Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Baron de Strolz, sometimes written Stroltz, (; 6 August 1771 – 27 October 1841), was a French general during the Napoleonic Wars, and subsequently an important political figure.
He was chief of staff to André Masséna during the Italian campaign, governor of the Basilicata province,"Le Général Baron Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre Strolz". Bulletin de la Société belfortaine d'émulation, Belfort 1912, p. 123. aide-de-camp to Joseph Bonaparte, Baron of the First French Empire, Member of Parliament, and Pair de France.
Strolz is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Column 22.
Early life and family Strolz was born at 5, Rue de l'Etuve in Belfort."Le Général Baron Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre Strolz". Bulletin de la Société belfortaine d'émulation, Belfort 1912, p. 116. He was the second son of Maria Clara, née Schmitt, and Peter Leo (also known as Pierre Léon or Peter Leopold), architect and the Royal Inspector of Bridges and Streets in the Franche-Comté. His older brother was Petrus Franciscus Emilius, also written as Pierre Francois Emile.also known as Peter Franz Emil (b.18 Sept 1769), who later succeeded his father as Inspector of Bridges and Streets, in: Le Général Baron Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre Strolz in: Bulletin de la Société belfortaine d'émulation, Belfort 1912, p. 117. Strolz's family was from the minor Austrian nobility. His paternal grandfather had left his native Austria as a young man to avoid the ecclesiastical career his parents had assigned him.Comte de Pajol: Pajol, Général en Chef, Tome Premier 1772-1796, Paris 1874, p.141 Strolz received his early education from a parish priest, following which he was sent to boarding school at Masevaux Abbey and to the Gymnase de Strasbourg. His family had a close friendship with Jean Baptiste Kléber, and after the early death of Kléber's father, with his stepfather Jean-Martin Burger; an entrepreneur and master carpenter-builder who often worked with Pierre Léon. Strolz's parents had Jean-Baptiste trained for a career as a lawyer,Robert, Adolphe, Bourloton, Edgar, Cougny, Gaston: Dictionnaire des Parlementaires Français, Bourloton (ed.), Paris 1889, p. 414. but he gave up his studies when called home by his parents during the French Revolution.Le Général Baron Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre Strolz in: Bulletin de la Société belfortaine d'émulation, Belfort 1912, p.117 He found temporary employment as sous-archiviste in the civil service in the district of Belfort.
As a consequence of the French Revolution, insurgent activity began in the neighbouring Prince-Bishopric of Basel. The reigning Prince-Bishop Franz Joseph Sigismund von Roggenbach asked for and received a contingent of Austrian troops to deal with the situation, while his auxiliary bishop Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Gobel secretly supported the revolutionaries. The revolutionary government in Paris saw this deployment as a possible threat for the Belfort region, and mobilized the 5th French (Strasbourg) Division along the border. In March 1790, Strolz volunteered for service with General Pierre Joseph de Ferrier du Chatelet, general officer commanding all regular and volunteer troops in the Belfort region and a friend of his parents.commandeur des troupes de ligne et les volontaires nationaux dans le district Belfort.Baradel, Yves (1993). Belfort: de l'Ancien Régime au siège de 1870-1871, Belfort, p. 88. The general put him to work as an supernumerary aide de camp; an important role in a time when all communications in the field had to be delivered by couriers. Discharged in 1791 after the crisis had passed, the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars gave Strolz the opportunity to re-enlist. Refused at first, Strolz was only accepted after family friend Jean-Baptiste Kléber, inspector of public buildings in Belfort before having just secured for himself a lieutenant-colonelcy, insisted on Strolz being accepted as a volunteer.Corret, A. Histoire Pittoresque et Anecdotique de Belfort et ses Environs, p. 160. After his parents agreed to pay for a horse, Strolz was permitted to enlist on 8 April 1793.
Service in the Revolutionary Wars War of the First Coalition As a cavalryman of the French Revolutionary Army during the War of the First Coalition campaigns of 1793 and 1794, Strolz served with the 1st Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval, who at that time were garrisoned in Metz."Le Général Baron Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre Strolz". Bulletin de la Société belfortaine d'émulation, Belfort 1912, p. 118. He fought in the Armée de la Moselle and took part in the expedition into Germany, being present at the taking of Trier and at the Battle of Arlon. In 1794, his regiment was part of General Laboissière's cavalry brigade in the Saint-Cyr Division of the French Army of the Rhine. With the Armée du Nord, he fought at the first Battle of Fleurus. Strolz's reputation for bravery led to his appointment to the Armée de Sambre-et-Meuse (1794–96). After being promoted to brevet lieutenant, General Kléber appointed Strolz as his aide de camp in September 1794. On 26 December 1795, Strolz was given a regular commission as a lieutenant in the 16th Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval, and having been described by Kléber as a "patriotic, capable and courageous citizen", was recommended for further promotion.Decembre 1795: "Le général Kléber atteste les services, le patriotisme et la capacité du citoyen Strolz' pour le grade de lieutenant dans un regiment", in: Chuquet Arthur: Quatre généraux de la révolution: Hoche & Desaix, Kléber & Marceaux: lettres et notes inédites suivies d'annexes historiques et biographiques, Paris 1911, p.204 Strolz also performed the duties of a private secretary for his general, and later edited most of Kléber's memoirs of the Vendee Campaign.Baguenier-Désormeaux: Kléber en Vendée: 1793-1794 p.XXXIIIDenkwürdigkeiten der Militärischen Gesellschaft in Berlin, Volumes 1-2 By Militärische Gesellschaft, Erster Band, Zweites Stück Berlin November 1802 p. 277
On 30 May 1796, two days before the official end of the armistice, Kléber ordered the crossing of the Rhine near Düsseldorf. When the crossing was carried out under intense enemy fire, Strolz was at Kleber's side in the first barge.Le Général Baron Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre Strolz in: Bulletin de la Société belfortaine d'émulation, Belfort 1912, p.119 In execution of the plan, Kléber made the first move, advancing south from Düsseldorf against the Württemberg wing of the Imperial Army of the Lower Rhine. On 1 June 1796, a division of Kléber's troops led by François Joseph Lefebvre seized a bridge over the Sieg from Michael von Kienmayer's Austrians at Siegburg. Even though momentum was initially on the French side, the Army of Sambre and Meuse was defeated by Archduke Charles at the Battle of Wetzlar on 15 June 1796, and Jourdan lost no time in recrossing to the safety of the west shore of the Rhine at Neuwied. Following up, the Austrians clashed with Kléber's divisions at Uckerath, inflicting 3,000 casualties on the French for a loss of only 600. Nevertheless, Kléber managed to withdraw in an orderly fashion into the Düsseldorf defences.Smith, p. 115.
Kléber was a man with a short fuse, and had a tendency for outbursts. Following a vicious dressing down from Kléber over something Strolz said on a social occasion, Strolz resigned from Kléber's service despite having known Kléber since childhood,Lubert d' Héricourt: La Vie du Général Kléber, Paris 1801, p.13. and refused to eat at the General's table when invited. In that era, to reject such an invitation was close to impossible for a subordinate, and could have been career-ending.Lubert d' Héricourt: La Vie du Général Kléber, Paris 1801, p.58. Kléber later said that good aides-de-camp were hard to come by, and made amends by "apologizing as a Christian" to Strolz, calling his actions character building."ce que j'ai fait était pour vous former le character" Strolz returned, and shared the duties of aide-de-camp to Kléber with François-Étienne de Damas and Frédéric Auguste de Beurmann. Named "les inséparables" (The Inseparables), all three would end their careers as generals. When Kléber, despite his successes, fell into disgrace with the Directoire and was relieved of his command (and almost, too, his head), Strolz was transferred to the Armée de Batavie and, on 23 January 1798, appointed aide de camp to General Jacques Maurice Hatry. Strolz was promoted to captain with the 16th Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval in June 1798. It was Strolz who clarified later that it was a denunciation by Lazare Hoche that had led to Kléber's removal from command; Strolz had seen a compromising letter in Hoche's papers.Librairie R. Roger et F. Chernoviz, Feuilles d'Histoire du XVII au XX Siècle, Tome 6, Paris 1911, p. 332Lubert d' Héricourt: La Vie du Général Kléber, Paris 1801, p.122 Austria signed the Treaty of Campo Formio in October, ceding Belgium to France and recognising French control of the Rhineland and much of Italy. The ancient Republic of Venice was partitioned between Austria and France. This ended the War of the First Coalition, although Great Britain and France remained at war.
War of the Second Coalition After Kléber was reactivated for the Egyptian campaign by Napoleon Bonaparte, he wrote Strolz a letter, offering him a position on his staff, and later repeated the offer in person. Strolz, however, refused, stating that “fighting the immediate enemies of France carries more glory than fighting on the banks of the Nile”.Le Général Baron Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre Strolz in: Bulletin de la Société belfortaine d'émulation, Belfort 1912, p.120"Il y avait plus de gloire à vaincre les ennemis immédiats de notre pays qu'aller combattre sur les bords du Nil, les fanatiques disciples de Mahomet" Strolz was transferred to the staff of Jean Victor Marie Moreau, general commanding the French Army of the Rhine on 16 December 1799, and was promoted to major (chef d’escadron ) on 21 January 1799. The transfer was made permanent when, on 22 November 1800, Strolz was officially confirmed as Moreau's aide-de-camp.
After the victory at the Battle of Hohenlinden, where the French army under Jean Victor Marie Moreau won a decisive victory over the Austrians and Bavarians led by Archduke John of Austria, Strolz received a citation for having crossed enemy lines three times during the battle to deliver dispatches to General Antoine Richepanse, actions that Moreau rated as decisive for winning the battle. Archduke John ordered his demoralized army to a retreat, where Moreau pursued cautiously until 8 December where, after 15 days, his forces advanced 300 km and captured 20,000 Austrians.Eggenberger, p 193 General de Division Claude Lecourbe's right wing brushed aside General Graf Johann Sigismund Riesch’s defences at Rosenheim on 9 December and broke through to Salzburg, where on 14 December, the archduke held off Lecourbe in a successful rearguard action.Smith, p 190 This success was only temporary, in a series of swift French actions at Neumarkt am Wallersee, Frankenmarkt, Schwanenstadt, Vöcklabruck, Lambach and Kremsmünster during the following week, the retreating Austrian army lost cohesion. Richepanse greatly distinguished himself in the pursuit. On 17 December, when Archduke Charles relieved his brother John, the Austrian army was practically a rabble.Smith, pp 190–192 With French forces 80 km from Vienna, Charles requested an armistice, which Moreau, who had sent Strolz on numerous occasions to Charles' headquarters as an envoy, granted on 25 December.