Lannes, Jean, Duc de Montebello

MARSHAL (FRANCE)
BORN 11 Apr 1769, Lectoure, Gers - DIED 31 May 1809, Wien: Kaiserebersdorf
CAUSE OF DEATH fatally injured by cannonball
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Panthéon (Caveau XXII)

Jean Lannes was the son of a farmer. He worked himself up in the army to the rank of colonel, but he was fired in 1795 after an army reform. He married Jeanne Jacqueline Barbe Méric on 19/03/1795, but he divorced her in 1799 after she had given birth to an illegitimate son while he was in Egypt. In 1800 he married Louise Antoinette, Comtesse de Guéhéneuc (1782-1856), who gave him five children.

In 1796 he went to Italy as a volunteer and there he Napoleon returned his rank to him. Lannes and the future emperor became close friends. He supported Napoleon's Coupe d'état and when the empire was created in 1804 he became a marshall and received the title of Duc de Montebello. He saw battle in Prussia, Spain and Austria. During the Battle of Aspern in 1809 he commanded two division. A canonball crushed his legs and he died from his wounds.

He was buried at the Montmartre Cemetery. His body was transferred to the Panthéon in Paris in 1810, but his heart is still in the mausoleum at Montmartre Cemetery. His son Napoléon would became Minister of Marine and his son Gustave was aide de camp of Napoleon III.

Related persons
• employed La Bédoyère, Charles, Comte de
• was a friend of Napoleon I Bonaparte

Events
2/12/1805Battle of Austerlitz. also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors. Napoleon beats Alexander I of Russia and Franz I of Austria. the battle was fought near the town of Austerlitz. Napoleon's win ended the War of the Third Coalition and resulted in the Treaty of Pressburg. [Napoleon I Bonaparte]
22/4/1809Davout defeats the Austrians near Eckmühl. The battle was opened by Davout and the Bavarian army. In the afternoon Napoleon joined in with the of Lannes and Masséna as well as the Württemberg troops under Vandamma. After a cavelry attack the Austrians under Archduke Karl were forced to withdraw to Regensburg. He lost 6,000 of his 26,000 soldiers during the battle. The French troops counted 65,000 heads and suffered much smaller losses. Shortly after the battle Regensburg and Munich were occupied by the French. Davout received the title Prince of Eckmühl. [Davout, Louis-Nicholas, Duke of Auerstädt][Karl, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Teschen][Masséna, André, duc de Rivoli, prince d'Essling]
21/5/1809The Austrians defeat the French near Aspern. The battle took place on 21 and 22 May. Karl, Duke of Teschen commanded the Austrians in their biggest succes against the Napoleontic troops. It was said that Napoleon, who stayed at the Lobau Isle in the Donau river, afterwards conceived a son with his mistress Maria Walewska. The Austrians soon lost their advantage during the Battle of Wagram. Karl was hunoured as big hero and received a statue in Vienna. [Karl, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Teschen][Masséna, André, duc de Rivoli, prince d'Essling][Walewska, Maria ]

Images

The tomb Jean Lannes at the Panthéon, Paris.
Picture by Androom (07 Nov 2016)

 

Sources
Winkler Prins Encyclopedie (editie 1909), 1909
Wives and Children of the Marshals
Battle of Austerlitz - Wikipedia


Lansdown, Joseph Goodale

Published: 10 Mar 2017
Last update: 25 Apr 2022