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32-468: Sacred Squadron may refer to: Sacred Squadron (France) , a military unit active during the final stages of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow in 1812 Sacred Squadron (Greece) , a special forces unit formed in 1942 Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Sacred Squadron . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

64-460: A fall from an upstairs window at the Neue Residenz , a 17th-century Bishop's residence. The manner of his death remains uncertain because he fell from a casement window with a sill 4 ft (1.2 m) from the floor, making an accident seem unlikely. According to some accounts, he was assassinated by members of a secret society, while others say he threw himself from the window, maddened at

96-603: A man capable of relieving him of all detailed work, to understand him instantly and to foresee what he would need. In 1796, Berthier fell in love with Giuseppa Carcano, marquise Visconti di Borgorato, who was to be his mistress for the duration of the First French Empire, despite the emperor's disapproval. Even when Napoleon forced him to marry a Bavarian princess, the Duchess Maria Elisabeth , in 1808, Berthier managed to keep his mistress and his wife together under

128-621: A mission to Spain in August 1800, which resulted in the retrocession of Louisiana to France by the Treaty of San Ildefonso on 1 October 1800, and led to the Louisiana Purchase . In May 1804, Napoleon became emperor and at once made Berthier a Marshal of the Empire . He took part in the campaigns of Austerlitz , Jena , and Friedland . Berthier was made Grand Huntsman in 1804 and Vice-Constable of

160-483: A publication now in the public domain :  Chisholm, Hugh , ed. (1911). " Berthier, Louis Alexandre ". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 812. The Berthier collection is conserved in the archives of the State of Neuchâtel . It contains more than 2'000 items inventoried in 1895–1896 by Albert Dufourcq. The collection contains correspondence sent and received by

192-532: Is also featured prominently in the three tutorial missions in the game, and also appears in two of the game's historical battles. The game is slightly inaccurate in Berthier's life, in that Berthier gives the narration about the Battle of Waterloo , regardless of a win or a loss, while in real life, Berthier died shortly before the battle from a fall in his home. [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from

224-621: Is mentioned and/or appears in several of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 's Brigadier Gerard stories, including How the Brigadier Was Tempted by the Devil (1895), and in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace . Berthier is prominently featured in the 2010 video game Napoleon: Total War , where he serves as the narrator of the campaign/story mode, and the battle advisor to the French faction during battles. He

256-543: The American Revolutionary War , in which he served from 1780 to 1783 as a staff officer under Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Count of Rochambeau . On his return, having attained the rank of colonel, he was employed in various staff posts and was made a Knight of Saint Louis in 1788. In July 1789, at the start of the French Revolution , Berthier was made a lieutenant-colonel as well as chief of staff of

288-484: The Battle of Rivoli , relieving General Joubert when the latter was attacked by the Austrian general Jozsef Alvinczi . His power of work, accuracy and quick comprehension, combined with his long and varied experience and his complete mastery of detail, made Berthier the ideal chief of staff. In this capacity, Berthier was Napoleon's most valued assistant for the rest of his career. Berthier accompanied Napoleon throughout

320-546: The Coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799), afterwards becoming Minister of War for a time. During the Battle of Marengo , Berthier was the nominal head of the Army of Reserve, but the first consul accompanied the army and he acted in reality, as always, as chief of staff to Napoleon. Despite serving as a staff officer, Berthier had at one point received a battlefield injury. A contemporary subordinate staff officer, Brossier, reports that at

352-684: The War in the Vendée of 1793–1795. Berthier was made a brigade general in March 1795 and a general of division three months later. Berthier first met Napoleon Bonaparte in March 1796, and was at once made chief of staff to the Army of Italy , which Bonaparte had recently been appointed to command. He served in the Italian campaign of 1796, distinguishing himself at the Battle of Lodi . In January 1797 he played an important role in

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384-596: The Battle of Marengo: The General-in-Chief Berthier gave his orders with the precision of a consummate warrior, and at Marengo maintained the reputation that he so rightly acquired in Italy and in Egypt under the orders of Bonaparte. He himself was hit by a bullet in the arm. Two of his aides-de-camp, Dutaillis and La Borde, had their horses killed. At the close of the campaign, he was employed in civil and diplomatic business. This included

416-621: The Corps of Topographical Engineers, and his first wife (married in 1746) Marie Françoise L'Huillier de La Serre. Three of his brothers also served in the French Army, with two, César (1765–1819) and Victor-Léopold (1770–1807), becoming generals during the Napoleonic Wars. As a boy, Berthier was instructed in the military art by his father, an officer of the Corps de genie (Engineer Corps). In 1764 he

448-453: The Emperor in all these movements. French soldiers had earlier coined the phrase " mentir comme un Bulletin " ("to lie like a Bulletin"). The French populace - and government officials - may have been able to read between the lines for the implications of, if not fully to comprehend, what had happened. The Grande Armée had invaded Russia with 80,000 cavalry. No written order establishing

480-503: The Empire in 1807. In 1806, when Napoleon deposed King Frederick William III of Prussia from the Principality of Neuchâtel (now the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel ), Berthier was appointed its ruler, with the title of Prince of Neuchâtel and Duke of Valangin . This lasted until his abdication on 3 June 1814. Berthier never visited Neuchâtel, where he was represented by a governor, although he

512-476: The French army in Bavaria underwent a series of reverses. Despite the fact that his merit as a general was completely overshadowed by the genius of Napoleon, Berthier was nevertheless renowned for his excellent organising skills and being able to understand and carry out the emperor's directions to the minutest detail. General Paul Thiébault wrote of him: No one could have better suited General Bonaparte, who wanted

544-646: The Versailles National Guard , and in this role protected King Louis XVI 's family from popular violence. In 1791, he aided in the emigration of the king's aunts Victoire and Adélaïde . In 1792, Berthier was promoted to maréchal de camp and posted to the Army of the North . He was appointed chief of staff to Marshal Nicolas Luckner , and bore a distinguished part in the Argonne campaign of Generals Dumouriez and Kellermann . He served with great credit in

576-711: The campaign of 1797, and was left in charge of the army after the Treaty of Campo Formio . He was in this post in 1798 when he entered Italy, invaded the Vatican, organized the Roman Republic , and took Pope Pius VI prisoner. Berthier supervised the Pope’s relocation to Valence , where, after a tortuous journey, Pius died. The death of the Pope dealt a major blow to the Vatican's political power. After this, Berthier joined his chief in Egypt, serving there until Napoleon's return. He assisted in

608-714: The following are said to have served with the Sacred Squadron: Marshal Berthier Born into a military family, Berthier served in the American Revolutionary War and survived suspicion of monarchism during the Reign of Terror before a rapid rise in the ranks of the French Revolutionary Army . Although a key supporter of the coup against the Directory that gave Napoleon supreme power, and present for his greatest victories, Berthier strongly opposed

640-464: The king on his solemn entry into Paris. During Napoleon's short exile on Elba , he informed Berthier of his projects. Berthier was much perplexed as to his future course and, being unwilling to commit to Napoleon, fell under the suspicion both of his old leader and of Louis XVIII. On Napoleon's return to France in March 1815, Berthier withdrew to the Bavarian city of Bamberg . On 1 June 1815 he died from

672-436: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sacred_Squadron&oldid=1257775765 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Sacred Squadron (France) The Sacred Squadron ( French : L'escadron sacré )

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704-585: The progressive stretching of lines of communication during the Russian campaign . Allowed to retire by the restored Bourbon regime, he died by either suicide or murder shortly before the Battle of Waterloo . Berthier's reputation as a superb operational organiser remains strong among current historians. Berthier was born in Versailles on 20 November 1753. He was the eldest of five surviving children of Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Baptiste Berthier (1721–1804), an officer in

736-692: The same roof, a state of affairs which infuriated the emperor. On 9 March 1808, Berthier married Elisabeth who was the only daughter of Duke Wilhelm in Bavaria and Countess Palatine Maria Anna of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Rappoltstein , the sister of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria , and a relative of the Russian emperor through the Wittelsbach line on the Bavarian side and Prussian (Mecklenburg) side of her lineage. They had one son and two daughters : Berthier

768-552: The scale of the disaster which had befallen the Grande Armée : Notre cavalerie était tellement démontée que l'on a dû réunir les officiers auxquels il restait un cheval pour en former quatre compagnies de cent cinquante hommes chacune. Les généraux y faisaient les fonctions de capitaine, et les colonels celles de sous-officiers. Cet escadron sacré, commandé par le général Grouchy, et sous les ordres du roi de Naples, ne perdait pas de vue l'Empereur dans tous ses mouvements. Our cavalry

800-429: The sight of Russian troops marching to invade France. It remains unclear whether his defenestration was suicide or murder. His loss was keenly felt by Napoleon, who wished he had his former Chief of Staff at Waterloo : If Berthier had been there, I would not have met this misfortune. Berthier was an immensely skilled chief of staff, but he was not a great field commander. When he was in temporary command in 1809,

832-435: The unit has been found; it is possible that it was set up orally. No official record of those who served in it has survived; considering the circumstances, it is possible that none was ever made, or that the records of Marshal Berthier (Napoleon's Chief of Staff) were lost during the retreat. Other sources give lower numbers than Napoleon's 600: Chandler says 500. In addition to its commander Général de division Grouchy,

864-622: Was admitted to the Royal Engineering School of Mézières , as a second lieutenant, graduating as a topographical engineer two years later, at the age of 12. In March 1772, Berthier entered the army as a lieutenant in the Flanders Legion. He then joined the Prince of Lambesc 's Lorraine Dragoon Regiment in August 1776, and was promoted to captain in June 1777. Berthier first saw action during

896-646: Was an ad hoc cavalry unit which served briefly in the French Grande Armée during the final stage of the Emperor Napoleon 's retreat from Moscow in 1812. It was remarkable in that it consisted - out of military necessity - entirely of officers, with those below the rank of colonel serving as troopers . The Sacred Squadron was formed on 23 November 1812, by the Bobr River (perhaps at Borisoff , in modern Belarus) to serve as Napoleon's bodyguard. It

928-664: Was blamed by many for the horse-killing pace of the march into Russia. Berthier is said to have burst into tears at the decision. He served in Germany in 1813 , and France in 1814, fulfilling, until the fall of the French Empire, the functions of chief of staff of the Grande Armée . Following Napoleon's first abdication, Berthier retired to Château de Grosbois , his 600-acre (2.4 km ) estate at Boissy-Saint-Léger , Val-de-Marne . He made peace with Louis XVIII in 1814 and accompanied

960-554: Was disbanded on 10 December 1812, in Kowno (modern Kaunas , Lithuania). It therefore served during the crossing of the Berezina (26-29 November), and continued to exist for a few days after Napoleon's departure for Paris on 5 December. Its existence is recorded in the 29th Bulletin of the Grande Armée  [ de ] , by which Napoleon hinted to the French people for the first time

992-447: Was dismounted to such a degree, that it was necessary to collect the officers who had still a horse remaining, in order to form four companies of 150 men each. The Generals there performed the functions of captains, and the colonels of subalterns [ sic ]. This sacred squadron, commanded by General Grouchy , and under the orders of the King of Naples (Murat) , did not lose sight of

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1024-640: Was well acquainted with its affairs. In 1808, Berthier served in the Peninsular War , and in 1809, served in the Austrian theatre during the War of the Fifth Coalition , after which he was given the title of Prince of Wagram . He was with Napoleon in Russia in 1812, and took part in the extremely unusual council of war on whether to proceed, being one of several who advised against an advance on Moscow which Napoleon had decided on, encouraged by Joachim Murat who

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