General Jean-Baptiste Eblé

Eblé, a talented artillery general, called his soldiers "my children" but wouldn't hesistate to be rough with them if he grew upset with their behavior.

General Eblé's incredible foresight and exertions saved the army at the Berezina River. In the retreat from Moscow, Napoleon ordered Eblé to abandon his bridging equipment, thinking it would not be needed. Eblé disagreed but the Emperor was adamant, so he quietly ignored these orders and ordered his men to save as much of the equipment as they could. As General Dombrowski lost control of the vital bridge over the river, and General Corbineau discovered a ford over the river, Eblé's previous decision gave the army a chance to make use of the ford.

Plunging into the freezing water, Eblé led his pontonniers by personal example and they tirelessly worked on constructing bridges night and day. Three bridges were built, enabling the remnants of the army to continue the retreat. Unfortunately many of the camp followers were exhausted from the retreat and so did not take the available opportunities to cross the bridges with the army. Eblé attempted to convince as many as possible to cross, but eventually was forced to set fire to the brdiges he had worked so hard to build so the Russians could not easily pursue the army.

For his work at the Berezina, Napoleon gave Eblé the honor of wearing golden spurs, which became a tradition for pontonnier officers of the French army. Eblé's exertions at the Berezina were too much though, and he fell ill and died shortly later. The Emperor, unaware of Eblé's death, appointed him as inspector general of artillery in January to further reward him. After Napoleon learned of his death, he made Eblé's wife a countess as a tribute to the officer whom he could no longer reward.

Sources:

Chandler, David G. The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1966.

Chandler, David G. Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1979.

Elting, John R. Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon's Grande Armee. USA: Da Capo Press, 1997.

Haythornthwaite, Philip J. Who Was Who in the Napoleonic Wars. London: Arms & Armour, 1998.

Six, Georges. Dictionnaire Biographique des Generaux & Amiraux Francais de la Revolution et de l'Empire (1792-1814). Paris: Gaston Saffroy, 2003.