Perruque de Montréchard, Joseph Elie Desiree

He was born into a noble family of Georges Perruke de Montrichard ( fr. Georges Perruquet de Montrichard ) and his wife Marie Claudine Noden ( fr. Marie Claudine Naudin ). On August 16, 1781 he entered the School of Artillery and Engineering Troops in Metz . September 1, 1782 was enrolled in the artillery regiment of Besancon as a student. September 1, 1783 received the rank of second lieutenant in the Strasbourg artillery regiment. April 1, 1791 transferred to the Metz artillery regiment with the rank of second captain. He fought in the armies of the Lower Rhine, Upper Rhine, North and Rhine-Moselle. In some cases, showed extraordinary energy. July 30, 1793 received the rank of commander of a battalion headquarters, and continued to give evidence of courage and talent. June 13, 1795 promoted to colonel of the headquarters.

On August 2, 1796, Monrichard distinguished himself when crossing the Rhine near Kael , where, with a small number of people under cannon fire, he crossed to the enemy shore, took a bridgehead and held it, capturing a significant number of prisoners. For these bold actions he received the rank of brigadier general directly on the battlefield. August 24 became famous when crossing the Lech , when he threw himself into the river at the head of the French columns, which he ignited by his example, violently attacked the enemy and defeated him after stubborn resistance. Having shown courage and energy in various attacks, Montréchard was also able to show his talents in defense, skillfully acting in rear-guard battles during the retreat of the Rhine-Moselle army.

December 14, 1797 became chief of staff of the Mainz Army. After the Directory appointed General Joubert as Commander in Chief of the Italian Army, Montréchard succeeded him as Chief of Staff of the Army (October 14, 1798). He took part in the occupation of Piedmont. February 5, 1799 promoted to division generals, and was appointed commander of the right wing of the Italian army. April 26 - commandant of Bologna. After the defeat of General Scherer at Magnano, he defended Tuscany and Liguria, inflicted several defeats on the Austrians and forced them to lift the siege from Fort Urbino. It was even more difficult to deal with the partisans in Tuscany , who incited discontent among the inhabitants; but his steadfastness and composure allowed him to keep the situation under control; moreover, he was able to restore the communication between Bologna and Ferrara , which the rebels broke for a while. In the battle of Trebbia on June 17-19, he commanded a division on the right flank of the French. December 17, transferred to the Rhine Army of General Moreau . April 1, 1800 - commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, July 4 - commander of the 3rd Infantry Division of the right wing of the Rhine Army, distinguished himself in the battles of Engen, Meskirche, Hochstedt, Memmingen and Oberhausen. Occupied Graubünden and Vorarlberg, served as governor of Luneburg.

September 23, 1802 - Commander of the French forces in the Batavian Republic. From May 3 to August 26, 1803 he commanded the 1st Infantry Division of the Hanover Army. August 26, 1803 led the French and Italian troops in the Papal States . From November 19 to December 11, 1805 he commanded the 1st Infantry Division of the Corps of General Gouvion-Saint-Cyr of the Italian Army. Having received orders from the future marshal to occupy Ancona and put the fortress in a state of defense, he imposed a contribution of 100,000 piastres on the residents, for which he was removed from office on March 16, 1806 and called to Paris for explanation. After returning to France, he was left without a job , despite a letter of exemption sent by the general to the Minister of War Dejan .

January 14, 1808 was forgiven by Napoleon, and returned to active service with appointment to the Dalmatian Army. On January 26, he received the post of commander of the 1st Infantry Division, on June 30 he was called to the headquarters of the Emperor and took part in the Austrian campaign of 1809. Since July 9, he served as commandant of the island of Lobau. From November 12, 1809 to November 9, 1810 he headed the 2nd Infantry Division of the 11th Army Corps of the Illyrian Army.

December 9, 1810 he returned to France and was assigned to the reserve. April 14, 1812 he was appointed commander of the infantry division, organized in Friul. March 3, 1813 - commander of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Illyrian Army. From January 19 to January 27, 1814 he defended Ragusa from the Anglo-Austrian forces, 29 surrendered the city to the Allies, which put an end to French rule in the Illyrian provinces .

In July 1815 he was appointed commander of the 6th military district in Besancon, but on September 4 he retired.

• Second Lieutenant (September 1, 1783);
• Lieutenant (June 11, 1786);
• Second Captain (April 1, 1791);
• First Captain (June 1, 1792);
• Commander of the battalion headquarters (July 30, 1793);
• Colonel Headquarters (June 13, 1795);
• Brigadier General (August 2, 1796);
• Division General (February 5, 1799).

  Legionnaire of the Legion of Honor (December 11, 1803)

  Commander of the Legion of Honor (June 14, 1804)

  Cavalier of the Military Order of St. Louis (November 5, 1814)

• Joseph Hélie Désiré Perruquet de Montrichard, dans Charles Mullié, Biographie des célébrités militaires des armées de terre et de mer de 1789 à 1850, 1852, 1852.
• A. Lievyns, Jean Maurice Verdot, Pierre Bégat, Fastes de la Légion-d'honneur, biographie de tous les décorés accompagnée de l'histoire législative et réglementaire de l'ordre, Tome 3, Bureau de l'administration, 1844, 529 p.

• General information on base Léonore