General Guilin-Laurent Bizanet

Général de brigade who successfully defended Berg Op Zoom from the British in 1814

Born: August 10, 1755

Place of Birth: Grenoble, Isère, France

Died: April 18, 1836

Place of Death: Grenoble, France

Arc de Triomphe: BIZANET on the west pillar

Pronunciation:

A career soldier, Guilin-Laurent Bizanet originally enlisted in 1772 as a naval gunner. He served on the ship Majesteux from 1781 to 1783 and he continued in his role as a naval gunner until 1788. After the onset of the Revolution Bizanet was elected a lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Battalion of Volunteers of Isère in November of 1791. Bizanet and his men were sent to the Army of Italy and in October of 1792 he was promoted to chef de brigade and named commander at Monaco. In August of 1793 he was promoted to général de brigade and then three months later he took command of the center of the Army of Italy. Bizanet served at the attack of the entrenchments of Authion in April of 1794, and afterwards he was named a général de division by the representatives of the people. However, the Committee of Public Safety did not confirm his promotion and he reverted back to the rank of général de brigade. In August of 1795 Bizanet took command of a brigade in the Army of Italy and that November he fought at the Battle of Loano . The following April he resigned from his position.

Bizanet returned to active service in 1801 as the commander of arms at Marseille. He served in this position until 1805 when he was named commander of arms at Cologne. Bizanet remained at Cologne until 1810 when he was named commander of arms at Berg Op Zoom in Holland. His post remained fairly quiet until the events of 1814 when the Sixth Coalition was bearing down on France. A British force under General Graham landed and tried to take Berg Op Zoom on March 8 and 9, 1814, and Bizanet and his men vigorously repulsed the British attack. After Napoleon's abdication in April and the restoration of the Bourbons, Bizanet was named a Knight of Saint Louis but he also retired. When Napoleon returned from exile and resumed power in 1815 for the Hundred Days, Bizanet was promoted to lieutenant general and named commander at Marseille and governor of Toulon. After the Second Restoration of the Bourbons, his rank was reverted to maréchal de camp and he was put on non-activity.

Bibliography

Six, Georges. Dictionnaire Biographique des Généraux & Amiraux Français de la Révolution et de l'Empire (1792-1814). 2 vols. Paris: Gaston Saffroy, 2003.

Updated September 2016