwent several sieges. The siege of 1810 ended spectacularly when a chance shell ignited the main gunpowder magazine, which exploded, killing 500 defenders...
. Unwisely, Craufurd decided to resist the French with the Côa River
Coa River
The Côa River is a tributary of the Douro River, in central and northeastern Portugal. It is one of the few Portuguese rivers that flows south to north...
at his back. Seizing his chance, Ney hurled Loison's division at the British and Portuguese light infantry in the Battle of the Côa on 24 July 1810. The French foot soldiers, with help from the 3rd Hussar Regiment, quickly crumpled Craufurd's left flank. Part of the Light Division stampeded, but the troops quickly rallied and the division barely managed to escape across the lone bridge. Ney then tried to storm the span, but the attack failed with heavy losses. The Allies reported 308 casualties, while French losses numbered 531. The 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...
lasted from 25 July to 27 August. On the latter day, a lucky hit blew up the main powder magazine, killing 600 Portuguese troops and wounding 300 more. The 4,000 surviving members of the garrison quickly surrendered.
On 15 September, Loison's 3rd Division counted 239 officers and 6,587 rank and file. The 1st Brigade under Édouard François Simon consisted of the 1st Battalion of the Legion du Midi, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Hanoverian Legion, and the 5th, 6th, and 7th Battalions of the 26th Line Infantry Regiment. The 2nd Brigade led by Claude François Ferey included the 2nd Battalion of the 32nd Light Infantry Regiment, the 4th, 5th, and 6th Battalions of the 66th Line Infantry Regiment, and the 4th and 6th Battalions of the 82nd Line Infantry Regiment. During Marshal Masséna's third invasion of Portugal, Loison's division led the unsuccessful VI Corps attack at the Battle of Bussaco. His troops battled their way forward against a heavy Allied skirmish line and the fire of 12 artillery pieces. But when Loison's columns neared the crest of Bussaco Ridge, they were ambushed by the Light Division and chased off the heights with heavy losses. After being held up at the Lines of Torres Vedras
Lines of Torres Vedras
The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, constructed by Sir Richard Fletcher, 1st Baronet and his Portuguese workers between...
all winter the French were compelled to retreat in March 1811 and Ney's corps formed the rear guard.
According to Jean Jacques Pelet, one of Masséna's staff officers, Loison was an intriguer. On at least one occasion Loison expressed his dissatisfaction with Ney, while another time the marshal unfairly blamed Loison for exposing his artillery to capture. On 22 March, when the army had nearly reached a safe position, Ney flatly refused to obey Masséna's orders and was dismissed. Command of the VI Corps passed to Loison, who led the corps at 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:...
on 3 to 5 May 1811. During the battle he supervised 17,406 troops in three divisions led by Jean Gabriel Marchand
Jean Gabriel Marchand
Jean Gabriel Marchand, 1st Count Marchand went from being an attorney to a company commander in the army of the First French Republic in 1791. He fought almost exclusively in Italy throughout the French Revolutionary Wars and served on the staffs of a number of generals...
, Julien Augustin Joseph Mermet
Julien Augustin Joseph Mermet
General Julien Augustin Joseph Mermet fought in the Napoleonic Wars as a division commander in Italy and in the Peninsular War.-Empire:...
, and Ferey. On 3 May Ferey battered at the village of Fuentes de Onoro in vain. After a day's pause in the action, Masséna ordered Ferey to attack the village again on the 5th, supported by IX Corps. Meanwhile, Loison's other two divisions, the bulk of the French cavalry, and a third infantry division attempted an envelopment of the Anglo-Portuguese right flank. After some tough fighting, the French attacks were stopped. Soon after the battle Marshal Auguste Marmont
Auguste Marmont
Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, 1st Duke of Ragusa was a French General, nobleman and Marshal of France.-Biography:...
replaced Masséna and did away with the corps organization, leaving Junot, Marchand, Mermet, and other generals without employment.
In 1812, Loison was sent with a reserve division of 10,000 newly-drafted German and Italian boys to help extricate the remnants of the Grand Army in its retreat from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The French governor of Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
stupidly ordered him to defend a position outside the city. Camping on the ground when the night-time temperature dropped to minus 35 degrees Celsius proved catastrophic for his untried soldiers. Within a few days, his division was wiped out of existence without a battle.
Loison was assigned to guard the fortress of Wesel
Wesel
Wesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.-Division of the town:Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Feldmark,Fusternberg, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.-History:...
in 1813. But Napoleon arrested him for not marching with his division to the front. After this severe reprimand, his military career was over except for a short-term assignment under Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout. Unemployed after January 1815, he retired in November of the same year. On 30 December 1816 he died at Chokier
Chokier
Chokier is a village and subdivision of the municipality of Flémalle in the province of Liège in Belgium, located on the banks of the Meuse.The village is dominated by the Château de Chokier, an 18th century rebuild of the earlier medieval castle, standing on a cliff overlooking the Meuse...
near Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
in present-day Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. LOISON is inscribed on Column 35 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...
.