Talk:Louis-Auguste-Victor, Count de Ghaisnes de Bourmont

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Bourmont supported the Royalists during the Revolution and joined the emigrants but must have returned since he was one of the 12 generals of the Royalist insurrection in Vendée who accepted to be pacified by the army which Bonaparte sent against them immediately after his becoming First Consul in 1799. The army was commanded by general Brune. So whole-hearted was the pacification that some of the 12 generals later denounced one of the 12 who had tried to re-start the insurrection. As for Bourmont, Napoleon offered him the surprisingly high command as a general of division. It is unclear how well that worked because he was suspected and arrested after the Rue Nicaise-attentat. Nevertheless, Bourmont returned into Napoleon's full favour when he had won the confidence of general Junot who was Napoleon's oldest friend. He seems to have fought fully loyally for Napoleon in the next years including the very diffcult years 1812-14. The affair of Ney's return to Napoleon in March 1815 has much to do with Bourmont who served immediately under Ney but agreed that they could not prevent their soldiers from taking Napoleon's side. Napoleon entrusted Bourmont with a division in the battle of Ligny; Napoleon had discussed the matter with one of his senior officers (Gérard) who testified to Bourmont's reliability. Bourmont surprised Napoleon by joining the enemy with his 3 or 4 thousand men. Later, he engaged himself in having Ney executed for high treason.

  Did Bourmont originally let himself be won by Napoleon on the false assumption that Napoleon meant to re-instate the Royal House?It is difficult to get to know whether Napoleon had hinted such a thing in order to win some of the Royalists.