Geraud Duroc (25 October 1772 – 23 May 1813) was a Duke of France under the First French Republic and later the French Empire who was a trusted general of Napoleon Bonaparte. He died in 1813 at the Battle of Reichenbach.
Biography[]
Duroc became aide-de-camp to Napoleon Bonaparte under the revolutionary government in 1796, first serving in his Italian Campaign. He was wounded at Parma in December 1796 and was born to fight and steady under fire. He continued to fight under Napoleon in the Egyptian Campaign and the Battle of Marengo. He commanded at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805 and was a senator following the Russian Campaign in 1812.
In 1813 he served at the Battle of Bautzen and made a slow pursuit of the Coalition forces, and was caught in battle at Reichenbach. A cannonball ricocheted off of a treetrunk and tore open his belly, spilling out his intestines in a gory mess on his uniform, saddle, and horse. He died in a nearby farm, apologizing to Napoleon for not being able to serve him longer, and Napoleon bought the property and took care of his children as a father.