Frédéric Henri Walther
{{Short description|French general of division}}
{{Infobox military person
| name =Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther
| image =Général WALTHER (1761-1813).jpg
| caption =Walther hands a message to a grenadier, in a portrait by Robert Lefèvre (1815)
| birth_date ={{birth date text|20 June 1761}}
| death_date ={{death-date and age|24 November 1813 |20 August 1761}}
| birth_place =Obenheim, Alsace, Bas Rhin
| death_place =Kusel, Sarre, Rhineland-Palatinate
| father =
| mother =
| branch =French Army
| serviceyears =1781–1813
| rank =Général de division
| battles =
{{tree list}}
{{tree list/end}}
| awards = Grand Eagle, Legion of Honor
Order of the Iron Crown
Count of the Empire
Eastern Pillar, Column 16, Arc de Triomphe
| laterwork =
}}
Frédéric-Louis-Henri Walther (20 June 1761 – 24 November 1813), was a French general of division and a supporter of Napoleon Bonaparte. He fought in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.
He enlisted in 1781 and, in his 30-year career, he saw action at the major battles in Europe. He fought in André Masséna's Army of Switzerland, where he participated in the Winterthur and First and Second Battles of Zürich, the campaigns of 1806 against Prussia, and Napoleon's invasion of Russia. After the Russian and Saxon campaign, while suffering from exhaustion, he contracted typhus and died in Kusel, in the Saarland. He was buried at the Panthéon, and his name is listed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Family
Walther was the son of Georges Henri Walther, a Lutheran pastor, and Marie Elisabeth Chatel of Montbéliard. He was born in Obenheim, in the Alsace region of the Bas-Rhin. His cousins, Frédéric Cuvier and Georges Cuvier, were naturalists and zoologists.{{in lang|fr}} Jocelyn Dubois. "Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther." Les Protestants. André Encrevé (ed.), Paris: Beauchesne, 1993, {{ISBN|2-7010-1261-9}}, p. 506. He married 20-year-old Salome-Louise Coulman on 12 April 1802. They had two daughters, born 1803 and 1807; in 1810,Louise-Catherine born in 1803 and then Josephine-Napoleone-Frederique-Henriette born on the 14 June 1807. Senior, [http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/commanders/c_walther.html #7 Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther]. a third child was still-born.{{in lang|fr}} Dubois, p. 506.
Initially he enlisted as a simple soldier in the Berchény Hussars. This unit was included in the 1791 reorganization, and became the 1st Regiment of Hussars. On 10 May 1792, he received a commission as a lieutenant.Adolphe Le Reboullet, Revue alsacienne. Strasbourg: Berger, 1886-. Volume 9, 1887, p.511.
Military career
During the War of the First Coalition, he was active at the battle of Neerwinden and the campaign on the Piave River in northern Italy. During these campaigns, he proved equally adept at leading heavy or light cavalry, although some military analysts consider he was a better heavy cavalry leader.Terry J. Senior, "Top 20 French Cavalry Commanders: [http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/commanders/c_walther.html #7 Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther]." Napoleon Series.org, Robert Burnham, editor in chief. Accessed 28 January 2010. In 1793, he was promoted to general of brigade.Tony Broughton, [http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/frenchguard/c_guardcav1.html The Garde Imperiale and Its Commanders during the Period 1804 – 1815]. Part I: The Cavalry Regiments, Regiment de Grenadiers-a-Cheval de la Garde Imperiale. [http://www.napoleon-series.org Napoleon Series]. Robert Burnham, editor in chief. Accessed 29 January 2010.
In the War of the Second Coalition, he participated in the French defeats at Ostrach and Stockach in March 1799, and served under the newly promoted Michel Ney on the forward line of defense of the Swiss city of Zürich. At the Battle of Winterthur, he directed the rear guard action covering Ney's retreat through Winterthur, holding a key bridge cross of the Tōss River for 90 minutes against a larger Austrian force under command of Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze.Andrew Hilliarde Atteridge. The bravest of the brave, Michel Ney: marshal of France, duke of Elchingen. New York: Brentano, 1913, pp. 45–46; p. 48. Lawrence Shadwell. Mountain warfare illustrated by the campaign of 1799 in Switzerland: being a translation of the Swiss narrative, compiled from the works of the Archduke Charles, Jomini, and other... London: Henry S. King, 1875. p. 108–109.
A few days later, he was present for the defeat at the First Battle of Zürich when André Masséna withdrew the entire French force across the Limmat river. In September 1799, he was present at the Second Battle of Zürich when Masséna's Army of Helvetia and Army of the Danube crushed Alexander Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian force; he actively harried the fleeing Russians. He later fought at the Battle of Messkirch in 1800.Senior, [http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/commanders/c_walther.html #7 Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther].
=Napoleonic Wars=
During the War of the Third Coalition, he participated in the Ulm Campaign, in which cavalry played an essential part. He participated in French victories at Hohenlinden and later at Austerlitz, where he commanded the 2nd Dragoon Division
{{cite book |authorlink=Digby Smith |last=Smith |first=Digby
|title=The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book: Actions and Losses in Personnel, Colours, Standards and Artillery, 1792–1815 |location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
|publisher=Stackpole Books |year=1998 |isbn=1-85367-276-9 |page=216}} His division included the 3rd, 6th, 10th, 11th, 13th and 22nd Regiments of Dragoons. in Marshal Joachim Murat's Cavalry Reserve. His division was a key to Soult's successful attack on the Russian center. He suffered wounds at both these battles and after the latter, he received le Grand Aigle de la Légion d'honneur (Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honor), and appointed Chamberlain to the Emperor. Subsequently, he was decorated as a Commander of the Order of the Iron Crown, and appointed as Colonel of the Grenadiers à Cheval (mounted grenadiers), of the Imperial Guard, in 1806,Senior, [http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/commanders/c_walther.html #7 Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther]. a position he held until his death 1813.Broughton. The Garde Imperiale.
File:Battle of Eylau 1807 by Jean-Antoine-Siméon.jpg
At the Battle of Eylau in February 1807, he led his dragoons in Murat's famous 10,000-man cavalry charge depicted by Jean Antoine Siméon Fort, the 19th century history painter.David Chandler. Dictionary of the Napoleonic wars. Wordsworth editions, 1999. p. 144. At the Battle of Wagram (July 1809) Walther commanded four squadrons of Grenadiers à Cheval of Jean-Baptiste Bessières
File:Arc de Triomphe mg 6828.jpg on the Arc de Triomphe (7th from the top on the right).]]
During the Saxon campaign of 1813, Walther continued command of the Guard Cavalry, and was present at the Battle of Lützen and Battle of Dresden, as commander of the Guard cavalry.Smith, Databook, pp. 416, 443. At the Second Battle of Kulm (17 September 1813), he commanded the Imperial Guard Cavalry including the dragoons, Grenadiers à Cheval, and 1st (Polish) and 2nd (Dutch) Lancers.Smith, Databook, p. 455. At the Battle of Leipzig, he commanded the 3rd Division of the cavalry of the Imperial Guard: The total cavalry of the Guard included 7,903 men and 18 guns.Smith, Databook, p. 461. After refitting and resupply at Erfurt, where Napoleon had stashed a large depot of arms and ammunition, the French army continued to withdraw through western Germany, toward the Rhine.Smith, Databook, p. 473.
The Battle of Hanau, 30–31 October 1813, was Walther's last major action. He commanded the 3rd Division of the Young Guard, including the four squadrons of mounted grenadiers, the Dragoons, the Chasseurs à Cheval, and the mounted Polish Lancers; he also had charge of Napoleon's honor guard of five squadrons, and two field artillery battalions.Smith, Databook, p. 474. By this time, Walther was suffering from exhaustion. He collapsed and died in the night of 24 November 1813, in Kusel. Sources differ on whether he died of exhaustion or typhus, or a combination of both. His body was transported first to the cathedral in Metz and from there to Paris, escorted by a detachment of the Imperial Guard. He was buried in the Pantheon.{{in lang|fr}} Révolution et Premier Empire. Histoire et Dictionnaire du consulat et de l'empire A Fierro A palluel guillard J Tulard ed Bouquins, 1995.; Senior, [http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/commanders/c_walther.html #7 Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther]. His name appears on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Sources
=Notes and citations=
{{Reflist|2}}
=Bibliography=
- Atteridge, Andrew. The Bravest of the Brave, Michel Ney: Marshal of France, Duke of Elchingen. New York: Brentano, 1913.
- Broughton, Tony. [http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/frenchguard/c_guardcav1.html The Garde Imperiale and Its Commanders during the Period 1804 – 1815]. Part I: The Cavalry Regiments, Regiment de Grenadiers-a-Cheval de la Garde Imperiale. [http://www.napoleon-series.org Napoleon Series]. Robert Burnham, editor in chief. Accessed 29 January 2010.
- {{in lang|fr}} Dubois, Jocelyn. "Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther." Les Protestants. André Encrevé (ed.), Paris: Beauchesne, 1993, {{ISBN|2-7010-1261-9}}
- {{cite book |lccn=2006491419 |isbn=0304367117
|authorlink=Gunther E. Rothenberg |last=Rothenberg |first=Gunther E.
|title=The emperor's last victory : Napoleon and the Battle of Wagram
|publisher=Cassell Military |location=London |year=2005}}
- Senior, Terry J. "Top 20 French Cavalry Commanders: [http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/commanders/c_walther.html #7 Frederic-Louis-Henri Walther]." Napoleon Series.org, Robert Burnham, editor in chief. Accessed 28 January 2010.
- Shadwell, Lawrence. Mountain Warfare Illustrated by the Campaign of 1799 in Switzerland: Being a Translation of the Swiss Narrative.... London: Henry S. King, 1875.
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Category:Counts of the First French Empire
Category:French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars
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Category:Commanders in the French Imperial Guard
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