Claude Lecourbe

Claude Jacques Lecourbe (French pronunciation: [klod ʒak ləkuʁb]; 22 February 1759 – 22 October 1815) was a French general during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. He fell out of favour with Napoleon and was out of service until recalled by the Bourbons.

Portrait by Jean-Urbain Guérin, 1802

Biography

Claude-Jacques Lecourbe, lieutenant-colonel of the 7th Jura Battalion, by Esprit-Aimé Libour (1834)

Lecourbe was born in Besançon, Franche-Comté, on 22 February 1759, the son of Claude Guillaume Lecourbe, a cavalry officer, and Marie Valette.^[1] After studying at Poligny and Lons-le-Saunier, in 1777 he enlisted in the Aquitaine Regiment,^[1] where he served for eight years. In August 1789, at the start of the French Revolution, Lecourbe became the commander of the National Guard of Ruffey-sur-Seille.^[1] Two years later he was appointed captain in the 7th volunteer battalion of Jura, being promoted to chief of battalion in November 1791. As a lieutenant-colonel, Lecourbe took part in the capture of Porrentruy in April 1792,^[1] and later served in the armies of the Rhine and of the North, distinguishing himself at the Battle of Fleurus in 1794.

Having been promoted to general of brigade in 1794, in 1799 Lecourbe was made a general of division and given a command in the Army of Helvetia under General André Masséna.^[1] He fought against Alexander Suvorov in Switzerland after capturing Gotthard Pass, where his actions at the Battle of Gotthard Pass delayed the Russian advance and contributed to the French victory at Zürich. In 1800, Lecourbe fought in the War of the Second Coalition, winning the Battle of Neuburg and also taking part at the Battle of Hohenlinden. During these campaigns he encountered a young Michel Ney.^[2]

Lecourbe's friendship with General Jean-Victor Moreau and his vocal defence of Moreau in the trial of Georges Cadoudal brought on the enmity of Napoleon Bonaparte, forcing his retirement in 1805.

After Napoleon's abdication in 1814, Lecourbe was made a count by King Louis XVIII. The count of Artois recalled Lecourbe to active duty in February 1815 and made him inspector-general of the 6th Military Division, headquartered in Besançon. Lecourbe was tasked with preventing Napoleon's return to France. He was appointed a subordinate to Marshal Ney alongside fellow General Bourmont, a staunch royalist. Lecourbe opposed Ney's eventual decision to switch sides when Napoleon returned during the Hundred Days, complaining that his removal from military command in 1805 had been a personal affront to his honor. Nevertheless, he attended a parade in which Ney read a proclamation from Napoleon to his troops.^[2]

Upon Napoleon's return from exile, Lecourbe offered his services and during the Hundred Days he commanded the Army of the Jura (I Corps of Observation), operating in the Jura against Archduke Ferdinand. With an army of only 8,000, he held the city of Belfort for 15 days against the 40,000 Austrian troops of General Colloredo-Mansfeld, only agreeing a ceasefire on 11 July 1815, a feat which earned him a place of honour in French schoolbooks. After Louis's second restoration, Lecourbe retired and on 22 October 1815 he died in Belfort after a long illness.

Before his death he gave testimony to a magistrate that was read at the trial of Marshal Ney. He confirmed it was Ney and not he nor Bourmont who had decided to switch sides and support Napoleon during the Hundred Days. However, Lecourbe also contradicted Bourmont's testimony that Ney's 5,000 or so soldiers of questionable loyalty would have been able to stop Napoleon's ranks of 14,000 men and more.^[2]

Legacy

A statue commemorating Lecourbe stands in the Place de la Liberté in Lons-le-Saunier. Streets named in Lecourbe's honour can also be found in Paris and Besançon. In Belfort, a statue commemorates him as "The glorious defender of the city".