Malet, Claude-François de

Malet, Claude-François de

▪ French general
born June 28, 1754, Dole, France
died October 29, 1812, Paris
 French general who conspired against Napoleon (Napoleon I) and attempted an almost successful coup d'état on October 22–23, 1812.

      The descendant of a noble family, Malet had his first military experience with the king's musketeers in 1771; when the Revolution broke out, he enthusiastically supported it, though he was disinherited for his open apostasy. He joined the Revolutionary army in 1791 and was aide-de-camp to General Charles de Hesse, serving on the Rhine. His military career for the next eight years was uneventful, but in August 1799 he was sent to defend the Little St. Bernard Pass in southeastern France and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general for distinguished service.

      An ardent republican, Malet accepted Napoleon's proclamation of the empire in May 1804 with great reluctance. After 1805 he served in Italy but was cashiered in May 1808 for dealing on the black market. The following year he was imprisoned in Paris on suspicion of belonging to an anti-Bonapartist secret society, the Philadelphes. From July 1810 he was kept under house arrest in Paris, but he escaped on the night of October 22–23, 1812. Assuming the identity of “Général Lamotte,” he went to the barracks of the Second Paris Guard and proclaimed that Napoleon had died in Russia and that he had been named commandant of Paris by a “provisional government.” The Guards believed him, and he was able to secure the release from prison of two prorepublican generals and to shoot the governor of Paris before being arrested.

      A few days later Malet was court-martialed and shot. His conspiracy, which came very close to success, deeply disturbed Napoleon, who hastened his return from Russia.

Additional Reading
Louis Garros, Le Général Malet, conspirateur (1936); Guido Artom, Napoleon Is Dead in Russia, trans. by Muriel Grindrod (1970, originally published in Italian, 1968).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Malet, Claude-François de — (1754 1812)    general    Born in Dole to an aristocratic family, claude François de Malet joined the revolution of 1789 as a captain in the Army of the Rhine (1792) and then, in 1799, became a general. opposed to napoléon I, he was arrested in… …   France. A reference guide from Renaissance to the Present

  • Claude François de Malet — was born in Dôle (Jura) to an aristocratic family on June 28, 1754. Malet was executed by a firing squad on October 29, 1812, six days after Malet staged a failed republican coup d état as Napoléon Bonaparte returned from the disastrous Russian… …   Wikipedia

  • Claude Francois de Malet — Claude François de Malet Pour les articles homonymes, voir Malet. Claude François de Malet Naissance …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Claude François De Malet — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Malet. Claude François de Malet Naissance …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Claude François de Malet — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Malet. Claude François de Malet Naissance …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Claude françois de malet — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Malet. Claude François de Malet Naissance …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Claude-François de Malet — (* 28. Juni 1754 in Dole, Franche Comté; † 29. Oktober 1812) war ein französischer General. Malet trat im Alter von 16 Jahren in den Militärdienst ein und stellte sich 1790 als eifriger Anhänger der …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Claude Francois de Malet — Claude François de Malet Claude François de Malet (* 28. Juni 1754 in Dole, Franche Comté; † 29. Oktober 1812) war ein französischer General. Malet trat im Alter von 16 Jahren in den Militärdienst ein und stellte sich 1790 als eifriger Anhänger… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Claude François de Malet — (* 28. Juni 1754 in Dole, Franche Comté; † 29. Oktober 1812) war ein französischer General. Malet trat im Alter von 16 Jahren in den Militärdienst ein und stellte sich 1790 als eifriger Anhänger d …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Claude-François Malet — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Malet. Claude François Malet Naissance 28 jui …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”