Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult

Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult, duc de Dalmatie (March 29, 1769 – November 26, 1851), generalissimo of France, was born at Saint-Arnans-la-Bastide (now in department of the Tarn), and was the son of a country notary at that place.

Marshal of France

The victory of Marengo restoring his freedom, he received the command of the southern part of the kingdom of Naples, and in 1802 he was appointed one of the four generals commanding the consular guard. Though he was one of those generals who had served under Moreau, and who therefore, as a rule, disliked and despised Napoleon Bonaparte, Soult had the wisdom to show his devotion to the ruling power; in consequence he was in August 1803 appointed to the command-in-chief of the camp of Boulogne, and in May 1804 he was made one of the first marshals of France. He commanded a corps in the advance on Ulm, and at Austerlitz he led the decisive attack on the allied centre.

Related Topics:
Marengo - Naples - Napoleon Bonaparte - Power - Boulogne - Ulm - Austerlitz

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He played a great part in all the famous battles of the Grande Armée, except the Battle of Friedland (on the day of which he forced his way into Königsberg), and after the conclusion of the Peace of Tilsit he returned to France and was created (1808) duke of Dalmatia. In. the following year he was appointed to the command of the II corps of the army with which Napoleon intended to conquer Spain, and after winning the Battle of Gamonal he was detailed by the emperor to pursue Sir John Moore, with whom he only caught up at Corunna.

Related Topics:
Battle of Friedland - Königsberg - Peace of Tilsit - Dalmatia - Napoleon - Spain - Battle of Gamonal - Sir John Moore - Corunna

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For the next four years Soult remained in Spain, and his military history is that of the Peninsular War. In 1809, after being stalemated by Sir John Moore, he invaded Portugal and took Oporto, but was isolated by General Silveira strategy of contention. Busying himself with the political settlement of his conquests in the French interests and, as he hoped, for his own ultimate benefit as a possible candidate for the throne, he atractted the hate of Republican officers in his Army. Unable to move, he was eventually dislodged from Oporto by Arthur Wellesley, making a painful and almost disastrous retreat over the mountains, persecuted by Beresford and Silveira. After the Battle of Talavera (1809) he was made chief of staff of the French troops in Spain with extended powers, and on November 19 1809 won the great victory of Ocafia.

Related Topics:
Peninsular War - Portugal - Oporto - Silveira - Arthur Wellesley - Beresford - Battle of Talavera - November 19 - 1809

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In 1810 he invaded Andalusia, which he speedily reduced, with the exception of Cádiz. In 1811 he marched north into Extremadura, and took Badajoz, and when the Anglo-Portuguese army laid siege to it he marched to its rescue, and fought the famous battle of Albuera (May 16). In 1812, however, he was obliged, after the Duke of Wellington's great victory of Salamanca, to evacuate Andalusia, and was soon after recalled from Spain at the request of Joseph Bonaparte, with whom, as with the other marshals, he had always disagreed.

Related Topics:
1810 - Andalusia - Cádiz - Extremadura - Badajoz - Battle of Albuera - May 16 - Duke of Wellington - Salamanca - Joseph Bonaparte

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In March 1813 he assumed the command of the IV corps of the Grande Armée and commanded the centre at Lützen and Bautzen, but he was soon sent, with unlimited powers, to the south of France to repair the damage done by the great defeat of Vittoria. His campaign there is the finest proof of his talents as a general, although he was repeatedly defeated by the English and the Portuguese under Wellington; his strategy was faulty and his soldiers were but raw conscripts, while the Allies were the veterans of many campaigns. He was successively defeated at the Battle of the Pyrenees, at Vera, Nivelle, Nive, Orthez and Toulouse.

Related Topics:
1813 - Lützen - Bautzen - Vittoria - Battle of the Pyrenees - Vera - Nivelle - Nive - Orthez - Toulouse

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