Jean-Andoche Junot
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Commands
Jean-Andoche Junot, the fiery and impulsive Duke of Abrantès, rose from the ranks of the early Revolutionary armies through a mixture of personal bravery, fierce loyalty to Bonaparte, and a temperament that burned rather hotter than prudence advised. Wounded repeatedly in the Italian campaigns and long counted among Napoleon’s intimate circle, he was entrusted with Major commands in Portugal and later in Spain, where his energy often exceeded his judgement; his occupation of Lisbon in 1807 showed real administrative drive, but his defeat at Vimeiro the following year revealed the limits of his tactical steadiness. Increasingly troubled by bouts of instability and erratic behaviour, he drifted to the margins of imperial service before his tragic death in 1813. Junot’s career, brilliant in flashes and shadowed by volatility, stands as one of the era’s more vivid reminders that courage and loyalty, though admirable, do not always suffice to steady a commander in the long grind of war.
He was "Duke of Abrantes" in Napoleon's nobility. Wounded & disabled during 92-93; a sergeant @ Toulon in 1793; On Napoleon's staff in Italy & Egypt (wounded in the head @ Lonato); X rank 1/99; XX rank 11/01; XXX 07-11 Spain & Portugal – invaded Portugal, Vimiero (L), siege of Saragossa (superseded by Lannes); XXX 09 Bavaria – L; XXX 10-11 Spain – W, Bussaco, Fuentes de Onoro; XXX 12 Lubino, Borodino; retired to France 1/13 & died 7/29/13 (deranged by syphilis and the Lonato head wound, he leaped from a window). (1771-1813)