192:, in 1764 he established a staff-officer training school at Grenoble (it disappeared in 1771), where he taught on mountain warfare. This myth, designed to suggest that France developed modern military staffs stems from the 1888 printed version of 'Principes de la guerre de montagne' Bourcet's 1775 script, which has the claim made by Arvers, a Lt-Colonel in the French War Ministry, who "has restored the sense of certain passages, which have been altered by the omission or corruption of certain words". The claim is not footnoted. No such college existed. In fact, Bourcet was the Director of Engineering at Grenoble in 1763. On 1 April 1766, Bourcet was charged with "the direction of officers engaged in reconnaissance of the land". It was only in 1783 that Louis XVI ordered the creation of a permanent staff corps (whose members included Berthier)
181:, he was director of the fortifications at Dauphiné from 1756 (appointed 1 June 1756) to 1777. At the end of 1759, he was made king's chief commissioner and charged with delineating the border between France and Piedmont-Sardinia, a mission concluded by treaty on 24 March 1760. That year also saw him involved in diplomatic missions to the Sardianian court in 1760. By 1762, he was in Versailles dealing with more secret correspondence. The end of the
28:
195:
He advocated officer training and organised dispersion in the mountains (having a large army march in separate columns along parallel roads, thus allowing them to be rapidly concentrated for attack or defence and to form three columns within each column and thus deploy onto the battlefield faster.
149:
At 18 years old, he began serving under his father, a captain in the French armies in the Alps. He completed his training, studying maths, and became a gunner before entering the infantry and finally the engineers. With the support of M. d'Asfeld, he joined the engineers corps in 1729. A long
157:
Bourcet had initially joined the artillery, but by 1741 was already an engineer. Having also worked in secret correspondence with smaller
Italian states, he was in 1744 an aide-marechal des logis, which is an assistant to a French
154:, accompanying him on a secret reconnaissance mission to France's Alpine frontier. He was chief engineer at Mont-Dauphin, from c. 1742, succeeding M. de Pène, whose daughter Marie-Anne de Pène he married.
150:
military career followed, ending at the rank of lieutenant-général des armées du roi, in 1762, the highest rank in the ancien régime military. At the start of his career, he was a protégé of the
459:
126:(1 March 1700 – 14 October 1780) was a French tactician, general, chief of staff, mapmaker and military educator. He was the son of Daniel-AndrĂ© Bourcet and of Marie-Magdeleine Legier.
196:
He devised the strategic concept of "a plan with branches" (keeping the enemy confused as to your destination, so he had to split his forces to defend more than one place at once).
464:
151:
444:
177:
In 1752, he accompanied M. de Paulmy in his tour of inspection of the Alps. Contrary to claims about his role on the army staff in the
474:
238:
Mémoires militaires sur les frontières de la France, du Piémont et de la Savoie depuis l'embouchure du Var jusqu'au lac de Genève
368:
189:
469:
220:
355:
171:
163:
111:
395:
166:. An expert in mountain warfare, military engineering and fortifications, he devised the French invasion of
454:
419:
315:
449:
439:
434:
8:
182:
178:
115:
309:
299:
75:
394:
Bovio, Oreste (1990). "Un
Officiale di Stato Maggiore Dimenticato: Pierre Bourcet".
203:
without issue in 1780 - his heart is buried at the church of Notre-Dame du Laus.
285:, by Henry Duhamel, see pp. 10-13 of the preface. This work publishes several
159:
283:
Voyage d'inspection de la frontière des Alpes en 1752 par le
Marquis de Paulmy
428:
27:
342:
270:
240:, Berlin, 1802, in-8° et Paris et Strasbourg, Levrault frères, An X, in-8°
185:
saw him back in
Grenoble, again working on the delineation of the border.
188:
There is a popular myth that under the direction of the minister of war,
329:
286:
216:
167:
139:
400:(in Italian). Rome: Stato Maggiore Dell'Escertio. pp. 467–493
146:
on 1 March 1700, the first son of
Captain Daniele Andrea Bourcet.
135:
40:
460:
French military personnel of the War of the
Austrian Succession
200:
65:
44:
143:
48:
304:(in French). Harvard University. Imprimerie Nationale. 1888.
328:
The Etat
Militaire de France (1758-63) lists Bourcet there
341:
Leon Hennet: 'L'etat-major' (1911) foreword by
Chuquet
269:
Leon Hennet: 'L'etat-major' (1911) foreword by
Chuquet
465:French military personnel of the Seven Years' War
219:as brigadier general of the artillery during the
426:
211:Notably, many of the ideas espoused in his work
301:Principes de la guerre de montagnes, 1775: 1775
445:People from the Metropolitan City of Turin
26:
379:
343:http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6
271:http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6
427:
393:
330:https://books.google.com/books?id=4eZ
257:
215:influenced the strategy employed by
103:Lieutenant-général des armées du roi
13:
232:Principes de la guerre de montagne
213:Principes de la guerre de montagne
14:
486:
413:
356:"Napoleon's Strategy and Tactics"
475:French male non-fiction writers
221:Second Battle of Saorgio (1794)
373:
362:
348:
335:
322:
292:
276:
263:
251:
164:War of the Austrian Succession
112:War of the Austrian Succession
1:
244:
206:
7:
397:Studi Storico Militare 1988
380:Chandler, David G. (1966).
172:Battle of Madonna dell'Olmo
10:
491:
382:The Campaigns of Napoleon
234:, only published in 1888.
107:
99:
91:
81:
71:
55:
34:
25:
18:
420:Bibliothèque Dauphinoise
225:
470:French military writers
129:
314:: CS1 maint: others (
152:maréchal de Maillebois
124:Pierre-Joseph Bourcet
92:Years of service
20:Pierre-Joseph Bourcet
134:Bourcet was born at
273:... ble%201764 p.42
170:that led up to the
455:Military theorists
332:... at&f=false
138:, in what is now
121:
120:
76:Kingdom of France
482:
409:
407:
405:
386:
385:
377:
371:
366:
360:
359:
352:
346:
339:
333:
326:
320:
319:
313:
305:
296:
290:
280:
274:
267:
261:
255:
183:Seven Years' War
179:Seven Years' War
116:Seven Years' War
83:
62:
30:
16:
15:
490:
489:
485:
484:
483:
481:
480:
479:
450:French generals
425:
424:
416:
403:
401:
390:
389:
378:
374:
367:
363:
354:
353:
349:
340:
336:
327:
323:
307:
306:
298:
297:
293:
281:
277:
268:
264:
256:
252:
247:
228:
209:
132:
114:
64:
60:
59:14 October 1780
39:
21:
12:
11:
5:
488:
478:
477:
472:
467:
462:
457:
452:
447:
442:
437:
423:
422:
415:
414:External links
412:
411:
410:
388:
387:
372:
361:
347:
345:... ble%201764
334:
321:
291:
275:
262:
249:
248:
246:
243:
242:
241:
235:
227:
224:
208:
205:
160:chief of staff
131:
128:
119:
118:
109:
105:
104:
101:
97:
96:
93:
89:
88:
85:
79:
78:
73:
69:
68:
63:(aged 80)
57:
53:
52:
36:
32:
31:
23:
22:
19:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
487:
476:
473:
471:
468:
466:
463:
461:
458:
456:
453:
451:
448:
446:
443:
441:
438:
436:
433:
432:
430:
421:
418:
417:
399:
398:
392:
391:
384:. p. 31.
383:
376:
369:
365:
357:
351:
344:
338:
331:
325:
317:
311:
303:
302:
295:
288:
284:
279:
272:
266:
260:, p. 467
259:
254:
250:
239:
236:
233:
230:
229:
223:
222:
218:
214:
204:
202:
197:
193:
191:
186:
184:
180:
175:
173:
169:
165:
161:
155:
153:
147:
145:
141:
137:
127:
125:
117:
113:
110:
106:
102:
98:
94:
90:
86:
80:
77:
74:
70:
67:
58:
54:
50:
46:
42:
37:
33:
29:
24:
17:
402:. Retrieved
396:
381:
375:
364:
350:
337:
324:
300:
294:
282:
278:
265:
253:
237:
231:
212:
210:
198:
194:
187:
176:
156:
148:
133:
123:
122:
108:Battles/wars
61:(1780-10-14)
38:1 March 1700
440:1780 deaths
435:1700 births
404:20 February
289:by Bourcet.
199:He died at
162:during the
142:, northern
429:Categories
258:Bovio 1990
245:References
72:Allegiance
310:cite book
207:Influence
174:in 1744.
95:1718-1780
87:Engineers
43:(then in
287:mémoires
217:Napoleon
190:Choiseul
168:Piedmont
140:Piedmont
82:Service/
136:Usseaux
41:Usseaux
201:Meylan
84:branch
66:Meylan
47:, now
45:France
226:Works
144:Italy
49:Italy
406:2021
316:link
130:Life
100:Rank
56:Died
35:Born
431::
312:}}
308:{{
408:.
370:)
358:.
318:)
51:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
