Armand-Octave-Marie d’Allonville
Encyclopedia
Viscount Armand-Octave-Marie d’Allonville (1809–1867) was a French
general of division which distinguished himself during the French conquest of Algeria
and the Crimean War
. He was later appointed senator.
, then under French occupation, from viscount
Antoine Jean Baptiste d'Allonville (1765–1811) and Céleste Octavie de La Bourdonnaye (1787–1863). His family has a military heritage that dates back from the Crusades
. A noble from Brittany
, his father had emigrated
during the French Revolution
and d'Allonville was re-naturalized
French in Rennes
in 1830.
. He witnessed the Siege of Antwerp
in 1832, as aide-de-camp
of General Rullière.
During the conquest of Algeria
, he commanded an indigenous irregular cavalry squadron. After the battle of the Smala, he received the officer cross of the Légion d'Honneur
. At the Battle of Isly
, he distinguished himself by taking the Moroccans
canons with his Spahi
s.
In 1839, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 1st Regiment of Spahis by Marshall de Saint Arnaud
.
, the 2 December 1851. He commanded a division of cavalry on the Champs-Élysées
, but didn't meet hostility from the Paris
ian crowd.
of the Chasseurs d'Afrique
brigade during the Charge of the Light Brigade
. Under his command, the Chasseurs d'Afrique cleared the two half batteries of guns, two infantry battalions and Cossack
s on the Fedyukhin Heights to ensure the British Light Brigade would not be hit by fire from that flank and later provided cover for the remaining elements of the Light Brigade as they withdrew.
For this brilliant feat of arms, d'Allonville was promoted general of division and commanded, from 20 May 1855, the 1st brigade, comprising the 1st and 4th hussar regiments, and the 2nd brigade, comprising the 6th and 7th dragoon
regiments.
At the battle of Eupatoria
, d'Allonville led the 4th hussar and the 6th and 7th dragoon regiments and was made Grand-Croix of the Légion d'Honneur
and received the Order of the Bath
and the Order of the Medjidie.
and he became conseiller-général
of Ille-et-Vilaine
. He was appointed senator in December 1865 and died the 19 October 1867 in Versailles
. He was interred in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
general of division which distinguished himself during the French conquest of Algeria
French conquest of Algeria
The French conquest of Algeria took place between 1830 and 1847. Using an 1827 diplomatic slight by Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Ottoman Regency of Algiers, against its consul as a pretext, France invaded and quickly seized Algiers in 1830, and rapidly took control of other coastal communities...
and the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. He was later appointed senator.
Origins
Armand-Octave-Marie d'Allonville was born the 21 January 1809 in HanoverHanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, then under French occupation, from viscount
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
Antoine Jean Baptiste d'Allonville (1765–1811) and Céleste Octavie de La Bourdonnaye (1787–1863). His family has a military heritage that dates back from the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
. A noble from Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, his father had emigrated
Émigré
Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....
during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and d'Allonville was re-naturalized
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
French in Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
in 1830.
Early military career
After his graduation from the École d'application du Corps royal d'état-major, he entered the cavalryCavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
. He witnessed the Siege of Antwerp
Siege of Antwerp (1832)
The siege of the citadel of Antwerp took place after fighting in the Belgian Revolution ended. It occurred from 15 November to 23 December 1832 and faced off Dutch troops occupying Antwerp's citadel against France's Armée du Nord...
in 1832, as aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
of General Rullière.
During the conquest of Algeria
French conquest of Algeria
The French conquest of Algeria took place between 1830 and 1847. Using an 1827 diplomatic slight by Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Ottoman Regency of Algiers, against its consul as a pretext, France invaded and quickly seized Algiers in 1830, and rapidly took control of other coastal communities...
, he commanded an indigenous irregular cavalry squadron. After the battle of the Smala, he received the officer cross of the Légion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
. At the Battle of Isly
Battle of Isly
The Battle of Isly was fought on August 14, 1844 between France and Morocco, near the Isly River. French forces under Marshal Thomas Robert Bugeaud routed a much larger, but poorly organized, Moroccan force under Mohammed, son of sultan Abderrahmane of Morocco...
, he distinguished himself by taking the Moroccans
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
canons with his Spahi
Spahi
Spahis were light cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the indigenous populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, with personnel now recruited in mainland France...
s.
In 1839, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 1st Regiment of Spahis by Marshall de Saint Arnaud
Jacques Leroy de Saint Arnaud
Armand-Jacques Leroy de Saint-Arnaud was a French soldier and Marshal of France during the 19th century...
.
Napoleon III's coup
Colonel of the 5th Hussar Regiment in 1845, he was promoted general of brigade in 1851 and participated to Napoléon III's coup d'étatCoup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
, the 2 December 1851. He commanded a division of cavalry on the Champs-Élysées
Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets and one of the most expensive strip of real estate in the world. The name is...
, but didn't meet hostility from the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian crowd.
Crimean War
D'Allonville was the commandantCommandant
Commandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...
of the Chasseurs d'Afrique
Chasseurs d'Afrique
The Chasseurs d'Afrique were a light cavalry corps in the French Armée d'Afrique . First raised in the 1830s from regular French cavalry posted to Algeria, they numbered five regiments by World War II...
brigade during the Charge of the Light Brigade
Charge of the Light Brigade
The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. The charge was the result of a miscommunication in such a way that the brigade attempted a much more difficult objective...
. Under his command, the Chasseurs d'Afrique cleared the two half batteries of guns, two infantry battalions and Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
s on the Fedyukhin Heights to ensure the British Light Brigade would not be hit by fire from that flank and later provided cover for the remaining elements of the Light Brigade as they withdrew.
For this brilliant feat of arms, d'Allonville was promoted general of division and commanded, from 20 May 1855, the 1st brigade, comprising the 1st and 4th hussar regiments, and the 2nd brigade, comprising the 6th and 7th dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
regiments.
At the battle of Eupatoria
Battle of Eupatoria
The Battle of Eupatoria was the most important military engagement of the Crimean War on the Crimean theatre in 1855 outside Sevastopol.- Battle :...
, d'Allonville led the 4th hussar and the 6th and 7th dragoon regiments and was made Grand-Croix of the Légion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
and received the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
and the Order of the Medjidie.
Later life
D'Allonville's declining health led him to leave active service in the French armyFrench Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
and he became conseiller-général
General councils (France)
The General councils are assemblies of the French departments. They are elected by universal suffrage.-List of the Presidents of the General councils:-External links:*...
of Ille-et-Vilaine
Ille-et-Vilaine
Ille-et-Vilaine is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country.- History :Ille-et-Vilaine is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
. He was appointed senator in December 1865 and died the 19 October 1867 in Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
. He was interred in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.