General Jean Pierre Doumerc

Commander of heavy cavalry who served at Austerlitz, Friedland, and the Berezina

Born: October 7, 1767

Place of Birth: Montauban, Tarn-et-Garonne, France

Died: March 30, 1847

Place of Death: Paris, France

Arc de Triomphe: DOUMERC on the north pillar

A career cavalry soldier, Jean Pierre Doumerc first enlisted in the Dauphin's Dragoons in 1783. He left military service in 1788 only to return in 1791 as a sous-lieutenant in the 4th Chasseurs à Cheval. In 1792 Doumerc served in the Army of the Alps and was promoted to lieutenant, and in 1793 he joined the Army of the Rhine. Later that year he was appointed an aide-de-camp of General Pichegru. 1794 saw Doumerc joining the Army of the North, receiving a promotion to chef d'escadron, and joining the 11th Cavalry Regiment. In late 1795 Doumerc returned to the 4th Chasseurs à Cheval and the Army of the Rhine. Doumerc served with the Army of Italy in 1797 and then the Army of England in 1798 and 1799, and he was promoted to chef de brigade of the 9th Cavalry in 1799. In 1800 and 1801 he served with the Army of the Rhine.

After the years of peace of the early 1800s, Colonel Doumerc joined General Nansouty's division in August of 1805 for the campaign against the Third Coalition. At the conclusion of the campaign, he fought at the Battle of Austerlitz that December. When Prussia went to war with France in 1806, Doumerc continued to serve in Nansouty's division in Prussia. At the very end of the year he received a promotion to général de brigade and he was then employed in General Grouchy's division. In April of 1807 Doumerc took command of the 2nd Brigade of Cuirassiers and he led them into action that June at the Battle of Friedland.

In 1808 General Doumerc was recognized as a Baron of the Empire and assigned to the Army of Germany. He commanded the 2nd Brigade of Nansouty's division during the war against Austria of 1809. In March of 1810 when he became inspector of cavalry depots of the 5th military division and in November of 1811 he was promoted to général de division and given command of the 3rd Division of Cuirassiers.

For the campaign of 1812 against Russia, General Doumerc and his division were attached to III Cavalry Corps. That May he and his men were detached to serve with Marshal Oudinot's II Corps and during the campaign they fought at both the first Battle of Polotsk and the second Battle of Polotsk . After rejoining what was left of the Grande Armée, Doumerc served at the Battle of the Berezina where he distinguished himself.

In 1813 Doumerc continued to command the 3rd Division of Cuirassiers, this time serving in Latour-Maubourg's I Cavalry Corps. That August he and his men fought at the Battle of Dresden. In 1814 they continued to fight during the defense of France, notably serving at La Rothière, Vauchamps , Lizy-sur-Ourcq, and Neuilly-Saint-Front.

After Napoleon's abdication, Doumerc served on the commission formed at Paris to implement the convention of April 23, 1814, signed by the French government and Coalition powers. The restored Bourbons named Doumerc inspector general of cavalry for the 9th and 10th military divisions and a Knight of Saint Louis. When Napoleon returned to power in 1815 for the Hundred Days, he appointed Doumerc to a commission to examine promotions made by the Bourbon government. After the loss of the Battle of Waterloo, Doumerc was ordered to form a cavalry corps from a variety of units at Saint-Denis. A few months later he was put on non-activity, but he was not officially retired from the army until 1825. In August of 1830 Doumerc came out of retirement and then he retired for the last time in 1833.

Bibliography

External Links:

Monuments to Doumerc

Updated April 2025