Pierre Augereau (21 October 1757-12 June 1816) was a Marshal of France under Napoleon I. Augereau distinguished himself as a divisional commander during the Spain and Italy campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars, and he also assisted in carrying out the Coup of 18 Fructidor. In 1804, Napoleon made Augereau one of his first Marshals, but he would later prove to be disloyal; both Napoleon and King Louis XVIII of France saw his betrayals as final, and his life ended under a cloud.
Biography[]
Pierre Augereau was born in Paris, France on 21 October 1757, and he enlisted in the French Army in 1774, joining the dragoons. For 13 years, he drifted across Europe (having been forced into exile after killing an officer in a duel), and he served in the armies of the Russian Empire and Prussia, deserting both armies. In 1781, after King Louis XVI of France issued an amnesty for deserters, Augereau returned to France.
In September 1792, at the start of the French Revolutionary Wars, Augereau joined a volunteer cavalry unit, and he was sent to crush the revolt in the Vendee in April 1793. Augereau and Francois Severin Marceau were imprisoned after their soldiers switched sides, but they were later released. On 23 December 1793, he was promoted to General de Division and sent to the Eastern Pyrenees to fight against Spain. He was victorious at Boulou on 29 April-1 May 1794, at San Lorenzo de la Muga on 13 August, and at Black Mountain on 17-20 November.
After the war with Spain ended in July 1795, Augereau and his division transferred to the Armee d'Italie, which was commanded by a rising Napoleon Bonaparte. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Castiglione on 5 August 1796, encouraging Bonaparte as his forces engaged in a frenzied battle against the Austrians. In 1797, Bonaparte sent Augereau to Paris to encourage the Jacobin Directors, and his troops coerced the "moderates" in the councils and carried out the Coup of 18 Fructidor on 4 September 1797. From there, he was sent to command the French troops in Germany. On 19 May 1804, Napoleon - now Emperor Napoleon - made Augereau one of the first Marshals of France.
During the Napoleonic Wars, Augereau commanded the VII Corps of the Grande Armee, and he distinguished himself at the 14 October 1806 Battle of Jena-Auerstedt. On 7 February 1807, during the Battle of Eylau, his corps was almost annihilated, and he received a wound in the arm from grapeshot. In 1808, he was made Duke of Castiglione, and he was sent to Catalonia in February 1810 during the Peninsular War. During his command in Catalonia from February to May 1810, he tarnished his name with cruelty. Napoleon would even realize Augereau's decline after sitting out the spring 1813 campaign because of illness, wishing for the "Augereau of Castiglione"; Augereau in turn asked for the old soldiers of Italy. In 1814, he was given command of the army at Lyon, but he came to an understanding with the invading Austrians during the Defense of France. He then served the restored King Louis XVIII of France, but, after reviling Napoleon, went over to him during the Hundred Days. Napoleon charged him with being a traitor to France in 1814, and the re-restored Louis XVIII would also label Augereau a traitor, depriving him of his military title and pension. He died at his estate of La Houssaye in 1816 at the age of 58.