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Nicolas Charles Oudinot (April 25, 1767 -
September 13, 1847), duke of Reggio, was a marshal
of France.

He came of a bourgeois family in Lorraine, and was
born at Bar-le-duc.  He soon decided on a military
career, and served in the regiment of Medoc from
1784 to 1787, when, having no hope of promotion on
account of his non-noble birth, he retired with
the rank of sergeant. The French Revolution
changed his fortunes, and in 1792, on the outbreak
of war, he was elected lieutenant-colonel of the
3rd battalion of the volunteers of the Meuse. His
gallant defence of the little fort of Bitsch in
the Vosges in 1792 drew attention to him; he was
transferred to the regular army in November 1793,
and after serving in numerous actions on the
Belgian frontier he was promoted general of
brigade in June 1794 for his conduct at the Battle
of Kaiserslautern.

He continued to serve with distinction on the
German frontier under Louis Lazare Hoche|Hoche,
Charles Pichegru|Pichegru and Jean Victor Marie
Moreau|Moreau, and was repeatedly wounded and once
(in 1795) taken prisoner. He was Andre Massena's
right hand all through the great Swiss campaign of
1799--first as a general of division, and then as
chief of the staff--and won extraordinary
distinction at the Battle of Zürich. He was
present under Massena at the defence of Genoa,
Italy|Genoa, and so distinguished himself at the
Battle of Monzambano that Napoleon
Bonaparte|Napoleon presented him with a sword of
honour. He was made inspector-general of infantry,
and, on the establishment of the empire, given the
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, but was not
included in the first creation of marshals.

He was, however, elected a member of the chamber
of deputies, but had little time to devote to
politics. He took a leading role in the war of
1805, commanding the famous division of
"grenadiers Oudinot," made up of hand-picked
troops and organized by him, with which he seized
the Vienna bridges, received a wound at
Hollabrünn, and delivered the decisive blow at
battle of Austerlitz|Austerlitz. In 1806 he won
the Battle of Ostrolenka, and fought with
resolution and success at the Battle of Friedland.
In 1808 he was made governor of Erfurt and count
of the Empire, and in 1809, after displaying
brilliant courage at Battle of Wagram|Wagram, he
was promoted to the rank of marshal. He was made
duke of Reggio, and received a large money grant
in April 1810. Oudinot administered the government
of the Kingdom of Holland from 1810 to 1812, and
commanded the II corps of the Grande Armée in the
Russian campaign. He was present at Battle of
Lützen (1813)|Lützen and Battle of
Bautzen|Bautzen, and when holding the independent
command of the corps directed to take Berlin was
defeated at the Battle of Gross Beeren. He was
then superseded by Michel Ney|Marshal Ney, but the
latter was defeated at the Battle of Dennewitz.

Oudinot was not disgraced. He held important
commands at Leipzig and in the campaign of 1814.
On Napoleon's abdication, he rallied to the new
government, and was made a peer by King Louis
XVIII of France|Louis XVIII. Unlike many of his
old comrades, he did not desert to his former
master in 1815. His last active service was in the
French invasion of Spain in 1823, in which he
commanded a corps and was for a time governor of
Madrid. He died as governor of Les Invalides.
Oudinot was not, and made no pretence of being, a
great commander, but he was a great general of
division. He was the beau-ideal of an infantry
general, energetic, conversant with detail, and in
battle as resolute and skilful as any of
Napoleon's marshals.

== External links ==

*
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/buddyop/napoleon/personnag
es/marechaux/Oudinot.htm Maréchal Oudinot at
Miranda Clément's Napoléon 1er page (French) 
The Oudinot Family still lives today and holds the
dukedom of Reggio and it's corresponding
lesser-titles. Since then, the Oudinot family has
broken off to junior branches such as Oudineau,
Oudinet, and Odinet.
* http://www.napoleonguide.com/marshal_oudinot.htm

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1911