Nicolas Oudinot

Nicolas Charles Oudinot was born at Bar-le-Duc on 25 April 1767. Enlisted in 1784, he climbed the ranks during the Revolution. He distinguished himself at Zurich (1799) under Masséna, at Austerlitz, at Jena. In 1808, at the head of the 2nd Corps, he forced the Danube crossing at Vienna — a technical feat that opened the road to Vienna. In 1809, at Wagram, his corps broke through the Austrian centre: Napoleon made him Duke of Reggio on the battlefield. Oudinot totalled thirty-four combat wounds — an absolute record among the marshals. Each battle cost him his blood: Eylau, Wagram, the Berezina. He was one of the few to have been hit by bullets, shell fragments and saber blows.

In 1812, Oudinot commanded the 2nd Corps during the Russian campaign. At the Berezina, in late November, Éblé's pontoneers threw causeways across the frozen river. Oudinot covered the crossing with his troops; he was seriously wounded — one more. He survived, evacuated in a cart. In 1813, he fought at Bautzen and Leipzig. In 1814, he defended Paris at the head of the Guard, in the Plaine Saint-Denis. He capitulated with Marmont. Having rallied to the Bourbons, he remained a peer of France. He did not join Napoleon during the Hundred Days — a choice that spared him Ney's trial.

Oudinot survived until 1847. At eighty, he was one of the last Marshals of the Empire. His son Charles, Duke of Reggio, continued the military tradition under the July Monarchy. Oudinot's longevity — surviving thirty-four wounds and four decades of war — made him a unique witness to the Napoleonic epic, from the Consulate to the aftermath of the 1848 revolution. He died in Paris on 13 September 1847, almost forgotten by a regime he had never truly betrayed.

The Battle of Wagram, on 5 and 6 July 1809, consecrated Oudinot as one of Napoleon's finest executors. Archduke Charles had taken position on the heights north of Vienna. Napoleon decided to break through the Austrian centre. Oudinot, at the head of the 2nd Corps, received the critical mission: to advance between the villages of Baumersdorf and Wagram, break the enemy lines. On 6 July, at dawn, his divisions moved. The Austrians resisted; artillery wrought havoc. Oudinot was wounded — again. But his troops held. Masséna outflanked on the left, Davout on the right. The centre gave way. Napoleon made Oudinot Duke of Reggio on the battlefield.

This victory crowned a career of bold strokes and personal sacrifice. Oudinot never retreated: at Zurich in 1799, he had held a key position; at Austerlitz, his corps had ignited the right wing; at Jena, he had pursued the fleeing Prussians. The thirty-four wounds never turned him from combat. In 1814, when he defended Paris with Marmont, he negotiated an honourable capitulation — a choice that earned him retention of his peerage under the Restoration. Unlike Ney, he did not return to Napoleon in 1815: prudence or conviction, this refusal spared him the scaffold.