Among the other 26 marshals of Napoleon, Louis Davout was the only person who could boast of the ancient origin of his surname. Davout belonged to an ancient Burgundian family, leading its ancestry as far back as the 13th century, and this was undoubtedly reflected in his character: being not only a brave military man who managed to break through to the very top of the French military elite, he was also a noble man who remained faithful to the idea in which believed.
Louis Nicolas Davout was born in 1770 in the small town of Anne (province of Burgundy) and was the eldest child of the cavalry lieutenant Jean-François d'Avoux and Françoise-Adelaide Minard de Velard.
At the age of 15, Davout entered the Brienne military school, which Napoleon Bonaparte graduated from a year before his admission there. In 1788, Davout graduated from high school and, with the rank of junior lieutenant, arrived in the Champagne cavalry regiment, in which his grandfather and father had previously served.
During the outbreak of the French Revolution, Louis supported republican ideas and, succumbing to fashion trends, changed his aristocratic surname (d'Ave) to a simple one - Davout.
After the riots flared up on the wave of revolutionary sentiments in the Champagne Regiment, Davout fell into disgrace and was forced to resign. However, he did not have to sit idle for a long time, and in the fall of 1791, Davout, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, was appointed deputy commander of the battalion of the Yonne volunteers - this was how his military career began in the new republican state.
After the battles at Nervind, Davout made efforts to prevent his soldiers from going over to the banner of the troops of General Dumouriez, who had already gone over to the side of the Austrians. For the suppression of the royalist uprising of the Chouans (peasants) under Vendée, Davout received the rank of major in the commissary service, and after 17 days he became a brigadier general.
At this time, the Convention decides to dismiss all former royal officers from service - Davout himself submits his resignation, and in April 1794 he was arrested with his mother, and only the overthrow of the Jacobin regime saves his life. In the same year, 1794, Louis Davout was again restored to military service with the rank of brigadier general.
Since 1798, General Davout has been participating in the Egyptian campaign as the commander of a cavalry brigade. During the war on the African continent, he managed to distinguish himself, contributing to the victory of the French at Fort Aboukir. His military successes could not be invisible to Napoleon, and little by little these two outstanding people are getting closer.
In 1801, Davout was granted the post of commander of the foot grenadiers of the consular guard, and in 1804 (after the coronation of Napoleon) he became a marshal and one of Bonaparte's advisers.
Louis Davout was an active participant in the Napoleonic campaign of 1805-1807 as the commander of the 3rd corps of the Grand Army. It was during this war that the military talents of Marshal Davout began to be most clearly manifested. A remarkable battle at Ulm, as a result of which the commander-in-chief of the Austrian army, Baron Mack von Leiberich, together with 30 thousand people, surrendered to the French. Davout showed himself excellently during the Battle of Austerlitz.
Even more magnificent was the battle of Auerstedt, during which the 3rd corps of the French army under the command of Davout, consisting of 26 thousand soldiers, inflicted a crushing defeat on the twice superior forces of the army of the Duke of Braunschweig. Davout's victory significantly surpassed Napoleon's victory at Jena and played a key role in the surrender of the Austrian troops. Here is what Napoleon himself wrote about Auerstedt: “… The Battle of Auerstedt is one of the most beautiful days in the history of France! I owe this to the brave Third Corps and its commander. I am very glad that it turned out to be you! " Louis Davout was given the title of Duke of Aursted, and around the same time he was nicknamed "Iron Marshal".
The end of 1806 - the beginning of 1807 took place for the Davout corps in battles with Russian troops. The 3rd Corps, which came to the aid of the main forces of the French, literally saved Bonaparte from defeat at Preussisch-Eylau.
After the Tilsit Peace Treaty, Louis Davout was appointed Governor-General of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, and this was a time for him a little respite from the constant European strife.
During the war with the Austrians in 1809, Davout's troops played a decisive role in the battles at Ekmühl and Wagram (for the victory at Ekmühl, he received the title of Prince of Ekmühl, becoming one of three marshals who simultaneously had two titles obtained in foreign campaigns).
On June 23, 1812, the 1st division of the 1st corps of Marshal Davout was one of the first to cross the Neman River: this is how the Russian campaign began (as French historians call the Patriotic War). The Louis Davout corps, numbering 72 thousand people, was one and a half to two times larger than any other French corps.
In July 1812, Davout took Minsk, a little later Mogilev, attacked the Molokhov Gate during the assault on Smolensk, and after a stubborn battle entered this city.
In Borodino, Davout's cavalry attacked Bagration's flushes, and, seeing the unsuccessful attacks of the French, - the marshal personally led the 57th regiment into battle - it is not surprising that in this attack the brave Davout, riding on horseback in the front ranks of the attacking, was wounded.
With the withdrawal of Napoleon's troops from Moscow, Davout was at the head of the rearguard, however, after the defeat at Vyazma, he had to surrender command to Marshal Ney.
With the further withdrawal of the French deep into Europe, Davout led the defense of Hamburg, and held the city until Napoleon Bonaparte's abdication from the imperial throne in 1814.
Remaining an ardent ideological supporter of Napoleon, Davout became Minister of War during his return to the throne (during the famous "Hundred Days"). Before leaving for the army, Napoleon told Davout that he could not take him with him, since he would be more needed and more useful in the defense of Paris.
Davout was the only one who, after the Battle of Waterloo, demanded amnesty for all those who had sworn allegiance to Napoleon during its restoration, otherwise he threatened to continue resistance, and his condition was accepted.
Louis Davout is also one of those rare daredevils who refused to recognize the legitimacy of the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty, only in 1817 he was admitted to the court of Louis XVIII.
This one of the most worthy people of the Napoleonic era died in 1823 from pulmonary tuberculosis.
Despite the severe temper that his contemporaries repeatedly noted, sometimes reaching the point of cruelty (even L. N. brilliant military operations. And therefore it is not surprising that he was the only one of all 26 Napoleon's marshals who did not suffer a single defeat on the battlefield.
