Michel Ney

thumb| Michel Ney, Prince de la Moskowa, Duc d'Elchingen (10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815) was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Quotes J'aime mieux être grenadier que général dans de telles conditions. Je suis prêt à verser tout mon sang, mais je désire que ce soit utilement. From a letter to Napoleon after the Battle of Dennewitz (6 September 1813). Reported in: Jean Tranié and J.-C. Carmigniani (preface by Jean Tulard), Napoléon: 1813, la campagne d'Allemagne (Paris: Pygmalion/G. Watelet, 1987), p. 173 Les soldats, quand je donne l'ordre de tirer, tirent directement sur mon cœur. Attendez la commande. Ce sera mon dernier pour toi. Je proteste contre ma condamnation. J'ai combattu cent batailles pour la France, et pas une contre elle ... Soldats! Feu! Soldiers, when I give the command to fire, fire straight at my heart. Wait for the order. It will be my last to you. I protest against my condemnation. I have fought a hundred battles for France, and not one against her... Soldiers! Fire! Last words, said before being executed by firing squad following the defeat of Napoleon. He had been offered a last request, and had asked for the right to give the firing squad the order to fire. Reported in: Trevor Royle, ed., A Dictionary of Military Quotations (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989), p. 47 External links Category:1769 births Category:1815 deaths Category:Military leaders from France Category:People of the Napoleonic Wars Category:Executed people