Louis-Gabriel Suchet, duc d'Albuféra, was a French Marshal of the Empire and one of the most successful commanders of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is regarded as one of the greatest generals of the Napoleonic Wars.
Portrait by Jean-Baptiste Paulin Guérin
Suchet's birthplace in Lyon
Suchet as a lieutenant-colonel of the 4th Ardèche Battalion in 1792, by Vincent-Nicolas Raverat (1834)
Heraldic achievement of Louis-Gabriel Suchet, Duke of Albuféra
Marshal of the Empire was a civil dignity during the First French Empire. It was created by Sénatus-consulte on 18 May 1804 and to a large extent reinstated the formerly abolished title of Marshal of France. According to the Sénatus-consulte, a Marshal was a grand officer of the Empire, entitled to a high-standing position at the court and to the presidency of an electoral college.
Napoleon and several of his Marshals (recognisable by their white-feathered bicornes) at the Battle of Borodino in 1812. Painting by Vasily Vereshchagin
Official uniform of a Marshal of the Empire. It was designed by painter Jean-Baptiste Isabey and designer Charles Percier.
Image: Robert Lefevre 20
Image: Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, Prince de Ponte Corvo, roi de Suède, Maréchal de France (1763 1844)
