Editing Louis-Gabriel Suchet

{{short description|French Marshal}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [[Marshal of the Empire]]
| name          = Louis Gabriel Suchet
| honorific_suffix = duc d’Albuféra
| image         = Louis-Gabriel Suchet.jpg
| caption       = Portrait by [[Jean-Baptiste Paulin Guérin]]
| birth_date    = {{birth-date|2 March 1770}}
| death_date    = {{death-date and age|3 January 1826|2 March 1770}}
| birth_place   = [[Lyon]], France
| death_place   = [[Marseille]], France
| nickname      = 
| allegiance    = {{flag|Kingdom of the French|name=Kingdom of France}}<br>{{flag|French First Republic}}<br>{{Flag|First French Empire}}<br>{{flagdeco|France|1814}} [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]] (1814–1815)
| branch        = [[French Army|Army]]
| serviceyears  = 1792–1815
| rank          = [[Marshal of the Empire]]
| commands      = 
| battles       = {{Collapsible list
| title = ''See list:''
|{{tree list}} 
* [[War of the First Coalition]] 
** [[Siege of Toulon]] 
** [[Battle of Loano]] 
** [[Second Battle of Dego]] 
** [[Battle of Lodi]] 
** [[Battle of Borghetto]] 
** [[Battle of Castiglione]] 
** [[Battle of Bassano]] 
** [[Battle of Arcole]] 
** [[Battle of Rivoli]] 
** [[Battle of Tarvis (1797)|Battle of Tarvis]]
* [[French invasion of Switzerland]] 
* [[War of the Second Coalition]] 
** [[Battle of Novi]] 
** [[Battle of Pozzolo]] 
* [[War of the Third Coalition]] 
** [[Battle of Ulm]] 
** [[Battle of Schöngrabern]] 
** [[Battle of Austerlitz]]  
* [[War of the Fourth Coalition]] 
** [[Battle of Saalfeld]] 
** [[Battle of Jena-Auerstedt]] 
** [[Battle of Pułtusk]] 
** [[Battle of Ostrołęka (1807)|Battle of Ostrołęka]]
** [[Battle of Eylau]] 
* [[Peninsular War]] 
** [[Siege of Saragossa (1809)|Siege of Saragossa]]
** [[Battle of Alcañiz]]  
** [[Battle of María]] 
** [[Battle of Belchite (1809)|Battle of Belchite]]
** [[Siege of Lérida]] 
** [[Siege of Mequinenza]]  
** [[Siege of Tortosa (1810–11)|Siege of Tortosa]] 
** [[Siege of Tarragona (1811)]]
** [[Battle of Montserrat]] 
** [[Battle of Saguntum]] 
** [[Siege of Valencia (1812)|Siege of Valencia]]
** [[Battle of Castalla]] 
** [[Siege of Tarragona (1813)]]
** [[Battle of Ordal]]  
* [[War of the Seventh Coalition]] 
{{tree list/end}}}}
| awards        = Grand Cross of the [[Legion of Honour]]
}}
'''Louis-Gabriel Suchet, duc d'[[Albufera de València|Albuféra]]''' ({{IPA|fr|lwi ɡabʁijɛl syʃɛ}}; 2 March 1770&nbsp;– 3 January 1826), was a French [[Marshal of the Empire]] and one of the most successful commanders of the [[French Revolutionary Wars|French Revolutionary]] and [[Napoleonic Wars]]. He is regarded as one of the greatest generals of the Napoleonic Wars.
{{anchor|Biography|History}}

==Early life==
Suchet was born on 2 March 1770 in [[Lyon]], the son of Jean-Pierre Suchet and Anne-Marie Jacquier.<ref name=Rollet>{{cite book|title=Conqueror And Administrator:: Civil And Military Actions Of Marshal Louis-Gabriel Suchet In The Spanish Province Of Aragon, 1808|last=Rollet|first=Jean-Philippe|year=2015|publisher=Pickle Partners |isbn=978-1786250001}}</ref> His mother died four years later.<ref name=Rollet/> His father was a [[silk industry|silk merchant]], and Suchet originally intended to follow a business career.<ref name=Rollet/> He received a solid education and joined his father's business in 1787, working as an apprentice for two years.<ref name=Rollet/>

Upon Jean-Pierre's death in January 1789, Suchet and his brother Gabriel-Catherine took over the family enterprise, which they decided to expand under the name ''Maison Suchet frères''.<ref name=Rollet/> However, the [[French Revolution]] led Suchet to volunteer, in 1791, for the cavalry of the [[National Guard (France)|National Guard]] at Lyon.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=7}} He displayed abilities which secured rapid military promotions, and by 1792 he was a captain of the [[National Volunteers (France)|volunteers]] from [[Ardèche]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=7}}<ref name=DPF>{{cite book|title=Dictionnaire des parlementaires français|trans-title=Dictionary of French Parliamentarians|author1=Robert, Adolphe|author2=Cougny, Gaston|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k83709c|location=Paris|language=fr|page=346|year=1891}}</ref>

==French Revolutionary Wars==
[[File:Louis Gabriel Suchet (1792).jpg|thumb|Suchet as a lieutenant-colonel of the 4th Ardèche Battalion in 1792, by Vincent-Nicolas Raverat (1834)]]

After the ''[[Levée en masse]]'' of August 1793, Suchet was appointed commander of the 4th Ardèche Battalion.<ref name=DPF/> In this capacity he served in the [[Siege of Toulon]], where he captured British General [[Charles O'Hara]].<ref name=DPF/> In May 1794, at the head of 250 soldiers of his battalion, he suppressed a [[counter-revolutionary]] uprising in the town of [[Bédoin]] in southeastern France.<ref name=Rollet/> Suchet was then sent to the [[Army of Italy (France)|Army of Italy]], where he would serve for most of the next seven years.<ref name=DPF/> He fought at the [[Battle of Loano]] in November 1795 during the [[Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars|army's first campaign]].<ref name=DPF/> During the [[Italian campaign of 1796–1797]], he served with distinction at the battles of [[Battle of Lodi|Lodi]], [[Battle of Castiglione|Castiglione]], and [[Battle of Bassano|Bassano]].<ref name=DPF/> He went to [[Paris]] on [[Leave (military)|leave]] after being severely wounded on 11 October at [[Cerea]], but soon returned to the army.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=7}}<ref name=DPF/>

In May 1797, Suchet was one of three [[lieutenant colonels]] of the 18th Infantry Demi-brigade, with little hope of advancement. He was sent to [[Venice]] to procure uniforms for the troops. Since the Venetians believed that they might in future be ruled by the French, Suchet and an aide were treated like royalty. For two months, they enjoyed living in a palace, having a personal gondola and holding reserved seats at the opera. On 28 October 1797, 150 officers of [[André Masséna]]'s division hosted a large dinner. The colonel of the 32nd Line, [[Dominique Martin Dupuy]] brought Suchet to [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]'s table and said, "Well general, when will you make our friend Suchet a colonel?" Bonaparte tried to brush him off with the reply, "Soon: we will see about it." Thereupon Dupuy took off one of his epaulettes and placed it on Suchet's shoulder, saying, "By my almightiness, I make thee colonel." This clownish action was successful; Bonaparte immediately directed [[Louis-Alexandre Berthier]] to write out Suchet's nomination for advancement.{{sfn|Phipps|2011|pp=215–216}} 

Suchet received the command of the 18th [[demi-brigade|half-brigade]] (''{{lang|fr|demi-brigade}}'') on 26 October 1797.<ref name=DPF/> In March 1798, he served under General [[Guillaume Brune]] in the [[French invasion of Switzerland|invasion of Switzerland]].<ref name=DPF/> At the end of the campaign, he was promoted to [[brigade general]] and was given the honor of presenting the flags captured from the enemy to the [[French Directory|Directory]].<ref name=DPF/><ref name=FN>{{cite web|website=Napoleon.org|url=https://www.napoleon.org/histoire-des-2-empires/biographies/suchet-louis-gabriel-1770-1826-duc-dalbufera-marechal/|title=SUCHET, Louis-Gabriel, (1770-1826), duc d'Albufera, maréchal}}</ref> Although designated to take part in the [[French campaign in Egypt and Syria|expedition to Egypt]], Brune kept Suchet’s services and appointed him his chief of staff in the Army of Italy, a role that he retained under General [[Barthélemy Catherine Joubert|Barthélemy Joubert]], Brune's successor as commander in Italy and Suchet's friend.<ref name=DPF/> He was appointed chief of staff of the [[Army of the Danube]] on 21 February 1799, but soon rejoined Joubert in Italy and was promoted to [[general of division]].<ref name=DPF/> After Joubert's death at the [[Battle of Novi]], Suchet continued to serve as chief of staff to his successors [[Jean Victor Marie Moreau|Moreau]] and [[Jean-Étienne Championnet|Championnet]].<ref name=DPF/>

In 1800, Suchet was named second-in-command to General [[André Masséna]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=7}} His dexterous resistance to the superior forces of the Austrians with the left wing of Masséna's army, when the right and centre were [[Siege of Genoa (1800)|besieged in Genoa]], not only prevented the invasion of France from this direction but contributed to the success of Bonaparte's [[Battle of Marengo#Background|crossing of the Alps]], leading to a  decisive victory at the [[Battle of Marengo]] on 14 June.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=7}} Following the signing of the [[Convention of Alessandria]] on 15 June, Suchet was entrusted with the administration of [[Genoa]] and [[Lucca]].<ref name=DPF/> He took a prominent part in the subsequent of the Italian campaign up to the [[Armistice of Treviso]], and thereafter served as governor of [[Padua]] until the [[Peace of Lunéville]] and the end of the [[War of the Second Coalition]].<ref name=DPF/> He was appointed Inspector-General of the Infantry on 24 July 1801.<ref name=DPF/>

==Napoleonic Wars==
[[File:Heraldic achievement of Louis-Gabriel Suchet, Duke of Albufera.jpg|thumb|Heraldic achievement of Louis-Gabriel Suchet, Duke of [[Albufera de València|Albuféra]]]]
Suchet greatly enhanced his reputation during the [[Napoleonic Wars]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=7}} In 1804, during the [[War of the Third Coalition]], he commanded the 4th division of [[Marshal Lannes]]'s [[IV Corps (Grande Armée)|IV Corps]] and distinguished himself at the battles of [[Battle of Ulm|Ulm]] and [[Battle of Austerlitz|Austerlitz]].<ref name=DPF/> He served under Lannes in the [[V Corps (Grande Armée)|V Corps]] in 1806, during the [[War of the Fourth Coalition]], and fought at the battles of [[Battle of Saalfeld|Saalfeld]], [[Battle of Jena-Auerstedt|Jena]], [[Battle of Pułtusk|Pułtusk]], and [[Battle of Ostrołęka (1807)|Ostrolenka]].<ref name=DPF/> 

In the subsequent negotiations of the [[Treaties of Tilsit]], Suchet worked with Russian generals [[Pyotr Aleksandrovich Tolstoy|Tolstoy]] and [[Peter Wittgenstein|Wittgenstein]] on the settlement of the borders of the new [[Duchy of Warsaw]]. He was named a [[Count of the Empire]] on 24 June 1808.<ref name=DPF/> Two months later, Suchet was stationed to [[Silesia]] as commander-in-chief of the V Corps.<ref name=DPF/>

===Peninsular War===
[[File:Remond - Le général de division Suchet, commandant le 3ème corps de l'armée d'Espagne, reçoit la capitulation de la ville de Tortosa, 2 janvier 1811 (détail).jpg|thumb|left|Suchet receiving the surrender of Tortosa on 2 January 1811 (detail), by [[Jean-Charles-Joseph Rémond]] (c. 1836)]]
[[File:Louis Gabriel Suchet, Vicent López Portaña, Museu de Belles Arts de València.JPG|thumb|right|Portrait of Marshal Suchet in Spain by [[Vicente López Portaña]], {{circa}} 1813]]

Suchet was deployed to [[Peninsular War|Spain]] in November 1808.<ref name=DPF/> After serving in the [[Siege of Zaragoza (1809)|Siege of Zaragoza]], in April 1809 he was appointed commander of the Army of [[Aragon]] and governor of that region.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=7}} Within two years, he brought the area into complete submission by wise and skillful administration no less than by his valor.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=7}} Beaten by the Spanish at the [[Battle of Alcañiz]], he defeated the army of [[Joaquín Blake y Joyes|Blake y Joyes]] at the [[Battle of María]] on 14 June 1809.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=7}} On 22 April 1810, he defeated [[Henry Joseph O'Donnell, Count of La Bisbal|O'Donnell]] at the [[Siege of Lérida (1810)|Siege of Lérida]], then [[Siege of Mequinenza|laid siege to Mequinenza]] in May.<ref name=FN/> 

He [[Siege of Tortosa (1810–1811)|captured Tortosa]] on 2 January 1811.<ref name=DPF/> For his successful [[Siege of Tarragona (1811)|Siege of Tarragona]] from May to June 1811, Suchet was made a [[Marshal of the Empire]] by Napoleon on 8 July 1811.<ref name=DPF/> He then launched an invasion of the [[region of Valencia]], defeated Blake y Joyes at the [[Battle of Saguntum]] on 15 October, and received the [[Siege of Valencia (1812)|capitulation of Valencia]] on 9 January 1812.<ref name=DPF/> He was rewarded with the title of ''{{lang|fr|duc d'Albuféra}}'' (Duke of [[Albufera de València|Albuféra]]) on 24 January 1812.<ref name=FN/>

After the tide turned against France, Suchet managed to defend his territories in eastern Spain until the French defeat at [[Battle of Vitoria|Vitoria]] on 21 June 1813, after which he was forced to evacuate Valencia.<ref name=DPF/> He withdrew to [[Catalonia]] then to the [[Pyrenees]] before finally re-entering France, and afterwards took part in the [[Campaign in south-west France (1814)|defense of southwestern France]] until Napoleon's abdication in April 1814.<ref name=DPF/>

==Hundred Days and later life==
Suchet accepted the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]] and was made a [[peer of France]] on 4 June 1814 by King [[Louis XVIII]].<ref name=DPF/> This was forfeited (effective 24 July 1815) by his support of Napoleon's return during the [[Hundred Days]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=7}} During Napoleon's brief restoration, Suchet was given command of the [[Army of the Alps]] and led the [[Minor campaigns of 1815|defensive campaign]] on the southeastern front.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=7}} He resisted the Allies' advance for nearly two months before withdrawing to his hometown of Lyon, where he signed an armistice on 12 July.<ref name=DPF/>

Suchet was only restored to the Chamber of Peers on 5 March 1819.<ref name=DPF/> Unlike other marshals whom Napoleon harshly criticized in [[Saint Helena]], Suchet never lost Napoleon's high esteem.<ref name=FN/> He died on 3 January 1826 at the [[Château]] de Saint-Joseph-Montredon, now called [[Château de Saint-Just]], near [[Marseille]].<ref name=DPF/><ref>[http://www.napoleon-empire.com/castles/chateau_saint_joseph.php Castle of Saint-Joseph] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307231831/http://www.napoleon-empire.com/castles/chateau_saint_joseph.php |date=7 March 2016 }} on Napoleon & Empire website</ref>{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=7}} His son, Louis-Napoléon (1813–1877), succeeded him as Duc d'Albufera.

==Legacy==
[[File:Louis Gabriel Suchet grave, Pere Lachaise, Paris.JPG|thumb|right|upright|Suchet's grave in the [[Père Lachaise Cemetery]], Paris]]
His memoirs (''{{lang|fr|Mémoires sur Ses Campagnes en Espagne}}'') were published in two volumes from 1829 to 1834.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=7}}

The chicken dish ''[[poularde à la d'Albuféra]]'' is named after him.

==Family==
Suchet married Honorine Anthoine de Saint-Joseph (Marseille, 26 February 1790{{nbsp}}– Paris, 13 April 1884), a niece of [[Julie Clary]], the wife of [[Joseph Bonaparte]], on 16 November 1808.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brotonne |first=Léonce de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DMFooycx0A0C&pg=PA111 |title=Les sénateurs du consulat et de l'empire |date=1895 |publisher=H. Champion |pages=111 |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rousseau |first=François |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mOIS4PUCJMkC&pg=PA57 |title=La carrière du Maréchal Suchet duc d'Albufera: documents inédits |date=1900 |publisher=Didot |pages=57 |language=fr}}</ref> They had three children:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Révérend |first=vicomte Albert |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_CYPUAAAAMAAJ |title=Titres, anoblissements et pairies de la restauration 1814-1830 |date=1906 |publisher=Chez l'auteur et chez H. Champion |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_CYPUAAAAMAAJ/page/n293 283] |language=fr}}</ref>
* Louise-Honorine (1811 – 1885)
* Louis-Napoléon (1813 – 1877)
* [daughter, unknown name] (1820 – 1835)

==See also==
* [[List of French generals of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars]]
* [[Asensio Nebot]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Phipps |first=Ramsay Weston |author-link=Ramsay Weston Phipps |title=The Armies of the First French Republic and the Rise of the Marshals of Napoleon I: The Army of Italy (1796-1797), Paris and the Army of the Interior (1792-1797), The Coup d'Etat of Fructidor (September 1797) |volume=4 |year=2011 |orig-year=1935 |publisher=Pickle Partners Publishing |isbn=978-1-908692-27-6 }}
* {{citation |author=Suchet |year=1829 |title=Memoirs of the War in Spain, from 1808 to 1814 |volume=2 |location=London |publisher=Henry Colburn |page=439}}

'''Attribution:'''
* {{EB1911 |mode=cs2 |wstitle=Suchet, Louis Gabriel |volume=26 |page=7 }}

==Further reading==
{{Commonscat}}
* {{cite EB9 |mode=cs2 |wstitle=Louis Gabriel Suchet, Duc d'Albufera |volume=22 |page=617 |short=x}}
* {{citation |last=Suchet |first=Louis-Gabriel |title=Mémoires |editor=St. Cyr-Nogues |date=1829–34 |language=fr}}
* {{citation |last=Suchet |first=Louis-Gabriel |title=Memoirs of the War in Spain |editor-first=Pete |editor-last=Kautz |date=2007 |isbn=978-1-85818-477-7 |location=London |publisher=Henry Colburn }}

{{MarshalsNapoleon}}
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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suchet, Louis Gabriel}}
[[Category:1770 births]]
[[Category:1826 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Lyon]]
[[Category:Dukes of Albufera da Valencia]]
[[Category:French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars]]
[[Category:Marshals of the First French Empire]]
[[Category:Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery]]
[[Category:Peers of France]]
[[Category:Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Hundred Days]]
[[Category:Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe]]
[[Category:People of the War of the First Coalition]]