#michel duroc

[napolebonasacc]

Gérard-Christophe-Michel Duroc, Duke of Friuli

[napolebonasacc]

Portrait Of Geraud Christophe-Michel Duroc

By Antoine-Jean gros

[napolebonasacc]

[northernmariette]

Argh! My guru just enjoined me to post something about Duroc for his birthday, and all i have at hand is my book about the Russian campaign!

Here are three minuscule tidbits:

Before the start of the campaign, page 92:

"most of Napoleon's entourage, beginning with Caulaincourt and including close friends and collaborators such as General Duroc, repeatedly beseeched him not to go down the road of war. (...) Napoléon dismissed such arguments with annoyance."

Yeah, what did Caulaincourt, for one, who had lived in Russia for four years, know about Russian climate and geography? But back to Duroc.

Page 196: While in Vitebsk (in August? Not sure, but this was even before Smolensk), Baron Fain notes

" 'anxiety and discouragement' in the various staffs. Napoléon sensed this, and for the first time he drew a wider group of generals into his confidence, asking them what they thought should be done. Berthier, Caulaincourt, Duroc and others felt it was time to call a halt. They cited losses, provisions difficulties and the length of the lines of communication, and expressed the fear that even a victory would cost them dear,on account of the lack of hospitals and medical resources."

We know how much Napoléon listened to Berthier, Caulaincourt and Duroc, who turned out to be right on all counts.

Finally, on pages 221 and 222, about the conditions in hospitals at Smolensk, the lack of medical supplies, and what Napoléon tried to do about this:

"Surgeons were sewing up wounds with tow in lieu of thread, and dressing them with strips torn from their own uniforms and paper taken from the city archives. 'Without medicines, without broth, without bread, without linen, without lint and even without straw, they had no other consolation as they lay dying other than the sympathy of their comrades,' in the words of General Berthezene. Napoléon sent Duroc around the hospitals to give the wounded money, but while in Austria or Italy this would have meant they would have been able to procure food and other necessities for themselves, here they would be able to buy nothing, while the possession of the coins made them vulnerable to robbery and murder."

And that's all I have for now. Not much about Duroc himself, I'm afraid, except to demonstrate that his wise advice was just as unsuccessful as Caulaincourt's and Berthier's.

This has been drawn from Adam Zamoyski's 2004 book, Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March.

[amitie-de-napoleon]

"Marshal Duroc was one of those men who seem too pure and perfect for this world, and whose excellence helps to reconcile us to human nature. In the high station to which the Emperor had wisely raised him, the grand marshal retained all the qualities of the private citizen. The splendor of his position had not power to dazzle or corrupt him. Duroc remained simple, natural, and independent; a warm and generous friend, a just and honorable man. I pronounce on him this eulogy without fear of contradiction."

Caulaincourt, Mémoires de Caulaincourt

[handfuloftime]

A student of the king, designated to enter the company of gentleman-cadets destined for the artillery, M. Du Roc (Géraud-Christophe). Height of four feet, five pouces, three lignes [4'8"]. Character mild and sensitive. Of the best behavior. Has perfectly followed his course of study and made the most satisfactory progress in mathematics, and has profited from the other subjects of education. Has finished his second year.

Reynaud de Monts, inspecteur général des écoles militaires. Quoted in Arthur Chuquet, Historiens et Marchands d’histoire: Notes critiques sur de récents ouvrages. My translation. 

I haven’t posted much about Duroc in a while, so here’s a description of him in 1788, when he was sixteen. 

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

“Duroc's cold character and unexcursive mind suited Napoleon, whose confidence he enjoyed until his death, and who entrusted him with missions perhaps above his abilities.” Not that Bourienne is jealous or anything. never.