Arman de Colencourt is a French military and political figure, known for his memoirs on Napoleon’s campaign in Russia, as well as his close friendship with the first persons of the two great empires that met in a bloody battle in 1812.
Childhood and the beginning of service
The father of the future adviser to Napoleon and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of France was a soldier and lived with his family in the hereditary castle of Colencourt, on the territory of the department of En. On December 9, 1773, the long-awaited heir was born to him. The boy was called Armand.
Since the family was notable, the child received education at home, and already in 1778 Arman de Colencourt, following in the footsteps of his father, began his military career. At the age of fifteen, the boy was enrolled in a foreign regiment of the royal cavalry in the rank of private. At sixteen and a half, Kolenkur was already a second lieutenant, and since 1791 he served as an adjutant to his own father.
Persecution
The year 1792 brought the young man not only joyful events, but also serious troubles. First, he was promoted to the rank of captain, and then he was unexpectedly fired from the army. The reason for this was the noble title, which aroused suspicion from the French revolutionary government, which at that time had just started a war with Austria and was conducting a purge in the ranks of the military.
But Armand de Colencourt was not one of those who gave up so easily. In the same year, he asked to join the Paris National Guard under the Red Cross as a volunteer, and very soon, having gained confidence in the leadership, he became a senior sergeant at one of the Paris battalions. Further, Kolenkur fell into the ranks of the grenadiers, and even a little later - horse rangers. It seemed that everything was going smoothly, but here again aristocratic origin made itself felt. Considering the young man extremely suspicious, he was again arrested and thrown into prison, from which, however, he soon escaped.
Everything is becoming better
Since 1794, Kolenkur’s career has been going uphill very quickly. In just a year, he reached the rank of squadron commander of a cavalry regiment, while serving as an adjutant to General Ober-Dubayte (a close friend of the family). In 1796, Aubert Dubite became an ambassador to Constantinople, and Arman de Colencourt followed him.
The young military man returns to Frace in 1797 and serves as assistant general in the army of Mesa and Sambra. Next were the German, Mayen and Rhine armies. The rank of colonel is favored by Kolenkur; he commands a regiment of carabinieri. Participates in the battles of Stocks and near Wenheim. During the last he was twice wounded, but still did not go to the reserve. The battles of Nersheim and Moskirche also fell to his lot.
Takeoff
In 1799, the Directory was overthrown in France and the Napoleonic era actually began. Bonaparte had not yet become emperor (this would happen only in 1804), but he was already the first consul and played a huge role in the life of the state.
This period turned out to be truly a take-off for Kolenkur’s career. And all thanks to the patronage of another old family friend - Talleyrand, who served under Napoleon with the rank of "Minister of Foreign Affairs of France." This man made sure that it was his protégé who went to St. Petersburg with congratulations from Bonaparte for Alexander the First, who had ascended the throne.
The visit began in 1801 and ended in 1802. During the year of his stay in Russia, Kolenkur was able to win the favor of Alexander, and thereby “doomed” himself to the mercy of Napoleon, thanking him for his good service.
Upon returning to his homeland, the successful diplomat became adjutant to Napoleon, and soon he was entrusted with the honorary function of inspecting consular stables.
A little later, Kolenkur, who was not yet thirty years old, took over the command of the cavalry regiment of the Rhine Army.
Serious damage to reputation
In the year of the ascension to the imperial throne of Napoleon, an unpleasant story happened with Armand de Colencourt. The command instructed him to deliver to Prince of Baden a message containing a demand to dissolve military units in Baden. There was nothing wrong with this assignment, but the organizers of the crime took advantage of the duke as a screen. He was abducted, and Kolenkur was considered to be directly involved in this case.
The colonel’s reputation was shaky as after a serious blow. But in the eyes of Napoleon his favorite did not fall. The emperor admitted the thought that Kolenkur was simply framed. Bonaparte expressed confidence in the even greater zeal of his favorite and, in addition to overseeing the stables, entrusted the latter with control over the observance of etiquette at the imperial court.
Victim brought in the name of service
The court service flattered the vanity of Arman de Kolencur, who in 1805 received the title of division general and was then awarded the honorary imperial order. But such high career achievements, alas, were not without casualties. Bonaparte’s location was expensive, and one of his demands was Kolenkur’s break with a woman he loved very much.
Napoleon adhered to bourgeois moral standards that did not welcome divorces. And the former maid of honor of the Empress Madame de Canisi was divorced. Kolenkur really wanted to marry her, but could not.
Between Napoleon and Alexander
In one of the battles, Arman overshadowed Napoleon when the cannonball was torn apart, and the emperor began to favor his protégé even more. He granted him the ducal title, and in 1807 Kolenkur received a new position - "ambassador France in Russia. "True, the patriot of his native country did not want to go to Petersburg with desire, but he did not dare to disobey Bonaparte either.
In Russia, Arman spent five years, and all these years he tried to stop what was inexorably impending - the war between the two empires. And Alexander, with whom he became very close, and Napoleon Kolenkur deeply respected and loved. This prevented him from taking any one side. He did not agree to spy in favor of France, as Bonaparte requested, but he provided the spy for Alexander. True, this happened involuntarily - just a man with whom the duke introduced the Russian emperor, his longtime patron Tayleran, succumbed to the influence of Alexander and brought him valuable information from the French court.
Kolenkur repeatedly held talks with Napoleon about the unacceptability of war, and in the end the emperor decided that the Russian Tsar had recruited him. The result was the resignation of the duke from the post of consul. Cohencourt returned to France in 1811.
War of 1812
But in 1812, war broke out, and the duke was again in Russia. Only now in the role not of a diplomat, but of an occupier.
Almost all the time he spent next to Napoleon and continued to speak out against hostilities. Once this happened in the presence of the representative of Alexander the First, during the negotiations. Bonaparte was so angry with his protégé that he did not speak with him for several weeks. And he did not even show sympathy for the death of his younger brother Kolenkur in the battle of Borodino.
The hardships endured together again brought the emperor and the duke closer together: anxious days spent in the burning capital of Russia, and then the inglorious return home.
After the war
The war of 1812 ended very badly for France and for Napoleon personally. As you know, he was forced to abandon the throne in favor of his son. But Kolenkura was even waiting for a raise. While still an emperor, Bonaparte managed to make an important appointment, and his favorite received a serious post - "Minister of Foreign Affairs of France." In this role, he repeatedly negotiated a truce, and also asked Alexander for Napoleon isolation on the island of Elba instead of a possible death.
Bonaparte’s abdication had a positive effect on Kolenkur’s personal life. He was finally able to marry his lover.
The duke was not affected by the restoration either - all his estates remained with him. Probably, this was the result of warm relations with the emperor of Russia.
But soon the mercy at the French court, Colencourt lost. The newly made king stripped him of all posts. The duke was minister until 1814.
Resurrection and Fall
On the first day of spring 1815, Napoleon returned to France and again began to rule it. And the first-class French diplomat was again in the chair of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He continued to bend his line, that is, to try to bring Bonaparte closer and Europe offended by him. But in vain. Napoleon longed for war, and the European countries wanted to finally get rid of him, which ultimately happened - Bonaparte lost his last battle.
In June 1815, Cohencourt became a peer of France, and in July the Bourbons returned to the throne. Napoleon was overthrown. Exactly one hundred days have passed from the moment of his return to the fall.
Arman should have been arrested, but he was again helped by a Russian friend - the emperor. Kolenkur refused the offer to move to Petersburg, the rest of the days he lived in his homeland, no longer occupying high posts and completely isolated from politics.
He devoted much time to writing memoirs about the war of the twelfth year (Napoleon’s campaign in Russia). He died in 1827, on the nineteenth of February. At the time of his death, he was fifty-three years old.
Arman de Colencourt: "Napoleon's Campaign in Russia" (memoirs)
In his memoirs about the war with Russia, the author of the memoirs described the events of those years in great detail. He was next to Napoleon around the clock, so he managed to thoroughly study his identity and threw out his observations on paper.
In addition to the characteristics of Bonaparte, there are stories in the memoirs about other important figures of the French army, as well as about Alexander.
An experienced commander not only describes the war, but also carries out analytical work, discussing the reasons for the outbreak of hostilities and such an inglorious end for France.
The memoirs of Arman de Colencourt are written very vividly, are easy to read. The book was first published only in 1833, and is a valuable source for historians, as well as for all those interested in Napoleon’s war with Russia, which destroyed the great emperor.