French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars commander, Marshal of the Empire
At the Second Battle of Zurich in 1799 he led the Army of Helvetia to defeat Korsakov's Austro-Russian force, and in 1800 he held Genoa for about sixty days, tying down Austrian troops so Bonaparte could win at Marengo.
Commander of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was born Andrea Massena on 6 May 1758 in Nice, then the County of Nice in the Kingdom of Sardinia. He began as an enlisted soldier in the royal Italian regiment, reached the highest rank open to a commoner in 1784, and became a brigade general in August 1793 and a general of division on 20 December 1793. On 19 May 1804 he became one of the first eighteen Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon, and he was made Duke of Rivoli in 1808 and Prince of Essling in 1809, though some sources record January 1810. He died of tuberculosis in Paris on 4 April 1817, aged 58.
Career Timeline
- 1758Born in Nice
- 1784Senior non-commissioned rank (adjudant) in the royal Italian regiment
- 1793Brigade general in August; general of division on 20 December
- 1799Commander of the Army of Helvetia; victory at the Second Battle of Zurich
- 1800Commander of the Army of Italy; defence of Genoa
- 1804Appointed Marshal of the Empire
- 1808Duke of Rivoli
- 1809Prince of Essling (some sources record January 1810)
- 1810Invasion of Portugal; defeated by Wellington at Bussaco
- 1811Relieved of his command on 11 May
- 1815Naturalised French by Louis XVIII on 20 January
- 1817Died in Paris