Article written by Pascal Toupy and Tom Toupy-Durant

In our previous article, we took our first look at the great men who accompanied Bonaparte on his campaign in Egypt and Syria. Let’s continue today with two formidable cavalry commanders who would become Marshals of the Empire: Davout and Murat.

Davout, the Iron Marshal

Louis Nicolas d’Avout (later Davout) was born in 1770. He came from an old noble family (dating all the way back to 1213) whose men were hereditarily destined to become accomplished cavalrymen to the service of the King of France. In 1785, Davout entered the École Militaire de Paris, graduating as a second lieutenant in 1788. He embraced the revolutionary cause, renouncing both his nobility rights and his pension. Constantly defying the monarchical military hierarchy by fanning the revolutionary embers, he was imprisoned and later dismissed from the army. In 1791, France was at war and Davout again joined the army, this time as a volunteer. He was soon elected lieutenant colonel, then brigadier general. In 1793, he was promoted to divisional general, a rank he refused.

This refusal, which made him suspect to the eyes of the government, led to his arrest and his second military dismissal! Reintegrated into the army in 1795, Davout befriended Desaix and remained his best friend until the latter’s death. He met Napoleon with whom he did not get along well, but Desaix managed to include Davout in the campaign in Egypt and Syria. As the cavalry commander of Desaix’s division, he took part in the Battle of Chobrakit on July 13^th, 1798, and in the Battle of the Pyramids eight days later, for which he was mentioned in dispatches. Unfortunately, a bout of dysentery forced him to remain in Cairo while the French expedition made its way inward.

Having barely recovered, he was put in charge of reassembling the cavalry, a difficult operation since the horses the Mamluks had not taken were in the hands of tribesmen who had no intention of letting them go. His task successful, Davout and his cavalry brigade reached Upper Egypt in December, where he fought in numerous battles, sometimes as an isolated detachment, sometimes under the direct orders of Desaix. He distinguished himself everywhere: Souaqui, Tahtah, Samhoud, Redecieh, and Bir-el-Bar, demonstrating both skill in maneuver and daring in attack. In his wake, the repression was severe, the rebellious populations were exterminated and their villages burned. After Bonaparte’s return from Syria, the cavalry had to be reconstituted, as the horses had been decimated by successive battles, difficult terrain and climatic conditions. Two light brigades were entrusted to Murat and Davout. After Davout suffered another attack of dysentery, he heard that the Turks had landed at Aboukir. He was given command of a cavalry unit which, under Menou’s orders, besieged the town and the fort and, after fierce fighting, captured the houses surrounding the citadel on July 30^th, 1799 cutting off the defenders’ supplies and forcing them to surrender.

Kléber, who had become commander-in-chief after Bonaparte’s departure, convened a council of war on January 15^th, 1800 to approve the Convention of El-Arich, which provided for the withdrawal of French troops from Egypt. Davout was the only general to oppose it, but he still signed the agreement for, according to him, such a situation required unanimity. Still in poor health after several bouts of dysentery, he asked to be repatriated at the same time as his friend Desaix. Hoping to keep him, Kléber offered him the rank of division general. Davout refused and departed with Desaix. After an eventful crossing, the two men disembarked at Toulon on April 24^th, 1800.

Davout became one of Napoleon’s best commanders, who made him Marshal of the Empire in 1804. He would take part in the battles of Austerlitz, Auerstaedt, Eylau, Teugen-Hausen, Eckmühl, Wagram, Moskova, Krasnoy, Hamburg and Rocquencourt.

Joachim Murat, the Marshal King

Joachim Murat was born in Labastide-Fortunière (now Labastide-Murat) on March 25^th, 1767, the son of an innkeeper. A brawler and a gambler, Murat joined the Chasseurs in 1787 to escape the wrath of his father, who wanted him to become a priest. Appreciated for his boldness and education, he was nevertheless expelled from the army in 1789 for disobedience. Taking advantage of the revolutionary democratic ferment, Murat was elected a cantonal deputy in Paris. Reintegrated into the army in January 1791, he was appointed Garde constitutionnel du Roi in 1792, but resigned a few days later, believing it to be a den of anti-revolutionaries. He then joined the 12^th Regiment of Chasseurs and became a squadron leader in the summer of 1793.

During the Vendémiaire repression (October 5^th, 1795), he came to the attention of Napoleon, who made him his aide-de-camp in the Army of Italy. Murat’s exploits as an impetuous leader during the campaign earned him a promotion to brigadier general in 1796, when he was only 29 years old. Naturally, Napoleon enlisted him on the campaign in Egypt and Syria. As commander-in-chief of the French cavalry at the Battle of the Pyramids, Murat cemented his legend as an exceptional horseman. Murat also distinguished himself in Syria, where he volunteered to lead the charge at the siege of Saint-Jean-D’Acre. Later, at the second battle of Aboukir (July 25^th, 1799), Bonaparte’s first attack was a failure: Desaix was trampled and Murat did not dare to charge in the face of grapeshot fire.

Then came an event that gave a boost to the French Army: the Pasha came out of the fort with his men and cut off the heads of dead and wounded French soldiers. Seeing that, the French became enraged and rushed into the enemy lines without being ordered to. Murat made a turning movement with his cavalry, then completed the maneuver by charging so fast that he crossed all the enemy lines and emerged behind the town, cutting off the retreat of Mustapha Pasha, whom he managed to capture in an epic single combat. The Pasha fired a bullet through Murat’s mouth, cutting his glottis, ricocheting off one of his vertebrae and finally lodging in his ribs, while the French hero cut off three of the Ottoman leader’s fingers with his saber and said: “If you do this to my soldiers again, I swear by Allah that I’ll cut off more important things.”. That same evening, Murat was promoted to major general and, after an operation, was able to resume his command the very next day!

When Napoleon returned to Europe, Murat was naturally one of the seven men who accompanied him. Murat took part in Bonaparte’s coup to establish the Consulate and eventually married Napoleon’s sister Caroline in 1800. Appointed Marshal of the Empire the day after the creation of the French Empire, he gained glory with every imperial campaign and won the throne of Naples. Over time, however, the relationship between Murat and Napoleon deteriorated considerably due to Murat’s vanity and popularity. Gradually falling out of favor, Murat threw himself heart and soul into the Russian campaign to regain Napoleon’s friendship. However, after the defeat at Leipzig (October 19^th, 1813), Murat allied himself with Austria and betrayed Napoleon. During the Hundred Days campaign, Murat, lured by Napoleon’s promise of being made King of Italy, overzealously rallied to Napoleon’s side and declared war on Austria.  Defeated at Tolentino on May 2^nd, 1815, he returned to France and asked Napoleon for a command, which was refused. After the defeat at Waterloo, Murat attempted to retake the Kingdom of Naples, but was captured by the mob, tried without an actual trial, and shot on October 13^th, 1815 at the age of 45.

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