So, Who Was That Guy?

He was French Général de Division
César-Charles-Etienne, Comte Gudin De La Sablonnière
(1768-1812)
(Source)

You may (or may not) have seen a fairly recent article in the news, real news that is, about the remains of a French general being found under a dance floor in Russia. You can read some of the details here and/or here. (I often get my news from The Telegraph and sometimes from Fox News, seldom anywhere else, but I digress...)

So in these modern times we often think of a general as some guy (or gal, after all this is the 21st Century) well behind the lines directing operations from afar. Sure, generals do come under fire and get killed or injured (Major General Harold Greene of the U.S. Army springs immediately to mind), but that is relatively rare in modern times.

That wasn't the case in Napoleonic times (and most wars prior to the 20th Century) when generals led their troops from the front. Even staff officers got shot at and quite frequently hit. While the commanders were maneuvering their units, the staff was coordinating all that, on horseback and certainly in range of enemy cannon, sometimes within musket range as well.

General Gudin was no stranger to battle, he had joined the French Army before the Revolution in 1782. (He had also been a classmate of the future Emperor at Brienne.) He was known as a hard worker and also cared for the lives of his troops. He fought in most of the major campaigns in the Napoleonic Wars, except for Spain.

Always near the front of his troops he had been wounded in action twice before receiving the wounds that killed him near Smolensk: wounded at the Battle of Auerstädt on 14 October 1806 and then again at the Battle of Wagram three years later on 6 July 1809, where he was hit four times!

General Gudin didn't have to suffer the retreat from Moscow in 1812, he was hit by cannon shot on the pursuit after Napoléon's defeat of the Russians at Smolensk during the Battle of Valutino. The shot which hit him severed one leg and crushed the calf of the other. He wasn't killed outright, he lingered three days before the gangrene which had set in finally killed him

A tough soldier in a tough time, one of the Emperor's favorite generals.

Of course, the French want to repatriate his remains and give him a proper burial in France. A well-deserved honor for a man whose name is carved on the Arc de Triomphe. A fine way to honor the memory of a very brave man.

(Source)

Général de Division Gudin, moments before being wounded.
(On the right with sword held high.)
(Source)

Napoleon's hopes of trapping General Barclay's army were dashed when he discovered that the Russian force awaiting the French was a rearguard under General Tutchkov. Barclay's main force of three infantry and one cavalry corps was strung out near Smolensk, trying to get away from the French after the Battle of Smolensk. They then turned around to fight the French on the Stragan river.

After a heavy bombardment, Ney launched an assault against the Russians, crossing the Stragan but failing to capture the crest. Murat's cavalry attacks were bogged down in marshy ground and accomplished nothing. General Junot's force was close to the battlefield and was urged to attack the Russians by Murat. Junot did not engage, and the opportunity for a decisive victory passed.

A few hours later, Ney launched the last French attack. General Gudin led the assault and was hit by a cannonball, which removed one leg. He died three days later from infection. The French managed to capture the crest after hard fighting. By that point the majority of Barclay's army had escaped and was heading towards Lubino. (Source)

Other Sources:

• Gudin, a portrait (link)
• A biography of Gudin (link)
• Wikipedia