Best Napoleonic French General?

I am excluding all those who were made Marshals, and also Eugene de Beauharnais since by most accounts he was a Marshal in all but name

But of those who were never promoted to Marshal, which generals of the French Empire do you consider to be the best?

This question also excludes those who made their careers during the republic and either retired or did not achieve any feats during the Empire

Its about which generals of the Imperial period, who never progressed beyond that rank, would you consider to be the best?

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
With the proviso that there were rather a lot of them and there's bound to be someone better who I've never heard of, but I'd go for Maximilien Foy, one of the few senior French officers to emerge from the Peninsular War with his reputation enhanced. The Duke of Wellington respected him enough to visit him on his sickbed after the French surrender following Napoleon's first abdication, which is a good enough recommendation for me:cool:
 
Does Napoleon himself count? After all, as Emperor, he acted as the main general in most of his campaigns. If that's the case, he has my vote ;)

If not, I would go for Davout. The man never lost a battle and crushed the Prussian main army at Auerstedt with only his own army corpse during the Napoleonic Wars.
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
I am excluding all those who were made Marshals, and also Eugene de Beauharnais since by most accounts he was a Marshal in all but name

If not, I would go for Davout. The man never lost a battle and crushed the Prussian main army at Auerstedt with only his own army corpse during the Napoleonic Wars.

Davout was a Marshal, and hence the OP rules him out.

General Dominique Vandamme could be considered, despite the disaster at Kulm.
 
Lazare Hoche never made Marshal, nor did Jean Moreau. Either one of them.

Moreau's victory at Hohenlinden was the match of anything Napoleon ever acheived, so i pick him.
 
I'd say Jean Baptiste Kleber.

Successful enough that some historians (even french ones) speculate that his assassination might have been instigated by Napoleon himself.
 
Anaxagoras said:
Davout was a Marshal, and hence the OP rules him out.

Sorry, I had misread the rule... Sadly, under those condition, I don't think I know the Napoleonic Generals enough to say which one would be the best. I know the Marshals better than the Generals.
 
Davout of course. The only unconquered general of his time. The only one, Napoléon set apart, who could conceive and conduct a global strategy. And tactically, on the field, he was probably better than any rival, including Napoleon.
 
Davout of course. The only unconquered general of his time. The only one, Napoléon set apart, who could conceive and conduct a global strategy. And tactically, on the field, he was probably better than any rival, including Napoleon.

Davout made Marshal, so OP excludes him. But yes.
 
Doesn't anyone think of the best ones?

Among the circles in Paris (Lazar Carnot) were circulating assessments:

Augerau

Bernadotte

Hoche(the youngest and most promising)

Massena(?)
 
Here's one of my favourites that never became a Marshal: Francois Kellermann (duke of Valmy).

Great cavalry leader.
 
Good question, not many (myself included) are familiar with the generals underneath. From basic research I think General Girard was capable. Maybe not the best, but perhaps he was limited by history as to what he could have proven.
 
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