Alphonse Lecointe

{{Short description|French general and politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = ''[[Major General]]'' | name = Alphonse Lecointe | honorific_suffix = | image = | caption = | office = [[Senator]] | term_start = 26 February 1882 | term_end = 23 December 1890 | birth_date = {{Birth date|1817|7|12|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Évreux]], [[France]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1890|12|23|1817|7|12|df=y}} | death_place = [[Paris]], France | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = | other_party =  | height =  | spouse = | relations = | children = | parents =  | mother =  | father =  | relatives = | education = | alma_mater = ''[[École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr]]'' | profession = Soldier | known_for = | salary = | net_worth =  | awards = | signature = | signature_alt =  | nickname = | allegiance = {{flagicon|France}} [[July Monarchy|Kingdom of France]]<br />{{flag|French Second Republic}}<br />{{flag|Second French Empire}}<br />{{flag|French Third Republic}} | branch = [[French Army]] | service_years = 1837–1871, 1873–1890 | rank = [[Major general]] | unit = | commands = * 2nd Grenadier Regiment *[[1st Infantry Division (France)|1st Division]] *[[17th Army Corps (France)|17th Corps]] *14th Corps *[[Inspector general]] of the infantry *[[Military governor]] of [[Lyon]] *Military governor of Paris | battles = *[[Crimean War]] **[[Battle of the Alma]] **[[Battle of Malakoff]] *[[Pacification of Algeria]] **[[Pacification of Algeria#Campaign of Kabylie (1857)|Campaign of Kabylie]] *[[Second Italian War of Independence]] **[[Battle of Magenta]] *[[Franco-Prussian War]] **[[Battle of Mars-la-Tour]] **[[Siege of Metz (1870)|Siege of Metz]] **[[Battle of Amiens (1870)|Battle of Amiens]] **[[Battle of Hallue]] **[[Battle of Bapaume (1871)|Battle of Bapaume]] **[[Battle of St. Quentin (1871)|Battle of St. Quentin]] | mawards = *[[File:Legion Honneur GO ribbon.svg|55px]] Grand Officer of the [[Legion of Honour]] *[[File:Medaille commemorative de la Campagne d'Italie 1859 ribbon.svg|55px]] [[Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign]] }} '''Alphonse-Théodore Lecointe''' (12 July 1817, [[Évreux]] – 23 December 1890, [[Paris]]) was a French general and politician.

==Biography== ===Early life and career=== Lecointe was the son of Jacques-Pierre Lecointe, a [[Major (rank)|major]] of [[infantry]]. He entered the French [[military academy]] at [[École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr|Saint-Cyr]] in 1837 and successively was promoted to ''sous-lieutenant'' ([[second lieutenant]]) of infantry in 1839, [[lieutenant]] in 1842, ''capitaine'' ([[captain]]) in 1848, and [[Major (rank)|major]] in 1854.

===Crimean War=== Lecointe took part in the [[Crimean War]] (1854–1856) as a [[battalion]] commander attached to the army of ''[[Divisional general|Général de division]]'' [[Pierre Bosquet]] and participated in the [[Battle of the Alma]] on 20 September 1854 and the [[Battle of Malakoff]] on 8 September 1855. In 1857 he took part in the [[French Algeria|Algeria]] in the [[Pacification of Algeria#Campaign of Kabylie (1857)|Campaign of Kabylie]] in [[French Algeria|Algeria]] during the [[pacification of Algeria]] and seized Borj Mawlay Hasan (known to the French as Fort l'Empereur).

===Second Italian War of Independence=== Lecointe returned to France in 1859 at the time of the [[Second Italian War of Independence]]. His [[Division (military)|division]], the well-proven [[grenadier]] division of the [[Imperial Guard Corps]], which belonged to the III Corps under the command of [[General]] [[Patrice de MacMahon]], contributed to the French success in the [[Battle of Magenta]] on 4 June 1859 by clearing [[Buffalora]]. Wounded the same day, he was promoted to [[lieutenant colonel]] on 18 June 1859. He was stationed with the garrison of [[Paris]] after the war and was promoted to [[colonel]] in 1864.

===Franco-Prussian War=== In 1866, Lecointe took command of the 2nd Grenadier Regiment of the Imperial Guard Corps. With the outbreak of the [[Franco-Prussian War]] in July 1870, he led the regiment as part of the [[Army of the Rhine (1870)|Army of the Rhine]]. He was wounded during the [[Battle of Mars-la-Tour]] on 16 August 1870 and was surrounded in [[Metz]] with the rest of the Army of the Rhine on 19 August 1870, beginning the 70-day [[Siege of Metz (1870)|Siege of Metz]].

When Metz capitulated in October 1870, Lecointe escaped and joined the [[Army of the North]], led first by ''Général de division'' [[Charles-Denis Bourbaki]] and then provisionally by ''[[Brigadier general|Général de brigade]]'' [[Jean-Joseph Farre]]. On 14 November 1870, he was given command of a brigade of the 22nd Corps. After the defeat of the Army of the North in the [[Battle of Amiens (1870)|Battle of Amiens]] on 27 November 1870, its retirement from [[Amiens]], and the appointment of ''Général de division'' [[Louis Faidherbe]] as its new commander, Lecointe took part under Faidherbe in the [[Battle of Hallue]] on 23–24 December 1870, the [[Battle of Bapaume (1871)|Battle of Bapaume]] on 3 January 1871, and the [[Battle of St. Quentin (1871)|Battle of St. Quentin]] on 19 January 1871. German forces having cut off all communications between the Army of the North and the rest of France, the 22nd Corps, which still had 18,000 men and 60 guns, received orders to embark at [[Dunkirk]] to rally at [[Cherbourg-en-Cotentin]] for operations in [[Normandy]].

===Later military career=== Promoted to [[major general]] on 16 September 1871, Lecointe was placed in reserve. He was recalled to active duty in 1873 as commander of the [[1st Infantry Division (France)|1st Division]] of I Corps in [[Lille]]. He took command of the [[17th Army Corps (France)|17th Corps]] in [[Toulouse]] in 1878, then of the 14th Corps at [[Lyon]] in 1879. In January 1880, he became [[military governor]] of Lyon. When General [[Justin Clinchant]] died in 1881, Lecointe replaced him as military governor of Paris in 1882, holding the position until 1884.

===Political career=== After [[Jean-Louis Lepouzé]] died soon after his election as senator of [[Eure]] was invalidated, Lecointe was elected to the [[Senate (France)|French Senate]] to replace him on 26 February 1882. He sympathized with the [[political left]], supported the [[French Third Republic|republican]] ministries, and was re-elected on 6 January 1885. He continued to support the left and vote with the republicans the senate, but abstained from voting on the expulsion of [[prince]]s. Finally, he spoke out for the reinstatement of the district ballot, for the Lisbon bill restricting press freedom, and for the procedure to be followed before the Senate against General [[Georges Ernest Boulanger]]. He served as a senator until his death.

As a reward for his combat service, Lecointe was kept on active duty, without age limit, when he reached the French Army's mandatory retirement age of 65 in 1882.

==Awards and honors== *[[File:Legion Honneur GO ribbon.svg|120px]] Grand Officer of the [[Legion of Honour]] *[[File:Medaille commemorative de la Campagne d'Italie 1859 ribbon.svg|120px]] [[Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign]]

== Sources == * "Alphonse Lecointe," in Adolphe Robert and Gaston Cougny, ''Dictionnaire des parlementaires français'', Edgar Bourloton, 1889-1891 (in French)

==External links== * [http://www.senat.fr/senateur-3eme-republique/lecointe_alphonse0735r3.html ''Biographie sur Sénat'' (in French)]

{{DEFAULTSORT:LeCointe, Alphonse}} [[Category:People from Évreux]] [[Category:1817 births]] [[Category:1890 deaths]] [[Category:French military personnel of the Crimean War]] [[Category:People of the Second Italian War of Independence]] [[Category:French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War]] [[Category:Generals of France]] [[Category:French senators of the Third Republic]] [[Category:Military governors of Paris]] [[Category:Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour]] [[Category:École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni]]