Marshal Nicolas-Charles Oudinot

Born: April 25, 1767

Died: September 13, 1847

Place of Birth: Bar-le-Duc, Meuse

Cause of Death: Natural causes

Battle	Unit	Rank
Zürich (September 1799)	Général de division
Austerlitz	Général de division	1st Grenadier Division
Danzig	Général de division	Reserve Corps (Lannes) - Grenadier Division
Heilsberg	Général de division	Reserve Corps (Lannes) - Grenadier Division
Friedland	Général de division	Reserve Corps (Lannes) - Grenadier Division
Aspern-Essling	Général de division	II Corps (Lannes) - Grenadier Division
Wagram	Maréchal	II Corps
Berezina	Maréchal	II Corps
Bautzen	Maréchal	XII Corps
Dennewitz	Maréchal	XII Corps
Leipzig	Maréchal	Young Guard
Brienne	Maréchal	Young Guard
La Rothière	Maréchal	Young Guard
Arcis-Sur-Aube	Maréchal	VII Corps

Oudinot was a capable general well known for his elite grenadier division and eventually he became a marshal. While nearly every French officer of the time received their share of wounds while leading from the front, Oudinot is often considered the most wounded. His aide Pils always carried a first aid kit with him, so sure was he that it would be needed soon enough to treat Oudinot's wounds.

Oudinot was very good friends with Marshal Davout.

Oudinot detested General Savary after an incident occurred in 1802. Oudinot's friend General Donnadieu was being investigated for making critical statements against the government. As Oudinot arrived at his friend's house, he found Savary ransacking the place, looking for Donnadieu and any evidence. Enraged, Oudinot drew his pistol and threatened to shoot Savary if he did not leave, and Savary wisely left.

During a review at the Camp of Boulogne in 1805, Oudinot and his men proudly paraded past Emperor Napoleon. Suddenly, Oudinot's horse stopped, and refused to go forward. In vain he tried to spur it forward, but the horse refused to budge, and even went so far as to attempt to buck him off. Thoroughly annoyed, Oudinot dismounted, drew his sword, and slid it through the horse's neck, killing it almost instantly. Napoleon later asked him, "Is that way you treat all your horses?" "Sire, that is my way when I am not obeyed," Oudinot replied.

At another time, Oudinot and Napoleon were talking about Oudinot's bravery, and Napoleon pointed out that every man felt fear in battle at some time. Oudinot responded succintly, "Sire, I haven't had the time."

As the French were pursuing the Russians in November of 1805, Oudinot and his men encountered some of the Russian rearguard. As he and a squadron of cavalry were scouting the area, suddenly they were surprised by Russian infantry hiding in the woods. Oudinot rode straight up to them and ordered them to lay down their weapons, to which they complied.

Oudinot took part in the famous capture of the Tabor Bridge. As Lannes, Murat, Bertrand, Belliard, and a few aides walked straight across the bridge, talking about a cease fire and being a distraction, Oudinot and his elite soldiers snuck up across the bridge, disabled the fuses, and seized control of it.

Wounded shortly thereafter, Oudinot was recovering in Vienna when he learned of the imminent Battle of Austerlitz. Despite his wounds, he hurried to Napoleon and asked to be allowed to command his division in the battle. Napoleon was impressed by Oudinot's dedication, but knew his grenadier general was not up to full strength. Referring to Oudinot's wounds, Napoleon explained, "Your courage surpasses your strength. I have given your division to Duroc. Stay by my side instead." Oudinot still wished to command his division, and went to Duroc to ask to serve under him. Duroc agreed, though the division did not actively participate in the fighting at Austerlitz.

At the Siege of Danzig, Oudinot and Lannes were on horseback talking, when a ricocheting ball flew into Oudinot's horse, killing it, then ricocheted and hit Lannes, then fell to the ground. Neither officer was hurt, but both were a little unnerved by just how lucky they had been.

During the fighting at Heilsberg, Oudinot noticed that the Emperor was within range of the enemy fire, and warned him, "Sire, if you remain exposed to enemy fire, I will order my grenadiers to seize you and lock you inside a caisson." Napoleon was annoyed but moved to safety, convinced that Oudinot would actually carry out his threat despite protocol.

As part of Lannes' corps at Friedland, Oudinot and his men were holding out against the Russian onslaught but knew they couldn't hold out indefinitely when the odds were so against them. Lannes had been frantically sending aides to Napoleon to bring the entire army to Friedland, but Napoleon, not appreciating the scope of what Lannes was facing, did not want to commit the entire army unless the entire Russian army was there, which it was. Frustrated by their desperate need of reinforcements and not getting any near as quickly as he would like, Oudinot sent one of his aides galloping off to Napoleon with the message, "Even my little eyes see the entire Russian army is here!"

After the Peace of Tilsit, Oudinot and Mortier occupied their time by having fun in Danzig, with the most notable of their activities being how they would attempt to put out candles with pistol shots.

Surprisingly unscathed at Friedland, Oudinot's luck with regards to injury was still not good. In December that year his horse fell, rolled over him, and broke his leg. Worse, the doctors failed to set it correctly and it did not heal correctly, forcing better doctors to then re-break his leg and re-set it, though the second time it healed correctly.

After Louis Bonaparte abdicated the throne of Holland, the French moved to assimilate the country more formally into the empire. As the mayor of Amsterdam handed the keys of the city to Oudinot, he broke out in tears. Oudinot, who was sympathetic to the mayor, told him, "Oh come, don't cry like that, or I'll do the same, and then we'll both look silly!"

Oudinot was named a marshal for his excellent work at the Battle of Wagram, though he alongside Marmont and Macdonald were collectively nicknamed "Lannes small change" for being named a marshal barely a month after Lannes' death. The army considered the three of them combined were equal to that of their now deceased marshal, Lannes.

As Oudinot and his corps fought off the Russians on the far side of the Berezina, he was struck by a bullet and immediately fell to the ground. Feared for dead, his men were happily surprised to realize he was still alive, and they carried him to Dr. Larrey. Larrey attempted to remove the bullet from Oudinot's wound, but penetrating six inches into the wound and being unable to find it, he left the bullet inside Oudinot.

The next day Oudinot set off with just his aides to return to France as quickly as possible to recover. As they were resting at a small cottage, a group of Cossacks surrounded the cottage and demanded their surrender. Oudinot stood up, reached for his pistols, and stated, "If they take me alive at least they will see who I am." He led his men in the defense of the cottage, and upon hearing the sound of battle, some French cavalry rode to the scene to assist in driving off the Cossacks. Oudinot again did not escape wounding, as just as the Cossacks began to flee, one of their shots hit the ceiling of the cottage, causing a beam to fall and hit Oudinot in the head.

Oudinot was one of the marshals who called for Napoleon's abdication. He did not rejoin Napoleon during the Hundred Days, and when asked about it by Napoleon, he replied, "Since I will not serve you, sire, I will not serve anyone."

Sources: Chandler (Napoleon's Marshals), Chrisawn (Emperor's Friend), Delderfield (Napoleon's Marshals), Eidahl (Oudinot), Elting (Swords Around a Throne), Six (Dictionnaire Biographique)

External Links: