Thread by @Bookish_Rachael

Day 3 of #MarshalAdventCalendar and today it’s the man who won his baton in Spain: Louis-Gabriel Suchet.

Alongside Bernadotte he was one of the most politically-astute of the 26, and Napoleon would later say that he wished he’d had two of Suchet.

Suchet, who was the son of a silk merchant, enlisted at age 21 in the cavalry of the National Guard and quickly began to rise through the ranks.

He served at Toulon, where he took General O’Hara prisoner.

Suchet began to make a name for himself throughout the Italian campaign, rising to the rank of General, and was specifically requested by Joubert for his Chief of Staff.

Afterwards he served under Masséna, with whom he eventually clashed, then Soult and Lannes.

Despite a very strong track record, a baton was nowhere in sight in the early years of the Empire. Towards the end of the decade though, he was sent to Spain and it was here, unlike so many of his fellow marshals, that he would shine.

Suchet recognised that tyranny and terror was not going to lead to success in the long term and embarked on his “hearts and minds” campaign to win the Spanish over. It meant that the situation in Aragon was therefore very different to that of the French elsewhere in Spain.

With less than 50k men it’s estimated that Suchet took 77k prisoners and 1400 guns in 3 years. He was at last awarded his baton in 1811.

He returned to Napoleon’s side during the Hundred Days and offered Ney money and a passport to help him escape, though Ney refused.

Suchet died fairly young - at only 56 - and Marshal Mortier gave his eulogy. So respected had he been for his conduct in Spain, the priests in Saragossa cathedral had a mass said for him.

By marriage, he was a nephew of both Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Bernadotte.