MenuGeneral Jean Dieudonné Lion
Born: October 28, 1771
Place of Birth: Morialmé, Belgium
Died: August 8, 1840
Place of Death: Châlons-sur-Marne, France
Pronunciation:
Jean Dieudonné Lion began his military career when he joined the Royal Liégois regiment in September of 1789. In 1792 he joined the Legion of the Center which would later become the 20th Chasseurs à Cheval. Serving in the Army of the Ardennes, in 1794 Lion was commissioned as a sous-lieutenant and that year he also joined the Army of the Sambre and Meuse. In March of 1796 he was promoted to lieutenant and that August he served at Friedberg where he captured two cannons. Only a few weeks later Lion served at Mainburg where he took an Austrian battalion prisoner and captured a flag and two cannons. In 1797 he began serving with the Army of the Rhine and Moselle and that April he served at the action of Offenburg where he was wounded by two shots, one to the left hand and the other to the stomach. Next in 1798 he served with the Army of Mainz and then in 1799 he served with the Army of the Danube and in December he was promoted to capitaine. In 1800 Lion joined the Army of the Rhine and that May he distinguished himself at Lopheim and then was wounded by a saber blow to the left cheek at Erbach.
During the years of peace that followed, Lion was employed at the camp of Bruges and then the camp of Brest. In 1805 he was placed with the Army of the North and he served in Holland. The next year Lion joined the Grande Armée and he served at Jena in October. In February of 1807 he served at the Battle of Eylau where he was wounded by a lance blow to the arm. Three months later he joined the 2nd Chasseurs à Cheval and then later in 1807 he joined the Corps of Observation.
After Austria attacked in April of 1809, Lion served on the campaign in Germany and Austria and on April 20th he captured two flags and two Hungarian battalions. At the end of the month he was promoted to colonel of the 14th Chasseurs à Cheval and in May he led him into action at the Battle of Aspern-Essling where he was wounded by a ball to the left leg. After the conclusion of the campaign Lion was named colonel-major of the Chasseurs à Cheval of the Imperial Guard. In 1810 he was named a Baron of the Empire and in 1812 he took part in the campaign in Russia. 1813 saw Lion serving on the campaigns in Saxony and that June he was promoted to général de brigade while retaining his position in the Imperial Guard. Lion served during the defense of France in 1814 and that February he was wounded at Vauchamps by two shots, one to the head and the other to the right hand.
After Napoleon's abdication the restored Bourbons placed Lion as a major of the Royal Chasseurs of France and the regiment was commanded by General Lefebvre-Desnouettes. When Napoleon began his return from exile in March of 1815 Lefebvre-Desnouettes tried to bring the Royal Chasseurs over to Napoleon's side but Lion refused to follow Lefebvre-Desnouettes and instead led the regiment back to Cambrai. For this the Bourbon government promoted him to lieutenant général and named him commander of the regiment. Lion then went on to follow Louis XVIII to Lille before then quitting his command in April. In June he was called to join the Army of the North to serve with the cavalry but after Napoleon's second abdication he joined Louis XVIII and accompanied him to Saint-Denis and then the Tuileries. That October he was sent to handle the dismissal of the cavalry from the Army of the Loire.
From 1816 to 1818 Lion served as an inspector of cavalry and in 1820 he took command of the 2nd military division at Châlons-sur-Marne. In 1825 he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor in 1832 he began serving as an inspector general of gendarmerie.
Bibliography
Updated February 2025
© Nathan D. Jensen