General Étienne Guyot

Cavalry officer who served at Jena and Eylau and was later killed at Kleinenfeld

Born: May 1, 1766

Place of Birth: Mantoche, Haute-Saône, France

Died: June 8, 1807

Cause of Death: Killed in action

Place of Death: Kleinenfeld, Prussia

Arc de Triomphe: GUYOT on the east pillar

Pronunciation:

A lawyer before the French Revolution, Étienne Guyot joined the army as a volunteer in the 1st Battalion of Haute-Saône in August of 1791. The next month he was promoted to lieutenant and then the following month he was promoted to capitaine. In 1793 Guyot began serving with the Army of the Rhine and that October he became an aide-de-camp to General Bourcier. Over the following years he served with the Army of the Rhine, the Army of the Rhine and Moselle, and the Army of Mainz. In 1799 Guyot was serving with the Army of Italy and early that year he received a promotion to chef d'escadrons before he was placed with the 17th Dragoons. That July he was promoted to chef de brigade and then at the end of the year he returned to the Army of the Rhine. Throughout 1800 Guyot served on the staff of General Gouvion St. Cyr.

In early 1801 Guyot was named commander of the 9th Hussars. In 1803 he and his men joined the Army of the Coasts of the Ocean and in 1804 he was named an Officer of the Legion of Honor. In 1805 the Grande Armée marched out to face the Third Coalition and Guyot served as part of Fauconnet's brigade in Marshal Lannes' V Corps. That November Guyot charged the enemy at Wischau where he was wounded by multiple saber blows. After the conclusion of the campaign, he was promoted to général de brigade on Christmas Day. For the campaign against Prussia of 1806, Guyot took command of a brigade of light cavalry in Marshal Soult's IV Corps. He fought at the Battle of Jena in October and then at the combat of Nosentin in November. In February of 1807 Guyot fought at Guttstadt and he distinguished himself by taking 1700 Russian prisoners. Only a few days later he fought at the Battle of Eylau. When the campaign resumed in the summer of 1807, Guyot fought at Kleinenfeld. During a charge against the enemy, he was thrown off his horse and pierced by ten lance blows, killing him.

Bibliography

Updated August 2019