War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy [828]
Mortier, Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph (1768–1835): Served in the French republican Army of the North in 1792–93; was made major general in 1799 and marshal of the empire in 1804. Fought with distinction at Ulm, Dürenstein, and Friedland, and in 1808 was honored by Napoleon with the title of duke of Treviso. Served in two Spanish campaigns, and commanded the young guard in the Russian campaign.
Mouton-Duvernet, Régis Barthélemy (1769–1816): Was a captain at the siege of Toulon, and later took part in all the wars of the revolution and the empire. Distinguished himself at Arcole; went to Spain as a colonel and came back as a major general. An intransigent opponent of the restoration of the Bourbons, he was eventually arrested and shot.
Mozhaisk: Town in Moscow province, on the Smolensk road, some seventy miles from the capital, where it commanded an important strategic position. The battle of Borodino took place seven miles from Mozhaisk.
Murat, Joachim (1767–1815): Became Napoleon’s aide-de-camp in the Italian campaign; served as cavalry commander in the Egyptian campaign and was made major general. Instrumental in the coup d’état of the Consulat, he married Napoleon’s sister Caroline in 1800. Under the empire, he commanded the cavalry and vanguard of the Grande Armée during the Austrian campaign, and led the campaign in Spain that ended with the taking of Madrid and the bestowing of the Spanish throne on Joseph Bonaparte. In reward Napoleon made Murat king of Naples, but their relations became strained (earlier he had opposed the execution of the duke of Enghien). Took part in the Russian campaign, and during the retreat, when Napoleon went on ahead, was left in charge of the army, the remnants of which he led to Vilno and eventually into Poland. He then returned to Naples, where he entered into negotiations with the Austrians. Anxious to retain his kingdom, he was caught between several camps, and was finally taken by the Spanish and executed.
Muravyov-Karsky, Nikolai Nikolaevich (1794–1866): Took part in the war of 1812 and in the subsequent campaign abroad. Belonged to the circle of the Decembrists but was not prosecuted or punished.
Napoleon I (1769–1821): Born Napoleone Buonaparte, in Ajaccio, Corsica, he was educated at the École Militaire in Brienne, became captain of artillery in the revolutionary army, was made general in the Italian campaign in 1794, appointed head of the army in Italy in 1796, and returned to Paris in glory. There followed the Egyptian campaign of 1798–99, then the coup d’état of 18 Brumaire, which brought in the Consulat, with Napoleon as first consul and later consul for life. In 1804 he was accorded imperial dignity by the French senate. As emperor, he led the Grande Armée on campaigns in Spain, central Europe, and finally Russia, where, after so many successes, it was virtually annihilated. Obliged to abdicate at Fontainebleau in 1814, he was exiled to the island of Elba, but returned to Paris in 1815 for the so-called “Hundred Days.” Definitively defeated at Waterloo on 18 June 1815 by coalition forces under the duke of Wellington, he spent his last days in exile on the island of St. Helena.
Nelson, Lord Horatio, First Viscount Nelson (1758–1805): English admiral of humble origins, famous for his part in the Napoleonic wars. On 21 October 1805, he won his last and most famous victory at Trafalgar, with twenty-seven ships against the thirty-three ships of the French admiral Villeneuve, but was killed in the battle.
Ney, Michel (1769–1815): Son of a Scottish cooper who had emigrated to the Saar, he became marshal of the empire, was named duke of Elchingen in 1808 and prince of the Moskova in 1812. One of the most able generals