Everything about Charles Denis Bourbaki totally explained
Charles Denis Sauter Bourbaki (
April 22,
1816 –
September 27,
1897) was a
French general.
He was born at
Pau, the son of Greek colonel
Constantin Denis Bourbaki, who died in the
War of Independence in
1827. He was educated at the
Prytanée National Militaire, entered
St Cyr, and in 1836 joined the
Zouaves, becoming lieutenant of the
Foreign Legion in
1838, and
aide-de-camp to King
Louis Philippe. It was in the African expedition that he first came to the front. In 1842 he was captain in the
Zouaves; 1847, colonel of the
Turcos; in 1850, lieutenant-colonel of the 1st
Zouaves; 1851, colonel; 1854, brigadier-general. In the
Crimean War he commanded a portion of the Algerian troops; and at the
Alma,
Inkerman and
Sevastopol Bourbaki's name became famous. In 1857 he was made general of division, commanding in 1859 at Lyons. His success in the war with Italy was only second to that of
MacMahon, and in 1862 he was proposed as a candidate for the vacant Greek throne, but declined the proffered honour. In 1870 the emperor entrusted him with the command of the Imperial Guard, and he played an important part in the fighting round Metz.
A curious incident of the
siege of Metz is connected with Bourbaki's name. A man who called himself Regnier, about
September 21, appeared at
Hastings, to seek an interview with the refugee
empress Eugénie, and failing to obtain this he managed to get from the young prince imperial a signed photograph with a message to the emperor Napoleon. This he used, by means of a safe-conduct from
Bismarck, as credentials to
Marshal Bazaine, to whom he presented himself at Metz, telling him on the empress's alleged authority that peace was about to be signed and that either
Marshal Canrobert or General Bourbaki was to go to Hastings for the purpose. Bourbaki at once went to England, with
Prussian connivance, as though he'd a recognized mission, only to discover from the empress at Hastings that a trick had been played on him; and as soon as he could manage he returned to France.
He offered his services to
Gambetta and received the command of the Northern Army, but was recalled on
November 10 and transferred to the Army of the Loire. In command of the hastily-trained and ill-equipped Army of the East, Bourbaki made the attempt to raise the
siege of Belfort, which, after the victory of
Villersexel, ended in the repulse of the French in the three days'
battle of the Lisaine. Other German forces under
Manteuffel now closed upon Bourbaki, and he was eventually driven over the Swiss frontier with the remnant of his forces. His troops were in the most desperate condition, owing to lack of food; and out of 150,000 men under him when he started, only 87,000 men with 12,000 horses escaped into Swiss territory. They crossed the western border of Switzerland at
Les Verrières,
Sainte-Croix,
Vallorbe and in the
Vallée de Joux at the beginning of February 1871. They were disarmed and detained for six weeks before being repatriated in March. Rather than submit to the humiliation of a probable surrender, Bourbaki had delegated his functions to
General Clinchant on
January 26 1871, and tried to suicide that night. He fired a pistol at his own head, but the bullet, owing to a deviation of the weapon, was flattened against his skull and his life was saved. General Clinchant carried Bourbaki into
Switzerland, where he recovered sufficiently to return to France.
In July
1871, he again took the command at Lyons, and subsequently became military governor. In 1881, owing to his political opinions, he was placed on the retired list. In 1885 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the senate. A patriotic Frenchman and a brilliant soldier and leader, Bourbaki, like some other French generals of the Second Empire whose training had been obtained in Africa, was found wanting in the higher elements of command when the European conditions of 1870 were concerned.
Cultural references
A group of 20th-century French mathematicians published many works under the pseudonym
Nicolas Bourbaki, named after the general. The event of Bourbaki's army being disarmed when they crossed the Swiss borders is the subject of a
panoramic painting done in 1881 by
Edouard Castres. Since 1889, this 360° painting is on display at
Lucerne.
Further Information
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