General Antoine Laroche-Dubouscat

Chief of staff of the Army of the Western Pyrenees and also a brigade commander

Born: December 16, 1757

Place of Birth: Condom, Gers, France

Died: June 21, 1831

Place of Death: Vic-Fezensac, France

Arc de Triomphe: LAROCHE on the north pillar

Pronunciation:

The son of an equerry, Antoine Laroche-Dubouscat enlisted as a dragoon in the regiment of Monsieur in 1774. In 1778 he quit and in 1779 he joined the legion of Nassau as an aide-de-camp to the Prince of Nassau-Siegen. Laroche-Dubouscat took part in two separate campaigns to capture Jersey and in 1782 he passed to the service of Holland. He next embarked on the frigate Apollon and went on to serve at Cape Town and the defense of Ceylon. Later Laroche-Dubouscat was arrested and held for a period of time but once released he returned to Paris.

After the advent of the French Revolution, in May of 1793 Laroche-Dubouscat was elected lieutenant colonel of the 4th Battalion of Landes. Two months later he was promoted to chef de brigade and assigned to the Army of the Western Pyrenees. In September Laroche-Dubouscat took command of Bayonne and in October he was promoted to général de brigade and appointed chief of staff of the Army of the Western Pyrenees. He remained in this position until April of 1794 when he was dismissed for being of noble birth.

After the Thermidorian Reaction shifted power in Paris in July, in August Laroche-Dubouscat was reinstated and given command of the 2nd Brigade of Frégeville's 1st Division in the Army of the Western Pyrenees. In September he took command at Saint-Sébastien and in November he distinguished himself at Bergara. The following month Laroche-Dubouscat took interim command of Frégevillle's division, a command which he held until March of 1795 when he took command of the 1st Brigade of the same division. Trouble had not forgotten him though, for in June the representatives of the people suspended him.

In March of 1796 Laroche-Dubouscat was reintegrated into the army and sent to the Army of the Rhine and Moselle where he joined Taponier's 8th Division. In the first week of July he seized the redoubt of Kniebisand and was wounded by a ball to the hand. The next week Laroche-Dubouscat served at Ettlingen and then later in the month he was repulsed at Esslingen before he took the town the next day. August was another busy month for him as he took command of the advance guard of Duhesme's division and went on to serve at Neresheim and Friedberg.

In 1798 Laroche-Dubouscat joined the Army of Holland and then the Army of England before serving on the Rhine in 1799. That year he commanded the 5th military division at Strasbourg and he was promoted to général de division. In August and September Laroche-Dubouscat served at the Siege of Philipsburg and then in December he took command of the 26th military division at Mainz. In 1800 he took command of a division on the lower Rhine and he again served at Philipsburg. That September Laroche-Dubouscat was forced to abandon Mannheim and then he was removed from command due to charges of embezzlement.

In January of 1801 Laroche-Dubouscat was reintegrated into the army and assigned to the Army of the Rhine. Put on non-activity later that year, in 1802 he took command of the 14th military division at Caen. In 1807 Laroche-Dubouscat commanded the camp of Saint-Lô and he briefly commanded a division. He retired from the army in January of 1808.

Bibliography

Related Pages:

Names on the Arc de Triomphe: Laroche

Updated July 2021