Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult (29 March 1769-26 November 1851) was Prime Minister of France from 11 October 1832 to 18 July 1834 (succeeding Casimir Perier and preceding Etienne Maurice Gerard), from 12 May 1839 to 1 March 1840 (succeeding Mathieu Mole and preceding Adolphe Thiers), and from 29 October 1840 to 18 September 1847 (succeeding Thiers and preceding Francois Guizot). Soult originally distinguished himself as a Marshal of the Empire of the First French Empire under Emperor Napoleon I. Soult was known as a talented general, proving himself during the Italian campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars and during the Napoleonic Wars, and he was perhaps most famous for his campaign against the army of Viscount Wellington during the Peninsular War.
Biography[]
Soult at the 1810 Battle of Ria de Cancha
Nicolas-Jean-de-Dieu Soult came from a provincial middle-class family. Thrown into poverty on the death of his father, he enlisted as a private in 1785. Benefiting from exceptional opportunities for promotion in the French Revolutionary Wars, he gained much combat experience, notably taking part in the defeat of Austrian and Russian forces at Zurich in 1799. As a marshal, he commanded a corps in the center of the line at Austerlitz, leading the crucial assault on the Pratzen Heights. After campaigns against the Prussians and Russians in 1806-07, he was sent to Spain.
Sporadic Success[]
Soult fumbled the pursuit of the British army to Coruna in January 1809, allowing it to escape, but the following November crushed the Spanish army at Ocana. His reputation then suffered during the Peninsular War, where he became involved in destructive disputes with other French commanders and found the mobile warfare demanded by Napoleon impossible in war-ravaged, guerilla-ridden countryside. When he did go to battle, as at Albuera in May 1811, he failed to defeat his enemy. Nevertheless, he fought brilliantly with inadequate forces against Wellington, pressing up from the Pyrenees to Toulouse in 1814. His role as Napoleon's chief-of-staff during the Hundred Days was less impressive. After a period in exile, he returned to France and lived his final years as a respected political and military dignitary.
