Editing André Masséna (section)

==Assessment==
===Military record===
[[File:Statue of André Masséna (PA00085992 768).jpg|thumb|left|Statue of Masséna by [[Célestin Anatole Calmels|Calmels]] in a façade of the [[Louvre Palace]]]]
{{cquote|Masséna was endowed with extraordinary courage and firmness, which seemed to increase in excess of danger. When conquered, he was always as ready to fight the battle again as though he had been the conqueror.|20|20|Napoleon's remarks on Masséna from  the ''[[The Memorial of Saint Helena|Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène]]''.{{sfn|Abbott|1855|p=39}}}}
Figuring among the best and most famous generals of the Revolution and the Empire, Masséna revealed on the battlefield his undeniable talents as a strategist and tactician.{{sfn|Chandler|1988|p=40}} His military career is unique among Napoleon's marshals,{{sfn|Humble|1973|p=124}} and few European military leaders can claim a level of success comparable to Masséna's. This fame, added to his many feats of arms, helped the careers of many: most French marshals of the time served under his command at some point.{{sfn|Horward|1997}} [[David G. Chandler]] cites him, apart from Napoleon, as one of the two great captains of the French Army along with [[Davout]],{{sfn|Chandler|1988|p=40}} and one of his most formidable adversaries, the Duke of Wellington, admitted that he "did not sleep easy" while facing Masséna on a battlefield.{{sfn|Chandler|1988|p=53}}

Similarly, [[Charles Oman]] describes Masséna as a "great general", adding: "Of all the marshals of the Empire he was undoubtedly the most capable; Davoust [sic] and Soult, with all their abilities, were not up to his level. As a proof of his boldness and rapid skill in seizing an opportunity the battle of Zurich is sufficient to quote; for his splendid obstinacy the defence of Genoa at the commencement of his career has its parallel in the long endurance before the lines of Torres Vedras at its end".{{sfn|Oman|1996|p=208}} During his exile in [[Saint Helena]], Napoleon himself considered Masséna his best general,{{sfn|Chandler|1988|p=52}} at least for a time, and always expressed a high opinion of his military skills, judging him to be one of the few, alongside Marshals [[Joachim Murat|Murat]], Lannes and Davout, capable of temporarily assuming supreme command in the theatre of operations during his absence.{{sfn|Lefebvre|2009|p=224}} At the indecisive Battle of Caldiero in 1805, although outnumbered, Masséna prevented Archduke Charles's army from coming to the aid of the bulk of the Austrian forces in central Europe. In 1809, the retreat of the French troops that he oversaw after the Battle of Essling in particularly perilous conditions, as well as his attitude on this occasion, were considered remarkable.{{sfn|Hulot|2013|pp=801-802}} Frédéric Hulot describes Masséna as an "admirable tactician [...] gifted with a sense of terrain", who also possessed a "''[[wikt:sang-froid|sang-froid]]'' that allowed him to maintain all his lucidity in the most critical situations.{{sfn|Hulot|2013|p=876}}

While his campaigns of 1805 and 1809 are viewed favourably, Masséna's failure in the Portuguese campaign of 1810 cast a shadow over his career.{{sfn|Horward|1997}} He appeared worn out and prematurely aged: "he was only 52, but he looked 60," remarked one of his subordinates, General [[Maximilien Sébastien Foy]]. Richard Humble is critical of Masséna's conduct at the Battle of Buçaco, particularly his decision to attack the Anglo-Portuguese lines head-on, calling this failure one of the most disappointing performances of his career.{{sfn|Humble|1973|pp=135, 137}} Donald Horward defends him, writing: "Although his characteristic tenacity was reflected throughout the campaign, the strategy for the invasion had been dictated by Napoleon and implemented by his état-major and corps commanders; his army had been abandoned within sight of its goal; the goals of the campaign were reversed, and his great military reputation had been undermined through the neglect of others".{{sfn|Horward|1997}}

Despite these setbacks, Masséna returned to his best at the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro, where he pushed Wellington back into his entrenchments as no other French commander had done before him, with victory narrowly eluding the marshal.{{sfn|Hulot|2013|p=876}} For this reason, he figures, according to Humble, among the best marshals deployed to the Iberian Peninsula, behind Soult but ahead of Marmont and Suchet, and as the best French tactician in the sector.{{sfn|Humble|1973|p=218}} [[Oleg Sokolov]] recognizes Masséna's remarkable military capabilities, charisma and prestigious career, but still considers his talents inferior to those of Davout and Suchet.{{sfn|Sokolov|2003|pp=109-110}} Napoleon, who complained in the latter part of his career of the marshal's physical and intellectual decline, nevertheless paid him homage by speaking of him as "a man of superior talent", adding: "In the midst of the dying and the dead, of balls sweeping away those who encircled him, then Masséna was himself—gave his orders, and made his dispositions with the greatest ''sang-froid'' and judgment".{{sfn|Abbott|1855|p=511}}

===Character===
[[File:Le général Masséna.jpg|thumb|Portrait by Fritz Millet]]
While his military talents have received praise, Masséna's character was severely tainted by his greed and his taste for pillage.{{sfn|Chardigny|1977|pp=114-116}} John R. Elting writes that "besides soldiering, he had two interests: money and women".{{sfn|Elting|1997|p=141}} Masséna was indeed known throughout the army as an insatiable looter, avaricious and anxious to enrich himself through material goods; during the Italian campaign of 1796–1797, certain towns and regions occupied by his division were completely ransacked and numerous complaints were addressed to Bonaparte, who nevertheless preferred to turn a blind eye to the actions of his subordinate.{{sfn|Chandler|1988|pp=423-424}} His prevarications of all kinds, well known to his contemporaries, earned him the derisive nickname "the rotten child of victory" (''l'enfant pourri de la victoire'').{{sfn|Jourquin|1999|p=79}} He also did not hesitate to resort to brutal methods, notably during the Calabrian insurrection, where his troops pillaged and burned the town of [[Lauria]] and massacred many of its inhabitants.{{sfn|Cadet|2005}} These measures were however not systematic: in July 1810, Masséna called off a planned assault on [[Ciudad Rodrigo]] when its surrender was announced, thus avoiding a complete sack of the city.{{sfn|Horward|1997}}

Condemnations of the Masséna's excesses often came from Napoleon himself, who said that "this man [Masséna] does not have the necessary elevation to lead Frenchmen";{{sfn|Sokolov|2003|p=110}} in Saint Helena, the former emperor called him a "thief" and declared of him: "he would have been a great man, if his brilliant qualities had not been tarnished by avarice".{{sfn|Chardigny|1977|p=186}} During his command in southern Italy in 1806, Masséna made a profit of three million francs by circumventing the law on imports, and Napoleon had to take action to force him to return this sum to the army treasury.{{sfn|Chardigny|1977|pp=115-116}} After the Battle of Wagram, Napoleon asked the marshal to reward the two coachmen of his carriage who had exposed themselves throughout the fighting, but Masséna only agreed to grant an annuity to each after numerous recriminations.{{sfn|Chardigny|1977|pp=191-192}}

Under the Empire, Masséna amassed an enormous fortune, thanks to his endowments and pensions, his salaries as marshal and member of the Legion of Honor, as well as various sums from pillaging.{{sfn|Capelle|Demory|2008|p=26}} He was thus the second largest beneficiary of imperial endowments (after Berthier), which amounted to 933,375 francs over the entire period.{{sfn|Jourquin|1999|p=117}} The total amount of his annual income is estimated at 683,375 francs.{{sfn|Sokolov|2003|p=104}} Masséna was able to purchase the [[Château de Rueil]] in [[Hauts-de-Seine]], the Hôtel de Bentheim on ''Rue Saint-Dominique'' in Paris, and a country house on the outskirts of the capital.{{sfn|Jourquin|1999|p=156}}{{sfn|Hulot|2005|p=212}}

[[Richard Dunn Pattison]] describes Masséna as "lean and spare, below middle height, with a highly expressive Italian face, a good mouth, an aquiline nose, and black sparkling eyes".{{sfn|Dunn-Pattison|1909|p=47}} Elting emphasizes that he "carried his head high and cocked a little to the left, and there was something of an eagle in his glance".{{sfn|Elting|1997|p=141}} Of a small stature, {{convert|1.62|m|ft}}, Masséna was a charismatic figure and was capable of galvanizing his soldiers.{{sfn|Marshall-Cornwall|1965|p=14}} His womanizing led him, since Italy, to be followed on campaign by a mistress, Silvia Cepolini, which earned him a formal reprimand from Bonaparte.{{sfn|Chandler|1988|p=423-424}} After becoming a marshal, Masséna relapsed by appearing in the army with [[Eugénie Renique]], a young dancer at the [[Paris Opera]], whose presence at his side was poorly received by the soldiers. This inappropriate situation reached its peak during the Portuguese campaign, where, according to the memoirists, the relationship between the Prince of Essling and his mistress tended to spill over into military operations themselves.{{sfn|Prévot|2014|pp=102-128}}

Despite his infidelities, Masséna remained on good terms with his wife, who had decided to turn a blind eye to her husband's extramarital affairs; "thus they reached the end of their common existance without having known either the great passion or the quarrel that too commonly follows it," writes [[Louis Chardigny]].{{sfn|Chardigny|1977|p=204-206}} In his family, the marshal showed himself to be an attentive father, and was mindful of the education of his children.{{sfn|Hulot|2013|p=877}}{{sfn|Elting|1997|p=141}} Illiterate during his youth, Masséna retained a very basic education and a profound disinterest in reading, although he spoke French and Italian fluently.{{sfn|Hulot|2013|p=876}} The [[Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein|Prince of Liechtenstein]], who met him at the time of the signing of the [[Armistice of Znaim]] in 1809, reproached him for speaking like a "coachman".{{sfn|Pigeard|1996|p=116}}

Masséna's relationship with Napoleon was marked by some distrust;{{sfn|Hulot|2013|p=877}} the Emperor, although admiring his military talents, always maintained distant relations with him, possibly due to jealousy of his lieutenant's previous exploits, at a time when he himself was still a simple officer.{{sfn|Humble|1973|p=124}} In fact, Masséna and his wife made few appearances at court,{{sfn|Hulot|2013|p=855}} where Masséna, unlike most marshals, did not obtain any honorary position.{{sfn|Jourquin|1999|p=113}} He had few close friends among the marshals and even attracted deep enmities; his relations with Ney and Berthier, in particular, were awful.{{sfn|Hulot|2013|pp=665, 843}} He knew however, when necessary, how to highlight the actions of his subordinates,{{sfn|Hulot|2013|p=877}} and took care to surround himself with competent officers such as [[Honoré Charles Reille|Reille]], {{ill|Charles d'Escorches de Sainte-Croix|lt=Sainte-Croix|fr|Charles d'Escorches de Sainte-Croix}} and [[Jean-Jacques Germain Pelet-Clozeau|Pelet]].{{sfn|Horward|1997}}