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Louis Napoléon Achille Charles Murat

Prince Louis Napoléon Achille Charles Murat (25 August 1872 – 14 June 1943), also known as Napoléon Akhilovich Murat (in Russian: Наполеон Ахилович Мюрат), was a French-Georgian military officer. A member of the House of Murat and direct descendant of Caroline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon, he was first commissioned in the French Army but spent most of his military career in the Imperial Russian Army, rising to the rank of major general.

Prince
Napoléon Murat
Personal details
Born
Louis Napoléon Achille Charles Murat

(1872-08-25)25 August 1872
Brunoy, France
Died14 June 1943(1943-06-14) (aged 70)
Nice, France
Parents
Military service
AllegianceFrance; Russia; Bulgaria
Branch/serviceFrench Army; Imperial Russian Army
RankLieutenant (France); Major general (Russia)
Battles/warsSecond Madagascar expedition
Russo-Japanese War
First Balkan War
World War I
AwardsLegion d'Honneur; Order of St. Vladimir; Order of St. Anna; Order of St. Stanislaus; Cross of St. George
Sports career
CountryFrance
SportEquestrian
Medal record
Gold medal – first place 1900 Paris Hacks and hunter

Personal life

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Murat was born on 25 August 1872 in Brunoy, France, the second child of Charles Louis Napoléon Achille Murat of the House of Murat, and Salome Dadiani, Georgian princess of Mingrelia and member of the House of Dadiani. He was a great-grandson of Joachim Murat, King of Naples and 1st Prince Murat, and grandnephew of Napoleon.[1][2] He moved to his mother's native Georgia around 1904. Having returned to France in the early 1920s following Georgia's annexation by the Soviet Union and installation of a Bolshevik regime in the country, he lived in Nice and worked as a translator.[3] He died on 14 June 1943.[4] He never married.[5]

Military career

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Murat began his military career in the French Army in 1891, and attended the École de cavalerie, Saumur.[6] He served with the 25th Dragoon Regiment during the French conquest of Madagascar, where it was mistakenly reported that he had died from malaria.[7] He became a lieutenant in 1899[6] when he was with the 14th Hussars Regiment,[8] and later joined the 9th Cuirassier Regiment. Laws passed in France in the early 1900s meant that, as a member of a former ruling house, his opportunities for progression within the French Army became limited and he resigned his commission.[9][3]

Murat left France and joined the Imperial Russian Army, where he was commissioned as lieutenant with the 2nd Dagestan Cavalry Regiment. He saw action in the Russo-Japanese War, during which time he was shot in the head and neck;[10] he was decorated for his bravery. Following the war, he served as captain and later lieutenant colonel in the Life Guard Horse Regiment before becoming a colonel instructor at the Nicholas Cavalry College [ru] in St Petersburg.[11][12] During this time he gained a reputation as a duelist.[13][3]

In 1912, Murat resigned from the Russian Army to command a force of volunteers and mercenaries under the flag of Bulgaria during the First Balkan War.[12][14] After spending time in Argentina, where he bred horses for an oil tycoon, he rejoined the Imperial Russian Army at the outbreak of World War I, commanding the Ingush Regiment of the Caucasian Native Cavalry Division, also known as the Savage or Wild Division. Fighting in the Carpathians, he suffered severe frostbite to his legs, that ultimately resulted in double amputation some years later. He also commanded the 12th Dragoon Regiment Starodubovskogo and served in the Ministry of War.[15] He rose to the rank of major general.[16][17] During the Russian Civil War he fought with the White Armies.[4][3]

Among his many honours, he was awarded the Cross of St. George and was appointed to the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class with swords, the Order of St. Anna, and the Order of St. Stanislaus.[5] In 1928, he was appointed a chevalier of Legion d'Honneur.[4][18][3]

Equestrian

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In May and June 1900, Murat competed in four equestrian events during the International Horse Show in Paris. The events were part of the Exposition Universelle, and later classified as part of the 1900 Summer Olympics. He won first prize in the hacks and hunter combined event with his horse, The General. He also competed in the obstacle jumping, long jump and high jump events. He finished fourth in the long jump on Bayard, and was part of a jump off for third place in the high jump on Arcadius.[19]

Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ Melville, Henry (1914). The Titled Nobility of Europe; An International Peerage, Or "Who's Who," of the Sovereigns, Princes, and Nobles of Europe. Burke's Peerage. p. 1062. ISBN 9780850110289. Retrieved 20 February 2022 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Valynseele, Joseph (1957). Les maréchaux du Premier empire: leur famille et leur descendance (in French). pp. 35–51. Retrieved 18 February 2022 – via Gallica.
  3. ^ a b c d e Ardisson, Francis (December 2019). "Les aventures du Prince Louis Napoléon Achille Murat chez les cosaques | Combattant français en Russie". Le Souvenir napoléonien | Bulletin de liaison (in French). No. 17. Société française d`histoire napoléonienne. pp. 22–24. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Des Napoléons dans la grande guerre". Fondation Napoléon (in French). Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Salome Dadiani and Her Descendants". National Parliamentary Library of Georgia. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Varieties". Civil & Military Gazette. Lahore. 12 May 1904. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 21 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Nécrologie". Le Gaulois (in French). 8 December 1895. p. 2. Retrieved 21 February 2022 – via Gallica.
  8. ^ Almanach de Gotha; Annuaire généalogique, diplomatique et statistique (in French). J. Perthes. 1900. p. 403. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  9. ^ Marquise de Fontenoy (20 May 1904). "Letter of Marquise de Fontenoy". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. p. 6. Retrieved 21 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Late gossip of foreign capitals". The Washington Post. Washington, District of Columbia. 20 May 1904. p. 6. Retrieved 21 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Pamatiedzīvotāju jātnieku divīzija. savvaļas dalījums" [Native Cavalry Division; Wild Division]. Ik-PTZ (in Russian). Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Prince Napoleon Murat...". Evening Standard and St. James Gazette. London, England. 26 October 1912. p. 1. Retrieved 21 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Двойная дуэль принца Мюрата" [Double duel of Prince Murat]. Smena (in Russian). Archived from the original on 6 March 2016 – via Wayback Machine.
  14. ^ "Prince Napoleon in war against Turks". The Washington Post. Washington, District of Columbia. 6 November 1912. p. 6. Retrieved 21 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ L'intermédiaire des chercheurs et curieux (in French). Benj. Duprat, Libraire de l'Institut. 1919. pp. 307–308. Retrieved 21 February 2022 – via Google Books.
  16. ^ Чернышова-Мельник, Наталия (2019). Последний император. Жизнь и любовь Михаила Романова (in Russian). Алетейя. ISBN 9785041745806. Retrieved 22 February 2022 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ Палицын, Федор (2021). Записки. Том II. Франция (1916–1921) (in Russian). Издательство им. Сабашниковых. p. 175. ISBN 9785457690936. Retrieved 22 February 2022 – via Google Books.
  18. ^ "Murat, Louis Napoléon Achille Charles". Base Léonore (in French). France: Archives Nationales. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Louis Napoléon Murat". Olympedia. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
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