Marshals, was born at Chatillon-sur-Seine on July 25, 1774. The family
of Viesse belonged to the smaller nobility, who from the days of
Richelieu had supplied the officers of the line for the old royal army.
Marmont's father had destined him from the cradle for the military
career, and had devoted his life to training him, both in body and mind,
for the profession of arms. His hours of patience and self-denial were
not thrown away, for, thanks to his early Spartan training, the Duke of
Ragusa seldom knew fatigue or sickness, and owing to this physical
strength was able, without neglecting his professional duties, to spend
hours on scientific and literary work. In 1792 young Marmont, at the age
of eighteen, passed the entrance examination for the Artillery School at
Chalons, and started his military career with his father's oft-repeated
words ringing in his ears, "Merit without success is infinitely better
than success without merit, but determination and merit always command
success." The young artillery cadet had both determination and capacity
and his early career foreshadowed his future success. Aristocratic to
the bone, Marmont detested the excesses of the Revolution; but politics,
during his early years, had little effect on his thoughts, which were
solely fixed on military glory. The exigencies of the revolutionary wars
cut short his student days at Chalons, and before the end of 1792 he was
gazetted to the first artillery regiment. In February, 1793, he saw his
first active service with the Army of the Alps, under General
Kellermann. Owing to the dearth of trained officers, though only newly
gazetted, he performed all the duties of a senior colonel, laying out
entrenched camps and commanding the artillery of the division to which
he was attached. It was with this promising record already behind him
that he attracted Bonaparte's attention at the siege of Toulon by his
admirable handling of the guns under his command, and by his inventive
powers, which overcame all obstacles. From that day the Corsican
destined him for his service, and during the campaign in the Maritime
Alps used him as an unofficial aide-de-camp. So devoted did Marmont
become to the future Emperor, that when Bonaparte was arrested at the
time of Robespierre's fall, he and Junot formed a plan of rescuing their
idol by killing the sentries and carrying him off by sea.
When Bonaparte returned to Paris Marmont accompanied him, and was
offered the post of superintendent of the gun factory at Moulins. He
contemptuously refused this position, telling the inspector of ordnance
that he would not mind such a post in peace time, but that he was going
to see as much active service as he could while the war lasted, so at
his own request he was posted to the army of Pichegru, which was
besieging Maintz.
A temporary suspension of hostilities on the Rhine gave him the
opportunity of once again joining his chosen leader, and early in 1796
he started for Italy on Bonaparte's staff. Lodi was one of the great
days of his life. Early in the action he captured one of the enemy's
batteries, but a moment later he was thrown from his horse and ridden
over by the whole of the cavalry, without, however, receiving a single
scratch. Scarcely had he mounted when he was despatched along the river,
under fire of the whole Austrian force on the other bank, to carry
orders to the commander of the cavalry, who was engaged in fording the
river higher up. Of his escort of five, two were killed, while his horse
was severely wounded, yet he managed to return in time to take his place
among the band of heroes who forced the long bridge in the face of a
storm of bullets and grape. Castiglione added to his laurels, for it was
his handling of the artillery that enabled Augereau to win his great
victory. The Marshal, in his Memoirs, asserts that this short campaign
was the severest strain he ever underwent. "I never at any other time
endured such fatigue as during the eight days of that campaign. Always
on horseback, on reconnaissance, or fighting, I was, I believe, five
days without sleep, save for a few stolen minutes. After the final
battle the general-in-chief gave me leave to rest and I took full
advantage of it. I ate, I lay down, and I slept twenty-four hours at a
stretch, and, thanks to youth, hardiness, a good constitution, and the
restorative powers of sleep, I was as fresh again as at the beginning of
the campaign."
Though Castiglione thus brought him fresh honours, it nearly caused an
estrangement between him and his chief. For Bonaparte, ever with an eye
to the future, desiring to gain as many friends as possible, chose one
of Berthier's staff officers to take the news of the victory to Paris.
This was a bitter blow to his ambitious aide-de-camp, whose pride was
further piqued because his hero, forgetting that he had not to deal with
one of the ordinary adventurers who formed so large a number of the
officers of the Army of Italy, with great want of tact, had offered him
opportunities of adding to his wealth by perquisites and commissions
abhorrent to the eyes of a descendant of an honourable family. But the
exigencies of war and the thirst for glory left little time for
brooding, and Bonaparte, recognising with whom he had to deal, took the
opportunity of the successful fighting which penned Wuermser into Mantua
to send Marmont with despatches to Paris. As his reward the Minister of
War promoted him colonel and commandant of the second regiment of horse
artillery. A curious state of affairs arose from this appointment, for
promotion in the artillery ran quite independent of ordinary army rank.
Accordingly, the army list ran as follows: Bonaparte, lieutenant-colonel
of a battalion of artillery, seconded as general-in-chief of the Army of
Italy. Marmont, colonel of the second regiment horse artillery, seconded
as aide-de-camp to Lieutenant-Colonel Bonaparte, the commander-in-chief
of the Army of Italy.
[Illustration: AUGUSTE DE MARMONT, DUKE OF RAGUSA
FROM AN ENGRAVING AFTER THE PAINTING BY MUNERET]
Marmont hurried back to Italy in time to join Bonaparte's staff an hour
before the battle of Arcola. The Austrians were making their last effort
to relieve the fortress of Mantua, and it seemed as if they would be
successful, as Alvinzi had concentrated forty thousand troops against
twenty-six thousand. The French attempted a surprise, but were
discovered, and for three days the fate of the campaign hung on the
stubborn fight in the marshes of Arcola. It was Marmont who helped to
extricate Bonaparte when he was flung off the embankment into the ditch,
a service which Bonaparte never forgot. Diplomatic missions to Venice
and the Vatican slightly turned the young soldier's head, and his chief
had soon to give him a severe reprimand for loitering among Josephine's
beauties at Milan instead of hastening back to headquarters. But to a
man of Marmont's character one word of warning was enough; his head
governed his heart; glory was his loadstar. Ambitious though he was, he
was essentially a man of honour and fine feelings, and refused the hand
of Pauline Bonaparte for the simple reason that he did not truly love
her.
A year later he made a love match with Mademoiselle Perregaux, but
differences of temperament and the long separation which his military
career imposed caused the marriage to turn out unhappily, and this lack
of domestic felicity spoiled the Marshal's life and nearly embittered
his whole character, turning him for the time into a self-centred man
with an eye solely to his own glory and a sharp tongue which did not
spare even his own friends. Yet in his early days Marmont was a bright
and cheerful companion and no one enjoyed more a practical joke, getting
up sham duels between cowards or sending bogus instructions to officious
commanders. But fond as he was of amusement, even during his early
career he could find delight in the society of men of science and
learning like Monge and Berthollet.
After the peace of Campo Formio he accompanied his chief to Paris, where
an incident occurred which illustrates well the character of the two
men. The Minister of War wanted detailed information regarding the
English preparations against invasion, and Bonaparte offered to send his
aide-de-camp as a spy. Marmont indignantly refused to go in such a
capacity, and a permanent estrangement nearly took place. Their
standards had nothing in common; in the one honour could conquer
ambition, in the other ambition knew no rules of honour.
However, their lust for glory brought them together again, and Marmont
sailed with the Egyptian expedition. He was despatched north to command
Alexandria after the battle of the Pyramids, where his guns had played
so important a part in shattering the Mamelukes. Later he was entrusted
with the control of the whole of the Mediterranean littoral. His task
was a difficult one, but a most useful training for a young commander.
With a tiny garrison he had to hold the important town of Alexandria and
to keep in order a large province; to organise small columns to repress
local risings; to make his own arrangements for raising money to pay his
troops, and consequently to reorganise the fiscal system of the
country; to reconstruct canals and to improvise flotillas of barges to
supply Alexandria with provisions; to keep in touch with the remnant of
the French fleet and thus to try to establish communications with
Europe. He was responsible for resisting any attempt at invasion by the
Turks or the English, and it was mainly owing to his measures that when
the former landed at Aboukir they were destroyed before they could march
inland. While his comrades were gaining military glory in Syria, he was
fighting the plague at Alexandria, learning that patient attention to
detail and careful supervision of the health of his troops were as
important attributes of a commander as dash and courage in the field.
Marmont quitted Egypt with joy; he had learned many useful lessons, but,
like the rest of the army, he hated the country and the half Oriental
life, and above all, as he said, "seeing a campaign and not taking part
in it was a horrible punishment." On returning to Paris his time was
fully occupied in winning over the artillery to Bonaparte. He had no
false ideas on the subject, for, as he said to Junot before the Egyptian
expedition, "You will see, my friend, that on his return Bonaparte will
seize the crown." As his reward the First Consul gave him the choice of
the command of the artillery of the Guard or a seat as Councillor of
State. Jealous of Lannes, and flattered by the title, he chose the
councillorship, in which capacity he was employed on the War Committee
and entrusted with the reorganisation of the artillery. His first
business was to provide a proper train to ensure the quick and easy
mobilisation of the artillery. After the Marengo campaign he took in
hand the reform of the materiel. Too many different types of guns
existed. Marmont reorganised both the field and the fortress artillery,
replacing the seven old types of guns by three--namely, six-pounders,
twelve-pounders and twenty-four pounders; he also reduced the different
types of wheels for gun carriages, limbers and wagons from twenty-four
to eight, thus greatly simplifying the provision of ammunition and the
work of repair in the field.
The Marengo campaign added to his prestige as an artillery officer. It
was owing to his ingenuity that the guns were unmounted and pulled by
hand in cradles up the steep side of the mountain and thus safely taken
over the St. Bernard Pass. It was his ingenious brain which suggested
the paving of the road with straw, whereby the much-needed artillery was
forwarded to Lannes by night, without any casualties, right under the
batteries of the fortress of Bard. It was owing to his foresight that
the reserve battery of guns, captured from the enemy, saved the day at
Marengo by containing the Austrians while Desaix's fresh troops were
being deployed, and it was the tremendous effect of his massed battery
which gave Kellermann the opportunity for his celebrated charge. The
First Consul marked his approval by promoting Marmont a general of
division, and thus at the age of twenty-six the young artillery officer
had nearly reached the head of his profession. After Marengo he
continued his work of reorganisation, but before the end of the year he
was once again in Italy, this time as a divisional commander under
Brune, who, being no great strategist, was glad to avail himself of the
brains of the First Consul's favourite: it was thanks to Marmont's plans
that the French army successfully crossed the Mincio in the face of the
enemy and, forced on him the armistice of Treviso. When Moreau's victory
of Hohenlinden induced Austria to make peace, the general was sent to
reorganise the Italian artillery on the same principles he had laid down
for the French. He established an immense foundry and arsenal at Pavia,
and the excellence of his plans was clearly proved in many a later
campaign. From Italy he was recalled to Paris in September, 1802, as
inspector-general of artillery. He threw himself heart and soul into his
new duties, but found time to increase his scientific knowledge and to
keep himself up to date with everything in the political and scientific
world. He keenly supported Fulton's invention of the steamboat, and
pressed it on the First Consul, and to the day of his death he was
convinced that, if the Emperor had adopted the invention, the invasion
of England would have been successful.
The year 1804 brought him the delight of his first important command. In
February he was appointed chief of the corps of the Army of the Ocean
which was stationed in Holland. He entered on his task with his usual
fervour. His first step was to make friends with all the Dutch
officials, and thus to secure the smooth working of his commissariat and
supply departments; then he turned to the actual training of his troops.
For this purpose he obtained permission to hold a big camp of
instruction, where all the divisions of his corps were massed. So
successful was this experiment that it became an annual institution. But
amid all the pleasure of this congenial work came the bitter moment when
he found the name of so mediocre a soldier as Bessieres included in the
list of the new Marshals and his own omitted. It was a sore blow, and
his appointment as colonel-general of the horse chasseurs and Grand
Eagle of the Legion of Honour did little to mitigate it. The Emperor,
careful as ever to stimulate devotion, later explained to him that a
dashing officer like himself would have plenty of opportunities of
gaining distinction, while this was Bessieres's only chance. But in
spite of this the neglect rankled, and from that day he was no longer
the blindly devoted follower of Napoleon.
On the outbreak of the Austrian War Marmont's corps became the second
corps of the Grand Army. In the operations ending in Ulm the second
corps formed part of the left wing. After the capitulation it was
detached to cover the French communications from an attack from the
direction of Styria. In the summer of the following year Marmont was
despatched as commander-in-chief to Dalmatia, where he spent the next
five years of his life. Dalmatia had been ceded to France by the treaty
of Pressburg. In Napoleon's eyes the importance of the province lay in
the harbour of Cattaro, which he regarded as an outlet to the Balkan
Peninsula. His intention was to get possession of Montenegro, to come to
an understanding with Ali Pacha of Janina and the Sultan, and oppose the
policy of Russia. But the Russians and Montenegrins had seized Cattaro,
and were threatening to besiege Ragusa. It was to meet this situation
that the Emperor in July, 1806, hastily sent his former favourite to
Dalmatia. The new commander-in-chief found himself, as in Egypt, faced
with the difficulty of supply. Half the army was in hospital from want
of proper nourishment and commonsense sanitation. Having, by his care of
his men, refilled his battalions, he advanced boldly on the enemy, and
drove them out of their positions. This punishment kept the Montenegrins
quiet for the future, and the Russians fell back on Cattaro. From there
he was unable to drive them owing to the guns of their fleet, and it was
not till the treaty of Tilsit that the French got possession of the
coveted port. The French commander's chief difficulty in administering
his province was that which is felt in all uncivilised countries, the
difficulty of holding down a hostile population where roads do not
exist. Otherwise his just but stern rule admirably suited the townsmen
of the little cities on the coast, while order was kept among the hill
tribes by making their headmen responsible for their behaviour, and by
aiding them in attacking the Turks, who had seized certain tracts of
territory and maltreated the inhabitants. But it was not gratitude which
kept the hill-men quiet, so much as the miles of new roads on which the
French commander employed his army when not engaged on expeditions
against restless marauders. During his years in the Dalmatian provinces
Marmont constructed more than two hundred miles of roads, with the
result that his small force was able with ease to hold down the long
narrow mountainous province by the speed with which he could mobilise
his punitive expeditions. Moreover, owing to the increased means of
traffic the peasants were able to find a market for their goods, and the
prosperity of the country increased beyond belief. With prosperity came
contentment: manufactures were established, and the mines and the other
natural resources of the country were exploited to advantage. As the
Emperor of Austria said to Metternich in 1817, when visiting the
province, "It is a great pity that Marshal Marmont was not two or three
years longer in Dalmatia."
The years spent at Ragusa were probably the happiest of Marmont's life.
His successful work was recognised in 1808, when the Emperor created him
Duke of Ragusa. Each day was full of interest. He was head of the civil
administration and of the judicial and fiscal departments. As
commander-in-chief he was responsible for the health, welfare, and
discipline of the troops, and for the military works which were being
erected to protect the province from Austrian aggression. He had his
special hobby--the roads. Yet in spite of all this business he found
time to put himself in the hands of a tutor and to work ten hours a day
at history, chemistry, and anatomy. To aid him in his studies he
collected a travelling library of six hundred volumes which accompanied
him in all his later campaigns.
The Austrian campaign of 1809 called him from these congenial labours to
the even more congenial operations of war. The duty of the Army of
Dalmatia was to attempt to cut off the Archduke John on his retirement
from Italy; but the Duke of Ragusa had not sufficient troops to carry
out this operation successfully, although he effected a junction with
the Army of Italy. After a succession of small engagements the united
armies found themselves on the Danube in time to take part in the battle
of Wagram. In reserve during the greater part of the battle, Marmont's
corps was entrusted with the pursuit of the enemy. Unfortunately, either
from lack of appreciation of the situation or from jealousy, their
commander refused to allow Davout to co-operate with him, and
consequently, although he overtook the Austrians, he was not strong
enough to hold them till other divisions of the army came up. However,
at the end of the operations Napoleon created him Marshal. But the Duke
of Ragusa's joy at receiving this gift was tempered by the way it was
given. For the Emperor, angry doubtless at the escape of the Austrians,
told him, "I have given you your nomination and I have great pleasure in
bestowing on you this proof of my affection, but I am afraid I have
incurred the reproach of listening rather to my affection than to your
right to this distinction. You have plenty of intelligence, but there
are needed for war qualities in which you are still lacking, and which
you must work to acquire. Between ourselves, you have not yet done
enough to justify entirely my choice. At the same time, I am confident
that I shall have reason to congratulate myself on having nominated you,
and that you will justify me in the eyes of the army." Unkind critics of
the three new Marshals created after Wagram said that Napoleon, having
lost Lannes, wanted to get the small change for him, but it is only fair
to remember that though Macdonald, Marmont, and Oudinot were all
inferior to Lannes, they were quite as good soldiers as some of the
original Marshals.
After peace was declared the new Marshal returned to Dalmatia and took
up the threads of his old life. He had won the respect of the
inhabitants and the fear of their foes, the Turks, and save for an
occasional expedition against the brigands or friction with the fiscal
officials, his time passed peaceably and pleasantly. But in 1811 he was
recalled to Paris to receive orders before starting on a new sphere of
duty. Massena, "the spoiled child of victory," had met his match at
Torres Vedras, and Napoleon, blaming the man instead of the system, had
determined to try a fresh leader for the army opposing Sir Arthur
Wellesley. The Emperor did not hide from himself the fact that in
selecting Marmont he was making an experiment, for he told St. Cyr that
he had sent Marmont to Spain because he had plenty of talent, but that
he had not yet tested to the full his force of character, and he added,
"I shall soon be able to judge of that, for now he is left to his own
resources." The new commander of the Army of Portugal set out with the
full confidence that the task was not beyond his powers, and with the
promise of the viceroyalty of one of the five provinces into which Spain
was to be divided. He arrived at the front two days after the battle of
Fuentes d'Onoro, and found a very different state of affairs from what
he had expected. The country was a howling waste covered with fierce
guerillas. The French army, so long accustomed to success, was
absolutely demoralised by repeated disappointments and defeats. It was
necessary to take stringent measures to restore the morale of the troops
before he could call on them to face once more "the infantry whose fire
was the most murderous of all the armies of Europe."
Accordingly he withdrew from the Portuguese frontier, put his army into
cantonments round Salamanca, and set to work on the difficult task of
collecting supplies from a country which was already swept bare.
Meanwhile he split up his army into six divisions, established direct
communications between himself and the divisional officers, and, to get
rid of the grumblers, gave leave to all officers, who so desired, to
return to France. At the same time he distributed his weak battalions
among the other corps so that each battalion had a complement of seven
hundred muskets. He also broke up the weak squadrons and batteries and
brought up the remainder to service strength. Scarcely was this
reorganisation completed when Soult, who had been defeated at Albuera,
called on Marmont to aid him in saving Badajoz. In spite of his personal
dislike for the Duke of Dalmatia, the Marshal hurried to his aid and for
the time the important fortress was saved. During the rest of the summer
the Army of Portugal lay in the valley of the Tagus, holding the bridge
of Almaraz, and thus ready at any moment to go to the relief of Badajoz
or Ciudad Rodrigo, the two keys of Portugal. When, in the autumn,
Wellington threatened Ciudad Rodrigo, the Marshal, calling to his aid
Dorsenne, who commanded in Northern Spain, at the successful engagement
of El Bodin drove back the advance guard of the Anglo-Portuguese and
threw a large quantity of provisions into the fortress.