Charles Pierre François Augereau, 1st Duke of Castiglione (21 October 1757 – 12 June 1816) was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. After serving in the Revolutionary Wars, he earned rapid promotion while fighting against Spain and soon found himself as a division commander under Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy. He fought in all of Bonaparte's battles of 1796 with great distinction. During the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon entrusted Augereau with important commands. His life ended under a cloud because of his poor timing in switching sides between Napoleon and King Louis XVIII of France. Napoleon wrote of Augereau that he "has plenty of character, courage, firmness, activity; is inured to war; is well liked by the soldiery; is fortunate in his operations.". Augereau is generally counted as one of the most capable generals of the Napoleonic Wars. Early years Augereau was born in Faubourg Saint-Marceau, Paris, as the son of a Parisian fruit seller (in some accounts, a servant). He enlisted in the army at the age of seventeen in the Clare Infantry Regiment, but was soon discharged. Later, he joined the dragoons. He became a noted swordsman and duellist, but he had to flee France after killing an officer in a quarrel. For the next 13 years Augereau drifted across Europe. He claimed to have served in the Russian Army against the Ottoman Empire, being present at the Siege of Izmail as a sergeant before deserting afterwards. He later enlisted in the infantry regiment of Prince Henry of Prussia and claimed he served in the Prussian Foot Guards as well. He deserted by masterminding a mass escape and reached Saxony, where he taught fencing. In 1781, King Louis XVI of France proclaimed an amnesty for deserters, so Augereau returned to his native land. He joined the cavalry in 1784, and after serving in the carabiniers he was sent to the Kingdom of Naples as part of a military mission. While in Naples, he eloped with Gabrielle Grach and the two lovers traveled to Portugal where they spent the years 1788–1791. After the French Revolution broke out, the Portuguese jailed Augereau as a dangerous foreigner. Somehow, Gabrielle persuaded the authorities to release her husband and the couple returned to France. In September 1792, Augereau joined a volunteer cavalry unit, the German Legion, but this is without