Jean Moreau

French General
1763 -1813

Jean Moreau joined the National Guard in 1789, but two years later opted to become a colonel in a volunteer battalion.

He fought well at Neerwinden and received recognition for his efforts with rapid promotion to general of division.

When General Pichegru was arrested in 1795, Moreau took command of the French forces in the Netherlands before moving on to those in Germany.

There he pushed the Austrians back to the Danube after the battles of Malsch and Friedberg, but was forced to withdraw to avoid being flanked when Archduke Charles got the better of General Jourdan at Amberg and Wurzburg.

When General Joubert was killed at Novi, Moreau was appointed to take over the Army of Italy.

In 1800, he won the key battle of Hohenlinden, but then his successes began to take his mind off military matters and look to politics.

Jailed after being implicated in a royalist plot, Moreau was exiled and spent almost 10 years in America.

Tsar Alexander I entreated him to return to Europe and he became an adviser during the 1813 Campaign in Germany.

He was mortally wounded at Dresden and took five days to die.