| Jean-Andoche Junot | |
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Jean-Andoche Junot |
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| Born | 24 September 1771 Bussy-le-Grand, France |
| Died | 29 July 1813 (aged 41) Montbard, France |
| Allegiance | France |
| Rank | général de division |
Jean-Andoche Junot, 1st Duke of Abrantès (24 September 1771 – 29 July 1813) was a French general during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
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Junot was born in Bussy-le-Grand, Côte-d'Or, son of Michel Junot (1739–1814, son of François Junot, d. 1759, and wife Edmée Laurain, b. 1703 and d. 1784) and wife Marie Antoinette Bienaymé (1735–1806, daughter of Guy Bienaymé and wife Ursule Rigoley), and studied in Châtillon. He was studying law in Paris when the French Revolution started, he joined a volunteer battalion, was twice wounded and made sergeant. He first met Napoleon Bonaparte during the Siege of Toulon in 1793 when he became his secretary.
He distinguished himself in Italy but received a serious head wound at Lonato, which some claim led to a permanent change in his character, reduced the quality of his judgement and made him rash and temperamental. He was made a general of brigade at the beginning the Egyptian campaign but was injured in a duel and captured when he was returning as an invalid to France. He later participated in the coup of 18 Brumaire. He married Laure (Laurette) Martin de Permond in 1800. He was briefly ambassador to Portugal before hurrying back to serve under Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805).
Junot's major command was during the Peninsular War. He commanded the invasion of Portugal in 1807, setting out in November from Salamanca he captured Lisbon in 30 November or early December and was granted the ducal victory title of Duc d'Abrantès and made Governor of Portugal.
But when the British arrived in August 1808, the French were beaten at Vimeiro (21 August) and Junot was almost cut off; only the signing of the advantageous Convention of Sintra allowed him to avoid capture, taking however with him all "the weapons and baggages" the army had managed to gather — an expression that later became famous in Portuguese usage. He returned to France in October, narrowly escaping a court martial. He returned to the Iberian peninsula in 1810 as part of the army under Marshal André Masséna and was badly wounded.
In the Russian campaign Junot's record was erratic; he was blamed for allowing the Russian army to retreat following the Battle of Smolensk (17 August), but at the Battle of Borodino (7 September 1812) he commanded the 8th Corps competently.
In 1813 he was made Governor of the Illyrian Provinces but his growing mental instability led to him be returned to France. He committed suicide in Montbard.
He had two daughters and two sons:
Junot was portrayed by actor Christopher Neame in the 1974 mini-series Napoleon and Love. Junot is shown as a close friend and confidant to Bonaparte, and in a pivotal scene becomes the first person to tell a naive Napoleon of Josephine's numerous infidelities with Paul Barras and Hippolyte Charles.