Delson, Alexis Joseph

Born in the family of a judicial officer. Alexis Joseph Delzon's military career began in 1791 , when he, at the age of 16, enlisted as a volunteer in the battalion of the Cantal department . Very soon, his courage brought him the rank of lieutenant of the grenadiers .

He spent the years 1792-1793 fighting under the banners of the army of the Eastern Pyrenees .

In 1794, Alexis Joseph, already a captain, distinguished himself in the battle of Jonquiere ( June 7, 1794 ) and was there his first wounded. Since November 1794, he participated in the siege of the Catalan town of Roses , although he capitulated to the French ( February 3, 1795 ), he was eventually returned to the Spaniards under the terms of the Basel Peace Treaty ( July 22, 1795 ).

On the eve of the First Italian Campaign (1796) , the Delson battalion was combined with the 8th regiment of foot rangers and transferred to Italy . On April 12, the fearless captain, at the head of his company, captured an enemy redoubt in the battle of Montenotte , on April 14 took possession of the Austrian battery in a battle at Dego , and on May 10, under the fire of enemy artillery, Adda crossed the bridge to Lodi . During the siege, Mantua was captured by enemy soldiers, but after 8 days, as a result of the exchange of prisoners, he returned to the location of his unit. At the battle of Rivoli ( January 14, 1797 ), his company alone withstood the powerful attack of the Austrian regiment, for which Alexis Joseph was promoted to the rank of battalion commander on the same day.

During the Egyptian expedition of Napoleon Bonaparte , Delzon participated in the capture of Alexandria ( July 2, 1798 ) and in the battle of the Pyramids ( July 21, 1798 ). There, in Egypt, Alexis Joseph at the age of 23 was awarded the rank of colonel, and upon his return to his homeland by decree of Napoleon he was promoted to brigadier general.

Despite a rather active participation in the campaigns of 1804 , 1805 and 1806, Delzon managed to really distinguish himself only during the war with Austria in 1809 . His team was included in the corps of Marshal Marmont , who fought in Dalmatia and covered the right flank of the Great Army . The soldiers of Alexis Joseph made a decisive contribution to the victory over the rear guard of the army of Archduke Karl at Znaim ( July 10 ), made possible by the idea of ​​tactical maneuver proposed by Delson (during one of the military councils) aimed at destroying the retreating Austrian troops. After the signing of the Schönbrunn Peace ( October 14, 1809), Delzon held administrative posts in the Illyrian provinces (in Karlovac ).

After receiving the rank of division general ( February 15, 1811 ) he was appointed interim commander of the Illyrian army.

In 1812, the 13th Infantry Division of Delson was placed at the disposal of the Viceroy of Italy, E. Beauharnais , to whom the powerful stepfather instructed to form a corps to march on Russia . After crossing the Neman , the soldiers of Delson repeatedly demonstrated their courage, having earned the respect and admiration of the emperor himself. So it was in the battle near Ostrovno , where the 13th division supported the attacks of Murat's cavalry against the square of Count Osterman-Tolstoy .

On September 7, at 6 o’clock in the morning, it was Delzon’s arrows who drove Colonel Bistrom ’s rangers from the village of Borodino , thus giving a signal to the beginning of the most bloody battle of the Napoleonic Wars.

The last battle in the life of General Delzon took place on October 24, 1812 in Maloyaroslavets . On the eve of his division, following the vanguard of the 4th Corps, received an order to capture this town, located on the banks of the Puddle River. The bridges through it were destroyed by order of local authorities, but this problem was quickly resolved, and in the evening of October 23, Delson deployed two of his battalions in the city. They were the next morning the first to take on the entire blow of 2 Russian jaeger regiments, which soon pushed the battalions to the city outskirts.

Eugene Bogarne, pulling up the remaining divisions of his corps to Maloyaroslavets , ordered Delzon to recapture the lost positions from the enemy. Headed the 1st Brigade (8th Light, 1st Croatian and legendary 84th Line Regiment), together with General Serran Alexis Joseph rushed into the thick of the battle. Very soon, the French managed to clear the western part of Maloyaroslavets from the Russians. All this time, Delson was in front of his soldiers. His hat and gold-plated uniform turned him into an excellent target for enemy shooters. During a skirmish at a city cemetery, a brave general, dragging his warriors, who were hesitating under heavy fire, forward, received three bullet wounds, one of which (in the forehead) was fatal. His adjutant, Jean-Baptiste Antoine Gerot Delzon, who tried to cover his fallen brother with his body, shared his sad fate. The offensive of the French was stopped, and they took to flight. Only the timely arrival of General Guillaume helped restore order and return the panicked soldiers to duty.

The body of Alexis Joseph Delzon was buried the next day ( October 25, 1812) on the battlefield ^[2] . In his native Aurillac, a monument to the hero of a great era was erected, inaugurated by generals Georges Boulanger and Pasteur .

• C. Mullier. "Biographies of famous military figures of the land and naval forces of France 1789-1850" (French)