Michel Ney
French military commander (1769–1815)
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Key Takeaways
- Michel Ney, 1st Prince de la Moskowa, 1st Duke of Elchingen ( pronounced [miʃɛl nɛ] ; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
- Distinguishing himself as a cavalry officer in the War of the First Coalition, he quickly rose through the ranks and, by the Battle of Hohenlinden (1800), he had been promoted to divisional general.
- He played an instrumental role during Napoleon's subsequent campaigns, seeing action at Elchingen (1805), Jena (1806) and Eylau (1807).
- After Napoleon's defeat by the Sixth Coalition in 1814, Ney pressured the emperor to abdicate and pledged his allegiance to the restored Bourbon monarchy.
- Early life Ney was born in the town of Sarrelouis, in the French province of Lorraine, along the French–German border.
Michel Ney, 1st Prince de la Moskowa, 1st Duke of Elchingen (pronounced [miʃɛl nɛ]; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
The son of a cooper from Saarlouis, Ney worked as a civil servant until 1787 when he enlisted in a cavalry regiment, right before the outbreak of French Revolution. Distinguishing himself as a cavalry officer in the War of the First Coalition, he quickly rose through the ranks and, by the Battle of Hohenlinden (1800), he had been promoted to divisional general. On Napoleon's proclamation of the French Empire, Ney was named one of the original 18 Marshals of the Empire. He played an instrumental role during Napoleon's subsequent campaigns, seeing action at Elchingen (1805), Jena (1806) and Eylau (1807). Ney commanded the French rearguard during the disastrous invasion of Russia, for which he was lauded as "the bravest of the brave" by the emperor.
After Napoleon's defeat by the Sixth Coalition in 1814, Ney pressured the emperor to abdicate and pledged his allegiance to the restored Bourbon monarchy. He rejoined Napoleon during the Hundred Days but met defeat at the Battle of Waterloo (1815), after which he was charged with treason by the restored monarchy and executed by firing squad.
Early life
Ney was born in the town of Sarrelouis, in the French province of Lorraine, along the French–German border. He was the second son of Pierre Ney (1738–1826), a master cooper and veteran of the Seven Years' War, and his wife Marguerite Greiveldinger.
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